40m² of herringbone LVT over a floor that wasn't level, Rossington

The job

Ground floor of a house in Rossington, about 40m², all in herringbone LVT. Herringbone is the pattern everyone wants at the minute and it's the one that punishes a floor that isn't flat, because every plank meets another plank at forty-five degrees and any dip shows up as a lip you can feel through your socks.

What I did

Old floor up, subfloor swept and primed, then four bags of self-levelling compound to take the dips out. That's the bit people skip. It's an hour's work and a few quid a bag, and it's the whole difference between a floor that looks poured on and one that telegraphs every hollow underneath.

Once it had gone off, the herringbone was set out from the centre so the cuts landed evenly at both walls rather than a full plank one side and a two-inch sliver the other. Laid, cut in around the door linings, and beading fitted to finish rather than leaving a gap and a promise.

Cost and time

£700, two of us, a day and a half including the levelling. If your floor's already flat it's quicker and cheaper; if it isn't, I'd rather add the compound than lay a nice floor onto a bad one. Send me the room sizes and a photo of what's down now and I'll price yours.