Delivery
Delivered to Manchester
Delivery times and options depend on the delivery postcode. See Delivery & Returns for the applicable estimate.
Also nearby: Stockport, Oldham, Bury, Rochdale
Speak to our team 020 3858 0353
Greater Manchester · flooring delivered
Flooring in Manchester
Oak and vinyl for a renting city
What Manchester housing asks of a floor: a big rented sector, flats above other people's ceilings, pre-1940 homes and newer homes on screeds.
Delivered to Manchester: 13 postcode districts
Start here · Manchester in one figure
Before you choose a floor in Manchester
35.4%
rent privately
2nd highest of 151 towns
ONS, Census 2021, 2021-03-21 · all local facts →35.4% of Manchester households rent privately, against 20.3% across England and Wales: the 2nd highest share of the 151 towns on our list.
Another 27.3% rent from a council or housing association, and only 36.3% own the home they live in, 150th of 151. So the person who decides what goes on a Manchester floor is often not the person who walks on it every day. That is not a detail. A landlord chooses for a run of tenancies, a housing association for a whole stock of homes, an owner for one household, and each of those choices goes wrong in its own way.
Read the rest of this page with that in mind: flats stacked above other people's ceilings, a large share of homes built before 1940, newer homes on screeds, and rain and grit at the front door.
Read the 8 chapters on Manchester homes See all 18 local facts
At a glance
Manchester at a glance
Homes in Manchester
8 chapters on Manchester homes and what they ask of a floor · about 5 min read
01/ 08
- 35.4%rent privately
- 27.3%rent socially
Landlord, association or owner: three ways a Manchester floor gets chosen
A floor laid for yourself is judged by whether you like living on it. A floor laid in a let is judged later, at the end of a tenancy, when a scratched surface, a lifted edge or a stained seam becomes an argument about the deposit or a replacement. With 35.4% of households renting privately, a large part of the city's flooring is specified on that second basis, and the mistakes take years to show.
The 27.3% of households in council or housing association homes, 14th highest of 151 towns, bring a third kind of decision. Here, as in any let, the floor has to cope with leaks nobody reports straight away: a washing machine hose that weeps, a shower tray that overflows on a Saturday night. A covering whose material takes on no water, laid with sealed edges, turns that leak into a drying job. One that soaks it up turns it into a replacement and an empty home while the work is done.
Owners are outnumbered by renters here. Just 36.3% of Manchester households own their home, outright or with a mortgage, against 61.6% in England and Wales. If you are one of them, you are free to choose for comfort, colour and the way you use each room, not for the next tenant.
02/ 08
- 29.3%in a purpose-built flat
- 6.4%in a converted flat
When your floor is somebody else's ceiling
29.3% of households here live in a purpose-built block of flats or tenement, 14th highest of 151 towns and well above the 16.7% for England and Wales. The separating floor in a purpose-built block has to meet stricter airborne and impact sound figures than the floor between flats made by converting a house. In practice the underlay, and how the new floor is fixed, is decided by those figures and by the lease as much as by your taste.
A further 6.4% of households live in a flat in a converted or shared house or another converted building, against 4.2% nationally. In those flats the floor between you and the people below may be a concrete slab or the original timber joists, and the same covering behaves differently on each. Find out which one you have before you choose an underlay.
Detached houses are scarce: 5.0% of households, 149th of 151 towns, against 23.2% in England and Wales. That matters more than it sounds. In a detached house, echo inside a room is a matter of rugs and furniture. In a flat, the impact figure of the underlay is about the room below, and that is the figure your neighbours will judge you by.
03/ 08
Buying a flat here? Read the lease before the samples
Flats are not only rented in Manchester; they also make up a share of sales few places match. 40.9% of residential sales in 2025 were flats or maisonettes, 5th highest of 133 towns, against 16.3% across England and Wales.
Leases of flats commonly carry a covenant about floor coverings. Some require carpet; others need the freeholder's consent before a hard floor goes down. If you have just bought, find that clause before you order samples. It decides whether oak, laminate or vinyl is open to you at all, and what has to go underneath it.
04/ 08
- 25.3%built before 1919
- 10.4%built 1919 to 1929
Before 1940: timber boards over a ventilated void
45.3% of Manchester's dwellings were built before 1940, 23rd highest of 141 towns. The decade after the First World War stands out: homes from 1919 to 1929 make up 10.4% of the stock, 8th highest of 141 towns, against 4.8% nationally. 25.3% are older still, built before 1919.
Houses of these ages often have a ground floor of timber boards on joists over a ventilated void rather than a slab. That void is the point. Air moving under the floor keeps the timber dry, and the floor stays sound for as long as the airbricks outside stay clear. Before anything new goes down, check that they are open and that the space below is dry.
