When you’re looking for a new floor, you’ve got to consider your budget and make decisions based on what you can afford. So what are the cheapest flooring options? We’ve broken down the different flooring types to help you find the cheapest option for your tastes and requirements.
Wood Flooring
If you’re hoping for a wooden floor, but are on a budget, don’t despair. Wood flooring and wood imitation flooring comes in a huge range of different prices so you can get cheap wood flooring no matter your budget!
Cheapest Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring is usually cheaper than solid wood and is often the most popular option anyway - regardless of price - as it’s highly durable and more stable. It uses less of the expensive oak or walnut material, but is still made from real wood. This means it looks just like solid wood flooring, but without the same price tag. It really is the best way to get the cheapest, high quality wood flooring.
To get cheap engineered wood flooring, start by looking in a clearance sale. We have flooring from just £6.99 per square metre! Some other key factors that will keep the cost down are:
Thickness
A thinner floor will cost less than a thicker floor. The thinnest variety of engineered wood flooring is 10mm and it goes right up to 22mm. Choosing one of our thinner varieties won’t give you as much sound and heat insulation, or as much potential for resanding and refinishing, but it will help to keep the cost down.
Wood Species
There are two options of wood species for engineered wood flooring, oak and walnut. Oak, being more widespread, is the cheaper option. It doesn’t have the same deep and rich colouring as walnut, but it does still look beautiful!
Finish
An unfinished engineered wood floor is definitely a possibility if you’re looking to keep the cost down. As it’s undergone less manual labour, it’s often cheaper than finished flooring. However, you will have to finish the floor yourself. This can be a fantastic way to keep cost down, but does require more work on your part and so isn’t for everyone.
Wood Imitation Flooring
If engineered wood flooring is still out of your budget range, laminate flooring can often be even cheaper. It doesn’t look as high quality as engineered wood flooring; the top layer is not real wood, but a laminated sheet so doesn’t have the same variations in pattern, grain and design that real wood flooring showcases. However, it can help to keep the cost down.
You can also find stone-imitation laminate if you’re looking for a different look!
Tiles
If you’re looking for flooring for your bathroom or kitchen, you might be considering tiles. Tiles often look great, but can be an expensive choice. They’re also more susceptible to damage: ceramic tiles can crack if something is dropped onto them. The other option, real stone tiles, are very expensive.
For kitchens, where carpets aren’t an option, engineered wood flooring works really well. It’s a cheaper option than stone, looks higher quality and is more durable than laminate. It’s moisture resistant so can cope with the ever changing conditions of a kitchen!
Carpets
Carpets don’t work for every room in the house, but they have a big range of different prices available. Thin carpets made from synthetic materials are the cheapest -- in contrast to the higher end which includes thick, real wool carpets that provide the greatest insulation.
You do get what you pay for when it comes to carpets, so if you’re on a budget, a cheap alternative flooring option, such as engineered wood or laminate, can give a higher quality appearance and finish for the same price.
Extra Tip for Cheap Flooring!
Another tip to find the cheapest flooring options is to buy in bulk. Often flooring companies, including Flooring 365, will offer discounted prices according to the amount you buy. If you’re looking to floor your whole house, it’ll be more cost effective to get the same flooring for every area so you can buy more and get the discounts!
