Herringbone and Parquet Flooring Cost
What herringbone and chevron cost to buy and to lay, why fitting costs more than plank flooring, and how much extra material to allow.
Parquet is the category where fitting cost matters most, and where the quote is most often underestimated.
What the fitting figure is actually paying for
Parquet is quoted by the day more often than by the square metre, and that is not a way of hiding the price. It reflects what the work is.
What to settle before the order goes in
Where the money is better spent
On the fitter, and on the preparation under the floor. A pattern floor is the one case where the fit is worth more than the upgrade: an excellent block laid on a drifting set-out looks worse than a modest one laid true, and the difference is visible from the doorway for as long as the floor is down.
Which room the floor is going in decides most of this, so weigh current herringbone prices against the wider, thicker plank the same money buys. Where the pattern is still open, herringbone against chevron, compared sets the two beside each other, and how a flooring quote is built up puts the set-out and the day rate in proportion.
Common questions
Why does parquet cost more to fit than planks?
Three reasons that all show up as time. The set-out starts from a centre line rather than from a wall, and that planning happens before anything is laid. Every perimeter cut produces an offcut that cannot be reused, so the waste allowance is higher than for planks. And a pattern that drifts is visible across the whole room, so the work is slower and more exacting.
Does chevron cost more than herringbone?
Yes, to buy and to fit. Angling both ends of every block removes timber that would otherwise have been floor, and the continuous lines are less forgiving of a set-out that wanders. Where the budget is fixed and the pattern is open, herringbone gives more floor for the money.
What are A and B blocks, and do I need both?
Herringbone and chevron ship as mirrored pairs. A run needs both hands to close the pattern, so ordering one hand only means a second delivery and a stalled fit. Confirm the split on the order rather than after it arrives.
Parquet is most often specified in period rooms, and which period a room belongs to depends on the street it is on. See the towns and regions we cover.
