What hardwood flooring work covers
Hardwood flooring in Norwich homes usually falls into three jobs: fitting new solid or engineered boards, sanding and refinishing existing floors, and repairing damaged sections (water stains, gaps, squeaks, worn finish). Solid wood is milled from a single piece of timber and can be sanded down many times over its life. Engineered boards have a real wood veneer over a plywood base, which handles Norwich's damp winters and older, less climate-stable housing stock better, and works over underfloor heating where solid wood often cannot.
A proper installation starts with the subfloor. Any contractor worth hiring will check moisture levels, level out dips, and let the timber acclimatise in the room for several days before laying it. Skipping that step is the single biggest cause of boards cupping or gapping later on.
What to look for before you hire
- Whether they inspect and prep the subfloor and test moisture content before laying anything
- Clear pricing that separates materials, labour, underlay, and finishing (oil or lacquer)
- Photos of past work, ideally in older Norwich properties with similar subfloors
- Whether sanding and dust extraction equipment is modern enough to keep mess down
- A written guarantee on both the fitting and the finish
How we score the 8 local firms
Our ranking weighs verified customer feedback, how consistently a contractor delivers a clean, level finish, responsiveness to quotes, and whether pricing matches the work described. The full breakdown of businesses, ranked and compared, is on our best flooring contractors in Norwich guide. If you want to see exactly how we weigh and score each factor, read our methodology.
