Herringbone Flooring in Oldham

Local fact sheet

Oldham's homes, by the numbers

Oldham in the 2021 census: 93,140 households, 88% houses, 12% flats.

Between the two censuses the clearest movement was in renting: private tenancies climbed from 12.2% to 17.7% while owner occupation slid from 64.9% to 60.4%, social renting barely changing at 21.2%. Turnover of that kind favours coverings that go down quickly and lift cleanly, section by section. The housing is dominated by rows, 38.5% terraced and 35.9% semi-detached, most of them built with suspended timber above ground level, boards that have shifted for decades and want screwing and levelling before a rigid plank will sit flat on them. OL1, OL2, OL4, OL8 and OL9 take in Alexandra, Coldhurst, Hollinwood, Medlock Vale, Chadderton Central, Chadderton North, Chadderton South, Royton North, Royton South, Crompton, Saddleworth North and Saddleworth South.

Terraces house two Oldham households in five, with semis at Chadderton and Crompton and older streets at Coldhurst, Alexandra, Hollinwood and Medlock Vale. Ownership has slipped by better than four points in a decade and private renting has risen to match.

Whoever lives there, the floor gets cleaned often, and cleaning damages more floors here than walking on them does. Water standing on a joint finds the core beneath the surface, and a board that swells from underneath cannot be dried out again.

Delivery times and options depend on the delivery postcode. See Delivery & Returns for the applicable estimate.