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What changes the cost of restoring wooden floors?
In Cheshire, restoring a wooden floor means working on the boards already there: how worn they are, what is nailed into them, and which finish you want at the end. No price is printed for sanding or coating a room.
Last reviewed:Restoring the floor you already have
In Cheshire, restoration means the boards stay. Someone punches or sets the nails, sands the surface, repairs pieces that will not take a finish, and coats what remains. It is the job people describe when a painted softwood floor in a bedroom, or a varnished parquet in a front room, has gone dull, patchy or grey in the traffic lines.
Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach are places to name on the enquiry. They are not a reason to expect one price. A single empty room with a clear softwood floor is a different visit from a furnished house with bitumen adhesive under an old tile, or from a hall that runs into a winding stair. No day rate is printed and no price per room is printed.
Look at the boards before you ask for sanding
A sander cannot invent thickness that has already been sanded away. If the tongues are proud, the nails are standing, or you can see grooves from an earlier machine, say so. Ask the restorer to tell you whether another sand is sensible. If they need to lift a board to see the depth left, that is a sensible pause, not a trick.
Walk the room and note:
- paint, varnish, wax or a factory lacquer, if you know which
- carpet gripper, staples and underlay foam stuck to the timber
- black adhesive from old tiles or parquet
- gaps between boards, and whether you want them left, filled, or only the worst ones filled
- loose boards, squeaks, and any patch that feels soft
- whether the stair treads are included or the job stops at the landing nosing
- pets, a baby, or someone who cannot leave the house while dust is in the air
Filling every gap is its own decision. A flexible filler and a hard stopper behave differently when the heating is on. Ask which filler they use and whether they fill before the last sanding pass. Do not assume gaps disappear.
On a ground floor, ventilation still matters if any board is lifted. The Planning Portal says not to block under-floor airbricks, because floorboards rot without that airflow [S1]. A restoration that lifts boards to repair a squeak should put them back without sealing the void off from those bricks.
When the job stops being a sanding visit
Sanding a sound deck is maintenance of a floor you are keeping. The Planning Portal says planning permission is not generally required to replace a floor or a ceiling, and that a listed building should be discussed with the local planning authority [S2]. If your house is listed, sanding, staining or replacing sections can be more than decoration. Ask the authority before the first cut. Do not wait until the finish colour is chosen.
If the restorer finds that large areas of the deck have to come out, the job has changed. Renovation of more than 25 per cent of a solid or suspended floor, involving replacement of screed or the timber floor deck, has to meet the standards in the Approved Documents [S3]. That is a building regulations question, not a "while we're here" extra. GOV.UK says that if you cannot decide whether approval is needed, check with a building control body [S4]. You do not arrange that approval yourself when a competent person scheme covers the work [S4]. A floor sander's visit is not that scheme. If the deck is being rebuilt, ask who is responsible for compliance.
Soft timber, a musty void or a board that breaks underfoot is rot or a leak. Coating it traps the problem. Stop and find the cause. A plumber may be needed before any finish goes on. Do not cut joists, and do not treat rot with a decorative coat.
Dust, furniture and the finish
The thing that surprises people is the house, not the machine. Sanding makes dust even with extraction. Ask where the machine is plugged in, whether windows can be open, and which rooms are sealed off. Ask who moves the furniture out and back. A quote that assumes an empty room is not a quote for a lived-in one.
Nail heads must be set below the surface or they tear the abrasive and leave silver arcs. Ask if punching nails is included. Old square nails in a historic floor may be something you want left. Say so.
The finish is a product choice: an oil that can be patched, a lacquer that is harder and shows a lap if you try to patch it, or a stain then a coat. Ask for the product name, the number of coats, and the time before socks, rugs and furniture. Those times are not printed. They belong on the tin and in the quote. Ask what happens if a coat fails because the floor was damp or was walked on early. That is a defect conversation, and it should be agreed before you pay.
Stairs, if included, are slower than a flat room because the machine cannot run the same way. A nosing is easy to round off. Ask if treads are in the price, and whether the risers are painted by them or by you.
Colour is a sample question. A wet patch of the intended product on a hidden board, or on an offcut, tells you more than a chart. Ask for that sample if the colour matters. Do not expect the whole floor to match a photograph from another house.
