We recently updated our wooden floor price guide (that you can find here) and we thought it would be a good idea to take another look at carpet prices and how much carpet installers are charging for this work.
If you are wondering how much it costs to have a carpet professionally installed in the UK, then you have come to the right place.
We know how much it should cost as we recently had the carpets replaced in our entire house and in a rental property we manage.
In a Hurry?
Prices for carpet fitting vary with some London-based installers charging up to £8 per square metre. The national average is just below £4 per square metre. Don’t forget; some suppliers offer free fitting if you buy their premium carpets which obviously cost more.
Below you’ll find the national average carpet fitting cost, these prices were sourced from 17 carpet installers that published their prices on their websites as of April 2022:
| Project: | Price: |
|---|---|
| Carpet lifting per sq mtr | £0.75 |
| Carpet delivery | £30 (£45 in London) |
| Carpet disposal per square metre | £1.50 |
| Carpet fitting per sq mtr | £3.75 |
| Door easing | £20 |
| Stairs | £2 per step |
| Room clearance | £15 per room |
| Get a Custom Price Here | Get a Custom Price Here |
All About Carpet Fitting
A typical carpet installation will comprise of some or all of the following, so budget accordingly for these:
- A delivery charge from the retailer.
- A fee to lift up the old carpet.
- A disposal fee if you want the installer to take the old flooring away.
- An installation fee on a per square metre basis.
- Extra charges for; door easing, staircases, floor levelling and room clearance if you are unable to remove your possessions yourself.
- A minimum charge.
We strongly suggest you also read our section titled “4 ways to reduce the cost of your carpet installation” as we have some great actionable tips for you.
Delivery Charge
This will depend on the retailer but the going rate is around £30. For those living in London, the charge might be higher. For example, S&C carpets currently charge a £45 delivery fee if you live in central London. If your retailer is more than 30 miles away, you should also expect additional fees per extra mile. Some smaller businesses offer free pick up and delivery but in reality, it’s not free, you have to pay for their time and fuel either as an extra fee or by paying more per square metre for the installation.
Carpet Lifting
For your installer to lift the old carpet expect to pay between 0.50p and £1.00 per square metre.
Waste Disposal Fee
Waste disposal fees for all businesses is high, especially for materials that can’t be recycled. Most waste disposal yards will charge in the region of £100+vat per tonne with a minimum charge too. Then there’s the time it takes to get to the yard and fuel costs. Expect to pay an installer a disposal fee of between £1 and £2 per square metre of carpet and underlay with a minimum fee of between £25 and £50. Of course, it’s free to dispose of your carpet at many council waste yards, but only if you take it there yourself.
Carpet Fitting Cost
The average price is around £3.75 per square metre (around £5 in London) if you go with an installer via a national retailer. If you choose a carpet installer directly expect to pay between £3 and £3.50 per square metre. The minimum fee is usually around £40 but is often much higher in London and the south east.
Extra Charges
You should also budget for the following:
Door easing – if your new carpet and/or underlay is thicker than the existing carpet then the door may rub on the carpet. Expect to pay a fee of around £20 per door that needs to be trimmed. This involves the removal of the door, trimming at the base and re-hanging back in place.
Stairs – these are usually priced per staircase at around £35 – £45. Expect to pay an extra fee of between £1 and £3 per step for open plan stairs.
Room clearance – some installers will move a set number of furniture pieces per room included in the price. Others will charge a room clearance fee of between £10 and £15 per room. We suggest you read the small print of any contract before you sign on the dotted line.
Floor levelling – for ground floor rooms this is usually screeding at a price of around £12 per square metre with a minimum charge of £75. For rooms upstairs ply board can be supplied and fitted for around £13 per square metre with a minimum charge of £75.
4 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Your Carpet Installation
First things first; there is no such thing as free carpet fitting.
Installers have to be paid a wage and there are other costs such as buying and maintaining a vehicle. If you aren’t charged a direct fitting fee then the cost will be added to your installation one way or another.
One of the tricks some installers use is to charge a low fee per square metre but then charge extortionate fees for carpet grippers and door bars or other services such as lifting or removal.
A Few Examples:
1 – Carpet Grippers
One national carpet supplier is currently offering cheap installations but is then charging £1.75 per linear metre of carpet grippers.
A box of 150 metres of grippers can be purchased from B&Q at a cost of £32 – that’s 0.21p per metre!
So, to save money we suggest you ask how much your installer charges for grippers and if it’s much more than this, go and buy them yourself.
2 – Door Bars
Just like carpet grippers, there is a big mark-up on door bars, they are cheap as chips but are often sold to customers at several dozen times their true cost. Buy these yourself from a DIY store and make a saving.
3 – Lifting and Disposal
You can save money by lifting and disposing of the existing carpet yourself. By making it easier for your installer, you can keep your installation costs to a minimum. Removing furniture, lifting carpets, disposing of them and repositioning furniture all takes time and costs you money. Do as much of the work yourself and you’ll save cash if you pre-arrange this with your installer.
4 – Door Reducing
While this work isn’t difficult, it is time-consuming. That’s why most carpet installers will charge between £10 and £20 to trim the bottom of each door. This might not sound like much but if you have five doors that need removing, reducing and re-hanging then that’ll set you back up to £100. Some installers use specialist cutters with a dust extraction mechanism, these can be used indoors so the door doesn’t need to be removed from the frame. These tools aren’t cheap to buy and your installer will still charge a sum for each door.
The most common reason for having door issues is when a customer chooses a thicker underlay and/or carpet and the bottom of the door rubs on the carpet.
We suggest you measure the distance between the bottom of the door and the floor under your existing carpet then compare this to the thickness of the underlay and carpet you are thinking about buying.
If you are good at DIY or know a friend who is, then it would be cheaper to have the doors reduced yourself rather than paying a carpet fitter to do it for you.
VAT – Do You Need to Pay it?
VAT is only charged by firms that are registered to collect this tax, that’s compulsory for firms and traders operating above a turnover threshold.
Whether or not you pay VAT on any carpet laying fees will depend on the size of the business and their turnover.
We have created a very helpful guide to VAT – all in plain English.
Get a Carpet Fitting Price
Our research into carpet fitting prices is based on our experience and also from prices we sourced in early 2022. To get a fixed price for carpet installation, just tap the link below and see how we can help:
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This guide was written by Danny Woodley and was last updated in April 2022.
Don’t forget; we have price guides for hundreds of home improvement projects.
Explore our full list of detailed price guides here.
