What a wet room asks of a floor
A floor in a kitchen or bathroom has to cope with spills, splashes and cleaning water, and in a bathroom it often has to cope with standing water. The question for each material is whether water can get below the surface. Two answers matter: whether the material itself is waterproof, and whether the joints are.
Spills, splashes and standing water
A kitchen mostly sees spills that you wipe up within minutes. A bathroom or wet room can see water that sits on the floor for hours. You should pick a floor for the worst water your room will see, not the average.
Seams, edges and drains
Water reaches the layer below a floor through seams, grout lines, room edges and gaps around pipes. A fitter's seal at each of those points matters as much as the material you choose.
Options and how each handles water
Ceramic and porcelain tile
MyJobQuote describes ceramic tile as durable and water- and stain-resistant, and porcelain as durable and low maintenance, but with grout that needs sealing. Tiled floors in wet areas also need a waterproof layer below. The same guide prices tanking for wet areas at £100 to £250 and backer board supplied and fitted at £30 to £55 per square metre. 91 Welsh businesses list floor tiling.
Sheet vinyl
MyJobQuote describes vinyl as water-resistant and non-porous, so stains and spills do not seep through. Sheet vinyl is a continuous roll, which means a room can be covered without plank joints.
LVT
LVT has a waterproof PVC core, but vinyl planks and tiles are less water-resistant than rolls because of the gaps between them. Tarkett notes that LVT installation is not waterproof, because water can pass through poorly sealed seams. The guide to LVT, laminate and vinyl covers the core and seam detail.
Laminate
MyJobQuote says you need waterproof laminate for a kitchen because laminate is susceptible to moisture penetration, and that non-waterproof laminate is prone to water damage. Suppliers advise against laminate in bathrooms.
Wood
MyJobQuote says engineered wood is water-resistant but spills should be mopped up quickly so moisture is not left standing. The guide describes solid wood as durable and easy to clean, but it can scratch and lose its shine. The engineered and solid wood guide explains the moisture difference.
Stone and concrete
The same guide says limestone is porous and needs sealing to make it waterproof, and marble can scratch and stain. The same guide describes polished concrete as durable but possibly slippery and cold underfoot, and the polished concrete and resin guide explains the slip question.
What each costs to supply
| Floor | Supply per m² (MyJobQuote, 9 Sep 2026) |
|---|---|
| Sheet vinyl | £7 to £15 |
| Vinyl tiles | £15 to £20 |
| Luxury vinyl | £20 to £30 |
| Laminate | £8 to £35 |
| Ceramic tile | £15 to £25 |
| Porcelain tile | £15 to £30 |
| Engineered wood | £25 to £65 |
| Solid wood | £35 to £75 |
Labour and time
The table shows supply-only figures. The guide puts an average kitchen floor at about two days of work and about £900 to lay, and says costs are higher in London and the South East. The labour and price guide adds fitting labour for each floor.
Labour against the average
MyJobQuote's contractor day rate of £150 to £200 over its two-day average gives £300 to £400 in labour, by arithmetic. Add the supply cost from the table to see how that compares with the guide's £900 average for laying a kitchen floor.
A rough cost for a 10m² kitchen
For a 10m² kitchen, the supply ranges above give £70 to £150 for sheet vinyl, £200 to £300 for luxury vinyl, £150 to £300 for porcelain and £250 to £650 for engineered wood, before labour, underlay and preparation. The sums are arithmetic from one guide's per-square-metre figures, not a quote.
How the average kitchen cost compares
MyJobQuote puts the average cost of laying a kitchen floor at about £900. The sum for a 12m² room of mid-range LVT in the buying guide is £736 to £1,086, so the guide's average sits inside a range you can calculate yourself.
Regional price effects
The kitchen guide says costs are higher in London and the South East. The MyJobQuote laminate guide puts Wales 10% to 15% below its national average, so you may find Welsh quotes at or below the figures on this page.
Extras on a kitchen floor
MyJobQuote's laminate guide prices skirting board installation at around £22 per metre, door trims at about £30 each and threshold strips at £5 to £15 each. Checkatrade prices moving furniture at £25 to £30 an hour. You should ask the fitter which of these lines are in the quote, because a kitchen has several doorways and a lot of furniture.
Choosing for each room
Kitchens
Tile, sheet vinyl and LVT suit a kitchen, and laminate only if the product is sold as waterproof. Ask the fitter how the cooker, dishwasher and sink edges will be sealed.
Bathrooms and wet rooms
Tile with tanking, or sheet vinyl, suits a wet room. Avoid standard laminate. Ask for the slip rating of any tile or vinyl you choose.
Utility rooms and boot rooms
Utility rooms take water, grit and detergent. Sheet vinyl and tile are the lower-risk choices, with sealed seams and grout.
Planning the job
Tile wastage and removal
MyJobQuote advises ordering about 10% more tiles than the exact area, and closer to 15% for diagonal or herringbone layouts, mosaics or rooms with many corners. Removing old floor tiles costs £8 to £15 per square metre, and £20 to £30 where the tiles are large format or the adhesive is stubborn. Skip hire is £150 to £400.
Who does the work: hourly rates
The kitchen guide lists typical hourly rates of £14 to £25 for a labourer, £18 to £30 for a tiler, £20 to £30 for a handyperson and £20 to £40 for a carpenter, with a contractor day rate of £150 to £200. A tiler is the specialist for tile, and a flooring fitter is the specialist for vinyl and laminate, so you should ask who will actually do your room.
Small jobs
The tiling guide says a small tiling job may be charged at a full day rate of around £150 to £200, so a tiny room can cost more per square metre than a large one.
Questions to ask the fitter
- Is the product waterproof, and where does the data sheet say so?
- How will seams, edges and grout be sealed?
- Does the room need tanking or a backer board, and is it in the quote?
- Will the subfloor be levelled first? The subfloor guide explains why that line matters.
The directory lists 74 vinyl, LVT and laminate fitters as well as tilers. Use the hiring guide to check them.
What this page does not cover
The material descriptions come from price-guide and manufacturer pages, not from lab tests. The page gives no slip-rating figures for domestic floors, and it does not cover wet-room tanking systems or underfloor heating under tile. Price guides sell leads to tradespeople, so treat their ranges as a sanity check and ask your fitter for the data sheet of any product you plan to buy. Only one guide checked gave a Wales row, and that row is for laminate.