These figures count homes by age band from the Valuation Office Agency; they are not a survey of what lies under each floor. Lift a board or look through an airbrick before you plan, because an older house can have a later solid floor in its kitchen or hall.
05/ 08
- 6.4%in a converted flat
- 1.5%built 1945 to 1954
Post-war solid floors and bungalows: the exceptions
Some periods are thin on the ground. Homes from 1945 to 1954 are 1.5% of the stock, 139th of 141 towns, against 6.4% nationally. They still deserve care, because a solid floor laid in those years may have no damp-proof membrane at all, and a wood floor cannot go over it until you know.
Bungalows are rarer still: 0.9% of dwellings, against 9.2% in England and Wales. In a bungalow every floor is a ground floor, so the damp-proof membrane decides what may be laid in every room. In Manchester that same question comes up on the ground floors of houses and of ground-floor flats instead.
06/ 08
- 16.5%built 2009 or later
Manchester homes from 2009 onwards, and the screed under each
16.5% of Manchester dwellings were built in 2009 or later, 19th highest of 141 towns, against 11.8% across England and Wales. Over the twelve months to March 2026 the council area completed 4.5 new homes per 1,000 existing dwellings, below the England figure of 5.5 per 1,000 dwellings.
A new home usually means a new screed, and a new screed looks finished long before it is. It is flat and pale, it takes a footprint without marking, and it can still be the wettest thing in the building. When a floor fails in a new home, the usual cause is a covering laid on a screed that looked dry and was not. Ask for the screed's moisture reading, and lay nothing until it is in range.
07/ 08
- 21.0days with 10 mm of rain or more
- 5.7January mean
Rain at the door, mild Januarys and water from outside
The town centre sees 21.0 days a year with ten millimetres of rain or more, against a median of 17.8 days a year for the 151 towns. Rain and grit reach the floor at the front door, so the hall floor meets them before any other room does.
Water can also arrive from outside the house. 19.0% of homes across the council area are in areas at high, medium or low risk of surface water flooding, 16th highest of 135 towns, against 14.3% in England. If yours is one of them, keep two things apart: a covering whose material does not absorb water, and an installation that keeps water out. A plank listed as waterproof still lets water through an open joint to the subfloor.
Winters are mild. The mean daily temperature in January is 5.7 °C in the town centre, against a median of 4.8 °C for the 151 towns. The heating still runs for months, and heated air is dry: wood floors give up moisture over winter, fine gaps can open at the joints, and they close again as summer brings the moisture back. Seeing that in February is normal, not a fault.
08/ 08
Few large homes, many rooms with different jobs
Large homes are rare in Manchester: 7.3% of dwellings have four or more bedrooms, 138th of 141 towns, against 16.1% in England and Wales. Even in a smaller home the rooms are not the same job. A hall takes grit and wet shoes, a bedroom takes little, and one specification throughout over-specifies one and under-specifies the other.
Floor by floor
Nineteen floors, set against Manchester's tenancies and housing
19 floors, rooms and needs, each with a note written for Manchester homes. Pick one to read it.
Floor types
Floor typeManchester
Engineered Wood
Where a Manchester flat sits on a concrete slab, engineered boards are a practical way to have real oak underfoot.
Floor typeManchester
Solid Wood
Solid oak suits the boarded ground floor of a pre-1940 house, laid once the void below is dry and ventilated.
Floor typeManchester
Parquet
Parquet blocks suit a period room with a sound, level subfloor, and need a moisture check first wherever the floor is solid.
Floor typeManchester
Laminate
Laminate is a sensible choice for a let when its abrasion class is chosen room by room rather than one grade for the whole flat.
Floor typeManchester
LVT Vinyl
Vinyl planks and tiles cope with the kitchens and bathrooms of rented flats, where spills and unreported leaks come with the tenancy.
Floor typeManchester
SPC Rigid Vinyl
A rigid core floor fits flats where the covering must not take on water and the floor beneath is a slab.
Rooms
RoomManchester
Hallway
The hall is where rain and grit meet the floor first, so it needs the hardest-wearing floor in the house and a mat at the door.
RoomManchester
Kitchen
A kitchen in a rented flat needs a floor that can take a leaking appliance, because nobody may notice it for days.
RoomManchester
Living Room
In a Manchester flat the living room floor is what the neighbour below hears, so choose the underlay with its impact figure in mind.
RoomManchester
Bedroom
Bedrooms take the least wear in the home, so a softer finish or a lower wear class is enough there.
RoomManchester
Bathroom
A bathroom above someone else's ceiling needs a covering that takes on no water and edges that stop it reaching the floor below.
RoomManchester
Utility Room
A utility room holds the washing machine, so its floor should take on no water and keep a leak on the surface.
RoomManchester
Conservatory
Mild winters spare a conservatory some cold, but glass rooms still swing in temperature, so choose a floor sold for conservatories.
