The Cost of Replacing Kitchen Flooring

Last updated 4th June, 2025

Want to know more about replacing a kitchen floor?

This article is a comprehensive guide for kitchen floor replacement. Here you can find a breakdown of cheap kitchen flooring, kitchen floor fitters and how to replace a kitchen floor yourself.

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The Cost Of Replacing Kitchen Flooring

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How Much Does a New Kitchen Floor Cost?

The average flooring specialist will usually charge around £100 to £150 per day to lay a new kitch floor such as laminate or vinyl flooring.

Although you do have multiple options when replacing your kitchen flooring, you can choose from tiles, lino, vinyl, laminate, hardwood, engineered wood, carpet, concrete and resin.

The average material cost to replace your kitchen flooring will depend on the quality of materials you would like to use and the size of your kitchen and the style. Naturally, a larger kitchen will require more materials and take longer to fit. Although a good starting estimate is anything from £20 to £70 per m2

Types of flooring such as laminate can take up to 1-2 days to complete as the job is of higher difficulty when cutting the laminate to fit perfectly.

In order to get accurate pricing information for replacing kitchen flooring, we compared numerous quotes from across the UK including estimates from small and large businesses. However, you should always get quotes from local tradesmen yourself as prices will always vary depending on the specific job.

Below are some estimated costs of supplying & fitting kitchen flooring:

Type of Flooring Cost per m 2 Duration
Tiles £20-£30 1 day
Laminate £20-£30 1-2 days
Lino/Vinyl £15-£25 2-3 hours
Concrete/Resin £25-£30 1-3 days
Solid Wooden Flooring £40-£70 1-2 days


Cost Breakdown

Individual costs of fitting laminate flooring in a medium sized kitchen (20 m2) - Total Cost: £500

60 %

Materials
£300

30 %

Tradesmen
£150

10 %

Waste Removal
£50

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Cost Affecting Factors of Replacing a Kitchen Floor

The kitchen is usually one of the most used rooms in a typical house so it's important to have space which is both practical and stylish. When it comes to choosing kitchen flooring, there is a lot to consider, but the most obvious thing has to be that you need a floor that is easy to clean.

The floor should also be resistant to stains and water damage. But at the same time, the style has to match the interior design. There are a number of different types of popular kitchen flooring, but carpet is not one of them!

Carpeting is not recommended for kitchens due to its tendency to absorb spills and retain stains. Instead, hard-wearing materials are more suitable, such as laminate and vinyl.

However, whichever flooring you choose will most certainly impact the cost - for example even when looking into the cost of wooden flooring, the prices will differ between the materials and style of finish.

It also goes without saying, the size of your kitchen will play a huge part in the labour and installation costs, and labour fees can also vary depending whereabouts in the country you are. London is known for being more expensive, largely due to the additional overheads and higher cost of living.

What Does Replacing Kitchen Flooring Entail?

The actual process of replacing a kitchen floor will depend on what type of flooring you currently have and what type of flooring you are installing.

Typically older kitchens may have lino or vinyl flooring which will need to be removed first if not in a good condition. But if the old flooring is still in reasonable condition and just looks a little tired or old-fashioned, then you can lay new vinyl flooring tiles or laminate flooring directly on top without removing the old flooring.

If the kitchen has carpet flooring, which is unusual, this will definitely need removing before new flooring can be installed.

If laying new vinyl tiles over old vinyl or lino, then you need to thoroughly clean the old floor first to make sure the adhesive has a good surface and to prevent any mould.

There is no need to lay new flooring wall to wall under the kitchen cabinets, however, you should remove any free-standing appliances and at least lay the flooring in a way that hides any visual gaps.

This also makes it much neater and easier to pull those appliances out in the future, should you need to replace them or simply want to get in behind them for a good clean.

Kitchen flooring is often replaced as part of a kitchen renovation project where new cabinets and/or appliances are being fitted. But the flooring can also be done in conjunction with a smaller refurbishment where just the cabinet doors and drawer fronts are replaced without the need for unnecessary costings. New cabinet doors plus new flooring will completely transform the look of any kitchen.

