Southwark splits fairly evenly between warehouse and industrial conversions and Victorian terraced housing, and the two need completely different approaches. We cover SE1, SE15 and the surrounding postcodes.
The floors we find in Southwark
In the conversions — Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, along the river — floors are almost always engineered board bonded to concrete, sometimes over acoustic matting. In the terraces towards Peckham, Camberwell and Walworth, original pitch pine boards are common, often beneath laminate or vinyl laid in the last thirty years.
What is different about a warehouse conversion floor?
Three things. There is no void beneath, so there is nothing to nail into and every repair has to be bonded. The slab is rarely flat, so any relaying needs levelling compound first. And acoustic requirements in converted blocks are usually strict — the leaseholder often has an obligation to maintain a specified impact-sound rating, which means you cannot simply lift the floor and lay boards directly onto the slab. We check what the lease requires before quoting, because getting it wrong is expensive to undo.
What a job in Southwark usually involves
- Survey and moisture check. We measure board thickness and check whether the floor has been sanded before. On a board already sanded two or three times there may not be enough timber left, and we will say so.
- Repairs first. Loose, split or missing boards are fixed before any sanding. Sanding a loose board just produces a smooth loose board.
- Dust-free sanding. Coarse grit to remove the old finish and damage, then progressively finer grits until the surface is closed.
- Gap filling, if wanted. Resin and sanding dust for hairline gaps, timber slivers for wider ones. Bonded engineered floors are not gap filled. On the Victorian terraces, standard resin or sliver filling applies as normal.
- Finish. Hardwax oil, lacquer or oil, two or three coats.
How long it takes and what it costs
A single room in Southwark is usually one to two days; a whole ground floor three to five. Guide rates are £25–£32 per m² for standard boards and £32–£42 per m² for parquet, with a £550 minimum project cost. We are not VAT registered, so there is nothing to add on top. Full detail on the prices page.
Services available in Southwark
Floor sanding and restoration, parquet restoration, wood floor fitting, herringbone and chevron fitting, engineered floor fitting, floorboard repairs, staining and colour changes, and re-oiling or re-coating.
Nearby areas we also cover
Bermondsey, Peckham, Camberwell, Rotherhithe, Walworth, Elephant and Castle, New Cross and Deptford. See other areas we cover.
Get a price for your Southwark floor
Send a photo to info@epic-floors.com or call 07344 467352. We can usually tell from a picture whether a floor needs sanding, repair or replacing, and give you a ballpark before visiting. Open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.
Recent floors
Get a free quote
Tell us about your floor and we will come back to you with a price. A photo gets you a far more accurate answer.