Patterns & needs
Pattern or needManchester
Herringbone
A herringbone pattern gives a hall or front room in an older house its own character, and in a flat it goes over the underlay the lease asks for.
Pattern or needManchester
Chevron
Chevron suits an open-plan flat where one pattern runs from the door to the window, as long as the underlay meets the block's sound rules.
Pattern or needManchester
Waterproof
If your home is in an area at risk of surface water flooding, look at floors listed as waterproof and at how their joints and edges are sealed.
Pattern or needManchester
Underfloor Heating
In new blocks with heating in the screed, pick a floor suitable for underfloor heating and lay it only after the screed has dried.
Pattern or needManchester
Pet-Friendly
Where a dog shares a flat or a let, a pet-friendly floor has to cope with wet paws at the door and give the dog a surface it can walk on.
Pattern or needManchester
Grey
Grey is a neutral choice for a let, where the next tenant's furniture and colours are unknown.
Bestsellers
Popular floors, delivered to Manchester
Knightsbridge Chevron Dark Brown Oak Wood Flooring 14 x 90 x 510 (mm)
£52.00 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99
Durham Herringbone Light Oak Wood Flooring 20 x 80 x 350 (mm)
Special offer £42.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99
Oxford Herringbone Unfinished Oak Wood Flooring 14 x 90 x 450 (mm)
£39.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99Cambridge Herringbone AB Prime Unfinished Oak Wood Flooring 18 x 90 x 400 (mm)
£52.00 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.9912mm Leicester Oak Laminate Herringbone Flooring
£22.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.9912mm York Oak Laminate Herringbone Flooring
£22.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99
12mm Whitby Oak Laminate Herringbone Flooring
£22.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.9912mm Durham Oak Laminate Herringbone Flooring
£22.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99
Night Lux Matt Porcelain Floor Tile 600 x 1200 (mm)
£42.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99
Taj Mahal Pearl Polished Porcelain Floor Tile 600 x 1200 (mm)
£42.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99Taj Mahal Cappuccino Polished Porcelain Floor Tile 600 x 1200 (mm)
£42.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99
Alexandria Cream Polished Porcelain Floor Tile 600 x 1200 (mm)
£42.50 / m²Trade price available – log in or apply
+ Sample · £1.99Reviews
Trusted by homeowners across the UK
★★★★★4.9/5 (90)Google
Trustpilot
Reviews written by our customers on Trustpilot.
Read all reviews on TrustpilotGoogle
Reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Read all reviews on GoogleAsk us first
Call 020 3858 0353, Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, or send a photo of the room to info@homesandfloors.com.
Contact us
Questions
Questions about flooring in Manchester
What should a Manchester landlord look for in a floor for a let?
Start from what goes wrong in lets: leaks nobody reports, furniture dragged out at the end of a tenancy, and a floor that has to look the same for the next people. With 35.4% of households renting privately, these are everyday problems here. A covering whose material takes on no water, with sealed edges at the kitchen and bathroom, turns a leak into a drying job.
Does a flat in a Manchester block need a particular underlay?
Usually the building decides more than you do. 29.3% of households here live in a purpose-built block, where the floor between flats must meet stricter airborne and impact sound figures than in a converted house. Read the lease and any rules from the managing agent first, then choose an underlay whose impact figure is stated.
Is the ground floor of a pre-1940 Manchester house likely to be timber?
Often, yes. 45.3% of Manchester dwellings were built before 1940, and boards on joists over a ventilated void are common in houses of that age. Lift a board or look through an airbrick to be sure, and keep the airbricks clear once the new floor is down.
When can a floor go onto the screed in a new Manchester flat?
Only once the screed is dry, whatever it looks like. 16.5% of Manchester dwellings date from 2009 or later, so many floors here sit on screeds rather than boards. In a newly built flat, ask for a moisture reading first; a screed that looks finished can still hold enough water to damage the new covering.
Does surface water flood risk in Manchester change what I lay?
It can. 19.0% of homes in the council area are in areas at high, medium or low risk of surface water flooding. On a ground floor in one of those areas, think about the installation as well as the covering: a material that does not absorb water helps, but the joints, edges and the subfloor decide where the water ends up.
Local facts
Local facts: Manchester
18 facts from the census, the Met Office, the council and other public records, each with what it means for a floor in Manchester and where it comes from.
Who lives here
35.4%
rent privately
Manchester35.4%England and Wales20.3%2nd highest of 151 towns
For your floorIn Manchester many floors are chosen by a landlord for a run of tenancies, and a poor choice only shows at the end of one.
Source
Households renting privately. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). ONS, Census 2021, TS054 Tenure (households). Data: 2021-03-21 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
Who lives here
27.3%
rent socially
Manchester27.3%England and Wales17.1%14th highest of 151 towns
For your floorIn council and association homes, as in any let, a leak may go unreported for a day, so a covering that takes on no water saves a replacement.
