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Reading · Berkshire
Reading’s Victorian terraces put the kitchen in a rear extension, and the join between the original house and that extension is the awkward part. Level it once and the room stops being two rooms.
Kitchen in Reading
Over a slab, porcelain is the hardest-wearing option; over the levelled timber of the older half, vinyl is the lighter and quieter surface.
The kitchen in a Katesgrove or Caversham terrace usually carries the marks of a scullery that grew: a floor in two parts, joists at the house end and a later slab at the garden end, and a lip between them that trips the family for years. The lip goes first, with a levelling compound or a deck, and only then is a surface chosen; over that one plane the BML rigid vinyl plank runs unbroken to the back door, while a porcelain tile from the range wants the deck stiffened and a movement joint where the old wall stood.
The new-build kitchen at Green Park, Kennet Island or Dee Park is open-plan on a heated screed, and there the large-format porcelain carries the heat into the room quickly and the plank is warmer to stand on until it does; both are listed as compatible with the heating. In a flat the lease sets the acoustic layer beneath either surface, and the door threshold decides how much depth is left for it.
Flats are 33% of the homes in the Reading district, and a kitchen in a flat is often open to the living room and above or below a neighbour. A rigid-vinyl floor over an acoustic underlay carries less footfall through the slab than a tile does, and it stays under the door thresholds; the lease usually has a view on hard floors, and it is read first.
Terraced houses are 28% of the homes in Reading, and the terraced kitchen in Reading is the room at the back, often on a concrete floor laid over the old scullery, sometimes damp. That base is the decision: a rigid-vinyl floor bridges a slab that is not quite flat and floats over it, where a tile needs the slab levelled and a dry reading first. Either way the hygrometer comes before the floor.
Shop the range
All 35 kitchen floorsSource: ONS, Census 2021, Reading (E06000038) · Council conservation area register · Range: our product catalogue
We deliver across Reading and Berkshire. Most in-stock orders arrive within a timeframe that depends on the delivery postcode. We also cover Wokingham, Bracknell, Newbury, Maidenhead, Windsor and surrounding areas.
Delivery detailsThe range
The rigid-vinyl planks with the 0.55 mm wear layer, such as BML Natural Oak SPC Wide Flooring and BML Grey Oak SPC Wide Flooring, and the herringbone boards such as BML Herringbone European Oak SPC, are the kitchen floors here, listed as waterproof; the BML Concrete Grey SPC Click Floor Tile gives a stone look without grout. In porcelain, the 600 x 1200 mm tiles such as Luna Blanca Matt Porcelain Floor Tile and Wabi Bianco Lappato Porcelain Floor Tile; the Wabi tiles carry an R11 slip rating in the listing.
| Product | Format | Wear layer / thickness | Fitting | Underfloor heating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BML Herringbone European Oak SPC Luxury Vinyl Flooring | 6.5mm x 126mm x 630mm | 0.55mm | Click · listed as waterproof | Compatible |
| BML Herringbone Grey Oak SPC Luxury Vinyl Flooring | 6.5mm x 126mm x 630mm | 0.55mm | Click · listed as waterproof | Compatible |
| BML Black Slate SPC Click Floor Tile | 6.5mm x 305mm x 610mm | 0.55mm | Click · listed as waterproof | Compatible |
| BML Rustic Grey Oak SPC Wide Flooring | 6.5mm x 228mm x 1524mm | 0.55mm | Click · listed as waterproof | Compatible |
| BML Natural Oak SPC Wide Flooring | 6.5mm x 228mm x 1524mm | 0.55mm | Click · listed as waterproof | Compatible |
| BML Poplar SPC Wide Flooring | 6.5mm x 228mm x 1524mm | 0.55mm | Click · listed as waterproof | Compatible |
| Agate Blue Lappato Porcelain Floor Tile 600 x 1200 | 9mm | Compatible | ||
| Alexandria Cream Polished Porcelain Floor Tile 600 x 1200 | 9mm | Compatible |
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Our Berkshire delivery covers: Reading town centre, Caversham, Tilehurst, Earley, Woodley, Sonning, Pangbourne, Wokingham, Bracknell, Newbury, Maidenhead, Windsor, Henley-on-Thames, Twyford, Theale, Calcot, Purley on Thames, Shinfield, Winnersh and surrounding Berkshire
See it on the mapLocal fact sheet
Reading in the 2021 census: 67,682 households, 66% houses, 33% flats.
Reading grew mainly in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and the era is still legible in the locally fired polychrome brick with terracotta and tile detail across the older suburbs. Those houses have suspended timber ground floors that need levelling before anything is laid, and the 15 conservation areas — St Peter's, Kendrick, Eldon Square, Market Place — add a consent question wherever original boards survive. Dee Park, Dwyer Road and Watchman's Place are the newer condition: screed, commonly underfloor heating, and engineered wood rather than solid timber over a heat source.
Reading has more than a quarter of its households in purpose-built flats and close to a third renting privately, with ownership down by four points in a decade. New developments have gone up steadily along the river and around the station, and most of them hand over in stages.
A house or flat is rarely finished on the day the keys arrive. Snagging brings trades back through the rooms for weeks — touching up paint, adjusting doors, sometimes lifting a section of floor to reach a service. A floor laid before that list is closed gets damaged by the people closing it.
Delivery times and options depend on the delivery postcode. See Delivery & Returns for the applicable estimate.
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Call 020 3858 0353, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or send a photo of the room to info@homesandfloors.com.
Contact usQuestions
There are two candidates in the range and the room decides: rigid vinyl listed as waterproof, warmer and quieter and forgiving of an old base, or porcelain tile, harder and permanent. The kitchen guide linked below compares them.
Engineered oak is fitted in kitchens with a sealed finish and wiped-up spills, but it is not listed as waterproof and a leak under a dishwasher will mark it. Where the look of wood is wanted with the listing, the rigid-vinyl planks and herringbone are the answer.
The HSE grades slip potential by pendulum test value, with 36 or above rated low. Two of the porcelain tiles in the range carry an R11 rating in the listing; for a domestic kitchen the floor is chosen for the spill and the mop as much as for the rating.
Think about the room, the foot traffic and your style. Engineered oak in natural and warm tones dominates across Reading and Berkshire. The Thames Valley’s mix of period homes and modern developments means both traditional wide-plank oak and contemporary lighter finishes are in strong demand. LVT is increasingly popular in family kitchens, while porcelain tiles feature in the area’s larger new-build properties. The easiest way to decide is to order a few samples and see them in your own Reading light before you buy.
Yes. We deliver across Reading and Berkshire from our UK warehouse, including the RG1, RG2, RG4, RG5, RG6 and RG30 postcode districts. Delivery cost and timing depend on the delivery postcode and are shown at checkout, and samples come by post first so the floor can be seen in the room before the full order.
Yes: cut samples are £1.99 each, up to two per product, posted to your Reading address. Two or three side by side on the floor, in the room's own light morning and evening, settle the colour faster than any photograph.
All ranges
Every range and room for Reading, each on its own page with the same housing data read for that floor.
Engineered Woodin Reading33 floors
Solid Woodin Reading15 floors
Parquetin Reading15 floors
LVT Vinylin Reading36 floors
SPC Rigid Vinylin Reading36 floors
Laminatein Reading12 floors6 materials · scroll sideways to see all
Bathroomin Reading
Living Roomin Reading
Bedroomin ReadingHallwayin Reading
Conservatoryin ReadingUtility Roomin Reading6 rooms · scroll sideways to see all
6 needs · scroll sideways to see all
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