Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring prices

All prices include GST. Supply is charged on the floor area plus 8% for offcuts; installation and extras are charged on the floor area.

As a guide, a 20 m² living area in 5mm vinyl plank with the skirting removed and refitted comes to about $1,932 before floor preparation. Jobs under 20 m² have a $450 small-job charge, and apartment or body corporate jobs in homes add 10%.

Which rooms suit vinyl

• Kitchens and living areas: vinyl plank resists spills and gives a continuous timber or stone look with no grout lines.
• Laundries and powder rooms: vinyl plank or hybrid.
• Rooms with tight door clearances: a slim plank sits lower than hybrid, so it suits rooms where a thicker floor would mean trimming doors.
• Rentals: hard-wearing and easy to clean.
• Bathrooms: vinyl plank can be laid in a bathroom, but we don’t recommend it where there’s a shower or bath, because water can get through the joins and edges to the subfloor. Those bathrooms are usually tiled, and we don’t lay tiles. See can you use vinyl flooring in the bathroom.
• Businesses: safety and commercial sheet vinyl for commercial kitchens, healthcare and other commercial wet areas, installed after hours or at weekends if you need to keep trading. See commercial flooring and commercial kitchen vinyl.

Vinyl plank and sheet vinyl: the two kinds we install

Vinyl plank (LVT)

A slim plank or tile with a printed timber or stone look under a clear wear layer. Depending on the range it’s glued down or floated, and we confirm the method at the measure. Ranges include Terra Mater Resiplank Vinyl (Ardore 507, a 5mm plank with a 0.7mm wear layer, and Essence 307, a 3mm glue-down plank) and Airlay’s Oakwood, Alpine, Alpine Artisan and Fresh.

3mm or 5mm? We also supply 3mm vinyl planks, such as Resiplank Essence 307 and the 3mm version of Airlay Alpine, but for most homes we recommend 5mm. A thicker plank feels more solid underfoot and is more forgiving of small imperfections in the floor underneath, while a 3mm plank shows them more readily and needs an exceptionally smooth subfloor. We’re happy to talk it through at the measure.

Safety and commercial sheet vinyl

Wide sheets whose seams can be heat-welded, for commercial kitchens, healthcare and other commercial wet areas: Airlay Supersafe (R10, R11 and R12 slip ratings) and AquaSafe safety vinyl, plus commercial sheet vinyl such as Natural Selections Wood, Wood Impressions, Ultra Crystal and Marble Effects. It’s the floor most Australians call “lino”. It’s a commercial floor, so we don’t lay it in home laundries or bathrooms.

Vinyl plank or hybrid?

Both give a timber look and resist water, and both suit kitchens, laundries and powder rooms, but we don’t recommend either for a bathroom with a shower. Laminate (about $40/m²) costs less again but should stay away from water. Our hard flooring guide compares all of them.

Preparing the floor for vinyl

Preparation matters most with vinyl. A slim plank shows every bump and dip in the floor underneath, and glue-down vinyl and sheet vinyl need a smooth, flat, prepared subfloor.

• Concrete slabs: the slab should be moisture-tested first. The usual fixes are grinding high spots, filling cracks and dips, scraping off old adhesive and levelling; levelling compound needs time to cure.
• Doors: a new floor can sit higher than the old one, so some doors may need trimming. That’s quoted at the measure.
• Painting: do it first. We remove and refit the skirting, and because we don’t paint, your own painter touches it up afterwards.
• Furniture: our team can move it for $8/m². Pack electronics, valuables, fragile items and the contents of cabinets and drawers yourself.

Floor preparation is quoted at the measure, once we’ve seen the subfloor.

Taking up the old floor

• Old carpet and underlay: about $8/m² to take up and dispose of.
• Old carpet tiles: $15/m².
• Ceramic tiles, timber or old vinyl: quoted at the measure, because tiles on a mortar bed and layered vinyl are slower to lift than they look.

What vinyl installation includes

Vinyl plank

1. The old floor comes up, if removal is in your quote.
2. The floor is prepared as quoted.
3. The skirting comes off, unless you’ve chosen scotia.
4. The planks are laid: floated over an underlay or bedded in adhesive, depending on the range. The underlay or adhesive is included in the $28/m².
5. The skirting is refitted, or scotia fixed, and trims go in at the doorways.

Sheet vinyl, for commercial spaces

The subfloor is prepared smooth and flat, the sheets are glued down, and the seams can be heat-welded. We supply and install the vinyl: installation is $32/m², and we can work after hours or at weekends so you can keep trading.

Edges, removal, furniture moving and stairs are priced separately, and floor preparation, door trimming and trims are quoted at the measure. Floors laid with adhesive, or floors that need levelling, can mean a day or so out of those rooms; we give you a realistic timeframe at the measure.

Frequently asked questions