Buyer's guide
Twenty years of measures, condensed. Work through it in order and the shortlist writes itself — no showroom, no pressure, and nothing here that we wouldn't tell you across the counter.
Step one
Almost every flooring regret we're called out to began the same way — someone fell for a look, then found out afterwards it doesn't belong in that room. Walk the house first.
Warmth underfoot and quiet are worth more in a bedroom than hardness is. Laminate is the sensible swap when allergies or pets rule carpet out.
Vinylnot timber, laminate, carpet
Sheet vinyl welds seamless and coves up the wall, which is the standard for a genuinely wet room. Some hybrid ranges are rated for bathrooms and some are not, so we check the specific product and the wet-area requirements before recommending one.
Non-slip, quiet and forgiving underfoot — which is why stairs are still carpet's home ground even in a hard-floor house.
Step two
This is the part of the measure that changes the answer most often, and the part people are most tempted to answer aspirationally.
Claws and accidents are two different problems and you need a floor that survives both. Hybrid and vinyl are waterproof and wipe clean; laminate's surface is the hardest to scratch but it will not forgive standing water.
Spills stop being occasional and become weekly. A waterproof core turns a panic into a paper towel, and carpet on the stairs is worth keeping for exactly the reason you would expect.
Nothing absorbs sound like carpet — it is still the default for bedrooms, upstairs rooms and strata common areas. If it has to be a hard floor, many hybrid ranges come with acoustic underlay already attached. That is not the same as meeting your building's rules, though: strata committees set their own requirement and we check the specific range against it before anything is ordered.
Hybrid, laminate and vinyl are a sweep and a mop. Timber wants felt pads and a well-wrung mop. Carpet wants regular vacuuming and a professional clean now and then.
Engineered timber is the one most often chosen for premium renovations and long-term homes, and quality boards can be re-sanded years later instead of replaced. If you are staying and life is busy, the floor that survives the next ten years matters more than the one that photographs best.
Leans toTimber
Step three
What each one actually is, what it's best at, and — the bit the manufacturer's brochure leaves out — where it doesn't suit.
Premium · where it sits in our range
The timber look that shrugs off real life
Premium+ · where it sits in our range
Real timber beauty, engineered for stability
Mid-range · where it sits in our range
Warmth and comfort, fitted wall to wall
Mid-range · where it sits in our range
Hard-wearing good looks, sensible budget
Mid-range · where it sits in our range
Seamless, waterproof, built for hard work
At a glance
Enough to shortlist. When you're down to two and want them row by row, the full comparison is a click away.
| Floor | Best at | Watch out for | Rooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Waterproof — kitchens and laundries included. | It is a timber look, not timber — and in a showpiece room timber still presents better. | Whole-home runs, Kitchens and living |
| Timber | A genuine hardwood wear layer. | Not the most scratch-proof surface we sell, and not for wet areas. | Living and dining, Hallways and entries |
| Carpet | Absorbs sound rather than reflecting it. Nothing else comes close. | Wrong for wet areas, and a harder ask in homes with allergy concerns or heavy pet traffic. | Bedrooms, Living and media rooms |
| Laminate | Among the most scratch-resistant surfaces in flooring. | Prolonged moisture swells the core. For kitchens and laundries we recommend hybrid or vinyl. | Bedrooms and living, Rentals and investments |
| Vinyl | Sheet vinyl welds seamless and coved — the wet-area standard. | In a premium living space, timber or hybrid usually presents better. | Kitchens, laundries, bathrooms, Medical and aged care |
Step four
We don't publish prices, because the honest number depends on your rooms and what's under them. What we can tell you is exactly which levers move it — so you can read a quote properly.
This is the single biggest reason two quotes for the same floor differ. A slab that needs grinding or levelling is work that has to happen before a single board goes down — and a quote that leaves it out is not cheaper, it is incomplete.
More on thisTaking up the old floor, getting it off site and dealing with what is under it. Ask whether it is included, because it is the line most often left out of the number you are comparing.
More on thisHerringbone and chevron take considerably longer to lay than a straight board, and every doorway, hearth and transition is a cut and a trim. Two rooms of the same area are not the same job.
A flight of stairs is slow, precise work no matter what covering goes on it, and it is priced separately from the floors it joins. Nosings and runners are their own decisions.
More on thisWithin every category there is a spread — wear layer, backing, fibre, board thickness. This is the part you can actually steer, and where a specialist saves you more than they cost.
Both are fine and we do both. Just make sure you are comparing like with like — a supply-only price against a supplied-and-installed one is not a comparison.
If you want the longer version of this, we wrote it up properly — including the four questions worth asking before you sign anything.
Take it with you
Everything on this page in one document you can read on the couch, send to whoever you're renovating with, or bring to the measure with notes on it.
Good questions
Start with the rooms, not the product. Work out which rooms get wet, which need to stay quiet and which take the most traffic, and the shortlist writes itself. Almost every regret we see came from choosing a look first and finding out afterwards that it does not belong in that room.
Often yes, and it is the single easiest way to make a home feel bigger. Hybrid is usually the floor that manages it, because it is the one that can go from the living room into the kitchen without changing. Bedrooms and stairs are where people most often break the run and go back to carpet.
Most Sydney homes are done inside a week from the day we start, and a single-room recarpet is usually a day. The part people underestimate is what happens before: subfloor preparation and levelling can add days, which is why we would rather find it at the measure than on the morning of the install.
Not on your own. Uplift of the old floor, disposal and help with furniture can all be built into the quote — tell us what you need at the free measure so it is in the number rather than a surprise on the day.
You can, and we do supply-only. Be aware that it splits the accountability: if the floor cups or a board lifts, the supplier and the installer each point at the other. When we supply and install, there is one company to call.
Four things, in writing: whether subfloor preparation is included, whether uplift and disposal are included, the exact range and colour rather than a category, and what happens if the subfloor turns out to need more work than expected. A quote that answers those four is comparable to another one that does.
Sydney flooring specialists · 20+ years
Tell us about your rooms. For suitable projects across Sydney we offer a free measure & quote — samples at your place, an assessment of the space and the floor underneath, and a clear quotation outlining the proposed work, with no obligation to proceed.