Source
Households renting from a council or housing association. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). ONS, Census 2021, TS054 Tenure (households). Data: 2021-03-21 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
Who lives here
36.3%
own their home
Manchester36.3%England and Wales61.6%150th highest of 151 towns
For your floorOwner-occupiers are outnumbered by renters here, so a floor chosen by the people who live on it is less common than across England and Wales.
Source
Households owning their home outright or with a mortgage. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). ONS, Census 2021, TS054 Tenure (households). Data: 2021-03-21 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
When they were built
25.3%
built before 1919
Manchester25.3%England and Wales20.8%32nd highest of 141 towns
For your floorMany of the city's dwellings predate 1919, an age at which ground floors of boards on joists over a void are common.
Source
Dwellings built before 1919. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025, table CTSOP4.1 (build period). Data: 2025-03-31 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
When they were built
10.4%
built 1919 to 1929
Manchester10.4%England and Wales4.8%8th highest of 141 towns
For your floorManchester has an unusually large stock from the 1920s, still within the period of boarded ground floors over a ventilated void.
Source
Dwellings built 1919 to 1929. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025, table CTSOP4.1 (build period). Data: 2025-03-31 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
When they were built
45.3%
built before 1940
Manchester45.3%England and Wales35.4%23rd highest of 141 towns
For your floorIn the many pre-1940 homes the void under the floor keeps the timber dry, provided the airbricks stay open.
Source
Dwellings built before 1940. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025, table CTSOP4.1 (build period). Data: 2025-03-31 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
When they were built
1.5%
built 1945 to 1954
Manchester1.5%England and Wales6.4%139th highest of 141 towns
For your floorFew homes date from 1945 to 1954, but where a solid floor of that age exists it may lack a damp-proof membrane.
Source
Dwellings built 1945 to 1954. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025, table CTSOP4.1 (build period). Data: 2025-03-31 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
When they were built
16.5%
built 2009 or later
Manchester16.5%England and Wales11.8%19th highest of 141 towns
For your floorA large share of recent homes means many Manchester floors sit on screeds rather than on the boards of older houses.
Source
Dwellings built 2009 or later. Area: Manchester built-up area (ONS Built-up Areas 2024). VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025, table CTSOP4.1 (build period). Data: 2025-03-31 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
When they were built
4.5 per 1,000 dwellings
New homes completed in the year per 1,000 existing homes
Manchester4.5England5.566th highest of 135 towns
For your floorEach year's completions in the council area bring new screeds, and a new screed looks dry long before it is.
Source
New homes completed in the year per 1,000 existing homes. Area: Manchester local authority. MHCLG, Live tables on housing supply: indicators of new supply, Table 253 "Permanent dwellings started and completed, by tenure and district", sheet FY_2025_26, column "All Completions" (building control reported, rounded to the nearest 10 by MHCLG); per 1,000 dwellings in Live Table 125 (dwelling stock at 31 March 2025). Data: 2025-04-01/2026-03-31 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
Weather & ground
21.0
days with 10 mm of rain or more
Manchester21.0Median, 151 towns17.851st highest of 151 towns
For your floorDays with ten millimetres of rain or more are above the town median here, and the hall floor meets that rain and grit first.
Source
Days with at least 10 mm of rain per year (1991–2020 average, town centre). Area: Manchester town centre (Met Office HadUK-Grid 2 km cell). Met Office, HadUK-Grid (v1.1.0.0) climate averages 1991-2020, Met Office Climate Data Portal: Monthly Temperature Observations 1991-2020 (2 km grid), Monthly Min Temperature Observations 1991-2020 12km (12 km grid), Annual Count of 10mm Rainfall Days 1991-2020 (2 km grid). Data: 1991-2020 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
Weather & ground
5.7
January mean
Manchester5.7Median, 151 towns4.8joint 14th highest of 151 towns
For your floorEven in a mild January the heating dries the air, and wood floors show fine winter gaps that close again in summer.
Source
Mean daily temperature in January (1991–2020 average, town centre). Area: Manchester town centre (Met Office HadUK-Grid 2 km cell). Met Office, HadUK-Grid (v1.1.0.0) climate averages 1991-2020, Met Office Climate Data Portal: Monthly Temperature Observations 1991-2020 (2 km grid), Monthly Min Temperature Observations 1991-2020 12km (12 km grid), Annual Count of 10mm Rainfall Days 1991-2020 (2 km grid). Data: 1991-2020 · retrieved 2026-09-22.
Nearby
We also deliver to
Distances are straight-line miles from Manchester.
United KingdomGreater ManchesterManchester
151 towns and cities, 24 county guides, one map.