Lines a restoration quote should separate
| Topic | What you want written | Why it changes the visit |
|---|---|---|
| Rooms and metres, as a description | Which rooms, and whether stairs are in | A hall plus stairs is not "one room" |
| Repairs before sanding | Loose boards, splits, and a limit on how many pieces are replaced before the price is revisited | Hidden damage is common under carpet |
| Nails and staples | Who sets them, and what is left in | Missed metal ruins the surface |
| Gaps | Fill all, fill some, or leave | Filler is labour and it can fail if the wrong type is used |
| Coats and product | Name, number of coats, sheen | An oil and a lacquer are different aftercare |
| Furniture and coverings | Who lifts carpet and who moves beds | An occupied house takes longer |
| Dust and protection | Stairs, sockets, and rooms next door | You may be living with the job |
| VAT and validity | Included or not, and a date on the price | Otherwise the totals do not compare [S5] |
Citizens Advice suggests written quotes from at least three traders before you choose, and says a price much lower than the others may mean the work is not the same [S6]. Some traders charge to come and quote, so ask first [S6]. If they offer a day rate instead of a fixed total, Citizens Advice warns the work can be stretched, and suggests writing down how many days and how many hours count as a day [S6].
A deposit, if timber repairs mean materials in advance, should stay within what you can accept. Citizens Advice says that where a deposit cannot be avoided, do not agree to more than 25 per cent, and take a receipt [S6]. Ask to see insurance that still runs when the coating is being done [S6].
A business registers for VAT once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S5]. A one-person restorer may be under that. Ask, and get the answer on the quote.
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- Sand and lacquer two empty bedrooms, punch nails, fill the worst gaps, customer has already lifted the carpet.
- Refinish a hall and landing around furniture that must stay in the house overnight, oil rather than lacquer, stairs not included.
- Assess a softwood ground floor with a soft patch near the front wall, and do not coat it if the boards are unsound.
Anyone in the UK can post a job or register a business. Name the town so the visit is real. A terrace in Crewe with a void under the front room is a ventilation question [S1]. A flat in Nantwich with concrete under the parquet is not. Sandbach is another postcode to put on the form, not a different sanding method.
Ask for restoration quotes
Describe the rooms and the finish you want. Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Posting a job is not open yet
Questions about restoring floors
Is restoration the same as a new wood floor?
No. Restoration keeps the boards, repairs what has failed, and puts a finish back. A new floor brings a different product into the room. If the boards are too thin, too holed or rotten, the restorer should say the room cannot be sanded and should stop, rather than pricing a replacement as if it were included.
Will sanding remove stains and old paint?
Sanding removes a thin layer of timber. Deep black stains, pet marks and some old adhesives can survive. Ask the restorer to look before quoting, and to say which marks they expect to remain. A promise that every mark will vanish is not supported.
Do I need consent to sand a floor?
The Planning Portal says planning permission is not generally required to replace a floor or ceiling, and a listed building should be raised with the local planning authority. Sanding is not a replacement, but in a listed house the floor surface can still matter. Ask before a machine is booked.
What if more than a small area of deck is replaced?
The Planning Portal says renovation of more than 25 per cent of a solid or suspended floor, where screed or the timber deck is replaced, has to meet Approved Document standards. A sanding job that turns into a new deck across most of the room has crossed into that work. Ask building control before the boards come out.
How do I compare restoration quotes?
Citizens Advice says a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess. Ask each restorer for the grit sequence they intend, the product they will coat with, how many coats, and whether furniture moving and nail punching are included. Get that from more than one firm, in writing.
Does QuoteZila check restorers?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
Related reading
- Flooring fitters
- Carpenters if boards need splicing before any finish
- Fencing cost for another guide on reading a trade quote
- Wooden flooring when you are buying a new floor rather than keeping this one
- Filler for floorboard gaps when the only task is a draught gap
- All services
Part of Cost guides. All services
Related trades
Cost guides
Related pages
- Wooden flooring: what changes the price. Wooden flooring in Cheshire depends on the product, the subfloor and the finish. This guide prints no metre price. It shows what to put in a written quote.
- Carpet Calculator: Working Out What You Need. A step-by-step way to work out how much carpet, underlay and gripper a room needs, and why roll width, joins and pile direction move the quote. No price shown.
- Garage Door Replacement: What Affects Cost. Up-and-over, roller, sectional or side-hinged: what changes a garage door replacement quote in Cheshire, from size and insulation to motors, wiring and removal.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila terms.
- S1: Floor insulation, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/energy-saving/floor-insulation/
- S2: Planning permission: ceilings and floors, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/ceilings-and-floors/planning-permission/
- S3: Building regulations: floor insulation, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/insulation/building-regulations-floor-insulation
- S4: When you need building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
- S5: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S6: Before you get building work done, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-27. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/