Types of Kitchen Flooring

Below we take a look at the pros and cons of each of the various options for your new kitchen flooring.

Tile Kitchen Flooring

Pros

  • ✔ Extremely durable and long-lasting
  • ✔ Water-resistant and stain-resistant
  • ✔ Wide variety of styles, colours, and finishes
  • ✔ Compatible with underfloor heating

Cons

  • ✖ Cold and hard underfoot
  • ✖ Grout can discolour or stain over time
  • ✖ Prone to cracking or chipping if heavy items are dropped
  • ✖ Professional installation often required

Laminate Kitchen Flooring

Pros

  • ✔ Cost-effective and widely available
  • ✔ Easy to install, especially for DIY projects
  • ✔ Hard-wearing and scratch-resistant
  • ✔ Available in realistic wood and tile finishes

Cons

  • ✖ Not as water-resistant, spills must be cleaned quickly
  • ✖ Can warp or expand if water seeps into joints
  • ✖ Harder underfoot than vinyl or cushioned flooring
  • ✖ Requires a smooth, even subflooring for best results

Vinyl Kitchen Flooring

Pros

  • ✔ Water-resistant and easy to wipe clean
  • ✔ Affordable compared to other options
  • ✔ Available in a wide variety of styles and finishes
  • ✔ Soft underfoot and quiet to walk on

Cons

  • ✖ Easily damaged by sharp objects or heavy furniture
  • ✖ Less durable than tiles or hardwood in the long-term
  • ✖ Potential to highlight subfloor imperfections if surface isn't even
  • ✖ Not as environmentally friendly as other materials

Solid Wooden Kitchen Flooring

Pros

  • ✔ Warm, timeless and natural look
  • ✔ Can be sanded and refinished multiple times
  • ✔ Adds value and aesthetic appeal to a home
  • ✔ More comfortable underfoot than tile or concrete

Cons

  • ✖ Susceptible to water damage
  • ✖ Requires regular maintenance and sealing
  • ✖ Higher upfront cost
  • ✖ Not ideal for kitchens with high moisture exposure

Concrete/Resin Kitchen Flooring

Pros

  • ✔ Modern, seamless appearance
  • ✔ Highly durable and long-lasting
  • ✔ Easy to clean with no grout lines
  • ✔ Suitable for underfloor heating

Cons

  • ✖ Cold and hard without heating
  • ✖ Requires sealing to prevent stains
  • ✖ Slippery if not finished correctly
  • ✖ More expensive and labour-intensive to install

FAQs

To clean laminate or vinyl flooring, just vacuum or sweep it as you would any other floor. For stubborn dirt, you can use a damp cloth but be careful if using a mop as excessive water can damage the flooring. Clean up any liquid spills straight away with an absorbent cloth to avoid any moisture getting underneath the floor. You should also be careful with detergents or floor cleaning products, always check the instructions to make sure cleaning products are safe to use for your flooring type.
Underfloor heating can be used for most types of laminate flooring, however, the type of flooring will have an impact on the heating efficiency. Solid wood is better suited to underfloor heating but is not great for kitchens. Sometimes choosing the kind of underlay will improve matters as you can get underlay that is designed to conduct rather than absorb heat.
Carpet underlay is not suitable for laying laminate or vinyl over as it tends to have too much give so will put undue stress on the flooring joints and cause them to separate over time.
For wood, laminate and vinyl floors, the answer is no!
The floor you choose for the kitchen has to be durable as kitchens are one of the most-used rooms in the home, plus there is a high risk of spills and stains, so practicality is another concern. Laminate and vinyl flooring are the most popular, but there are various tile options including natural stone which look great but are very expensive.
This really depends on your experience with flooring. If you don't have much practical experience, then unless you are a DIY expert, you're probably best leaving the flooring to the professionals. That being said, if you are a competent DIY enthusiast, then installing vinyl tile flooring should not be too difficult.