Free measure & quote

Why we measure on site

A floor plan gets you close, but it can’t show a slab that dips by the back door, a staircase with odd-sized treads, or carpet laid over old tiles. Those things change the price. Measuring on site means the quote reflects your house, and there are fewer surprises on installation day.

If you would rather start without a visit, you are welcome to send us plans and a few photos. We can give you a rough figure from those, and then firm it up once we have measured.

It also gives you a chance to see samples in the room they are going into. Light changes colour a lot. A grey oak that looked cool in the showroom can look almost beige in a north-facing living room. One customer came into the showroom, and after we visited their home we suggested a walnut-toned engineered herringbone they hadn’t considered. They were very happy with the result.

What happens at the measure

1. We walk through the rooms with you. Which rooms are included, where the new floor should stop, and how it meets tiles, carpet or other floors.
2. We measure. Each room is measured separately, including wardrobes, hallways and any stairs.
3. We look at the existing floor. What it is, how it is fixed down and what is involved in taking it up.
4. We check the subfloor where we can. On concrete we look at flatness and signs of moisture. On timber subfloors we check for movement and soft spots.
5. We talk about boards. Please mention anything that matters to you: pets, kids, sun on the floor, underfloor heating, apartment rules. We will narrow the choice down to a few boards that suit.

The visit usually takes roughly an hour for a typical house, longer if there are stairs or a lot of rooms.

What to have ready

• Plans, if you have them. Architect drawings or a real estate floor plan help us check our numbers.
• A list of the rooms you want done. Include “maybe” rooms, so you can see what adding them costs.
• Photos of the current floor if you are sending an enquiry first. A photo of carpet at a doorway or a lifted corner tells us a lot.
• Anything you know about the subfloor. Slab or timber, age of the house, and any past water leaks.
• Your timing. A move-in date, settlement or builder’s schedule.
• Building rules if you live in an apartment. Many owners corporations have flooring or acoustic requirements.

If you have already picked a board from the product range, please let us know which one. If not, that is perfectly fine. Most people decide during or after the visit.

How the quote is set out

We itemise the quote so you can see what each part of the job costs and compare it with other quotes line by line. Depending on the job, it covers:

• Boards, with the product, the area in m² and an allowance for offcuts. Herringbone and diagonal layouts need more allowance than straight boards.
• Underlay or adhesive, depending on whether the floor is floated or glued down, plus a moisture barrier if the slab needs one.
• Removal of carpet, underlay or other floor coverings, and taking them away.
• Subfloor preparation, such as grinding high spots or levelling low ones.
• Stairs, priced separately because each step is its own piece of work.
• Trims, meaning scotia, transition strips and stair nosings.
• Labour for the install.

When you compare quotes, check whether the others include removal, levelling and trims. A lower figure sometimes means those items are missing and will be added later as extras.

What changes the price

The board is one part of the cost. The rest depends on the house. A flat, clean slab with no old floor to remove is the simplest job. Carpet removal, a slab that needs levelling, a moisture barrier, a staircase or a herringbone pattern all add to it, as do small, broken-up rooms, which take more cutting than one open-plan space. Prices aren’t published on the site because two houses of the same size can come out very differently.

How long it takes

Booking a measure is usually quick. Call or send an enquiry and we will suggest a time. After the visit we put the quote together and send it through. If something needs checking with a supplier, such as a made-to-order board, we will let you know and give you a date for the answer.

Please take your time with it. One customer took a couple of days to go through the details with us before confirming, and that is normal. If anything on the quote isn’t clear, please ask.

Quick checks before we arrive

None of these are essential, but each one saves a question or two on the day.

• Look under the carpet. Lift a corner inside a wardrobe, where it won’t show. You might find concrete, particleboard sheets, old timber boards or tiles. Old timber is worth knowing about, because it is sometimes in better shape than people expect.
• Slab or stumps. Vents in the brickwork near ground level, or a crawl space under the house, usually mean timber floors on stumps. No gap underneath usually means a slab.
• Heating. Note any in-slab hydronic or electric underfloor heating. It affects which boards can be used and how they go down.
• Past water problems. A leaking shower, a washing machine overflow or a garden bed built up against an outside wall can leave damp patches in a slab or soft spots in timber.
• Tight spots. Note any doors that already brush the carpet, and the gap under the benchtop for the dishwasher, as the new floor may sit higher.

Questions worth asking at the measure

The visit is your chance to find out how the job will actually be done. Whichever businesses you get quotes from, these questions help show who has properly considered your house:

• Will the floor be glued down or floated here, and why?
• Is the slab being moisture tested, and what happens if the reading is high?
• Are the skirting boards staying, with scotia over the gap, or coming off?
• How will the new floor meet the tiles, carpet or other floors at each doorway?
• How much extra is allowed for offcuts, and will there be spare boards left over?
• If the subfloor turns out worse once the old floor is up, how is that handled and priced?
• Roughly how many days will it take, and in what order will the rooms be done?

After you accept the quote

Once you are happy to go ahead, we confirm the board and the quantity and place the order. Stock boards and made-to-order boards run on different timelines, so the start date depends partly on the product. We then book the install and deliver the boards ahead of it, so they can acclimatise in the house.

There is some preparation on your side before the installers arrive, such as clearing rooms and booking a plumber for anything that needs disconnecting. The supply and installation page has the full checklist.

Book your free measure & quote

You can call 1300 690 160 or 0498 869 988, email info@primeconflooring.com.au or use the contact form. We mostly work in the eastern suburbs, and further afield on request.

Related guides: Timber Flooring Installation Cost in Melbourne: Reading a Quote · How Much Flooring Do I Need? Measuring, Waste and Packs