Flooring for Cambridge Homes: Victorian Terraces, Flats and New Builds Across CB1–CB4

For most Cambridge homes the answer is two floors, not one: LVT (£35–£70/m² fitted) or sheet vinyl in the hall, kitchen and bathroom, and carpet (from £14/m² fitted) on the stairs and in the bedrooms. What changes between CB1 and CB4 is what sits underneath: old floorboards in the terraces, concrete in the flats and fresh screed in the new builds.

That is the short version. The rest of this guide takes the three kinds of home you find across the city, which are Victorian and Edwardian terraces, flats and conversions, and new builds, and goes through them floor by floor and room by room. One thing to be clear about first: Cambridgeshire Carpets has no showroom in Cambridge. Our showroom and our fitting team are in Peterborough, and we travel to you for every measure and every fit, bringing the samples with us. Our location page for carpets and flooring in Cambridge lists everything we supply and fit in the city.

What Flooring Suits Cambridge Homes, Postcode by Postcode?

Cambridge housing changes from one street to the next, so treat the postcode as a starting point and the subfloor as the deciding factor. This is the pattern across the four central postcode districts.

We also cover CB5 on the Newmarket Road side of the city, and nearby places including Cherry Hinton, Girton, Histon, Milton, Waterbeach, Sawston and Great Shelford.

What Works in a Victorian or Edwardian Terrace?

The terraces off Mill Road, in Romsey Town and Petersfield (CB1), Newtown (CB2), Newnham (CB3) and Chesterton (CB4) were built in much the same way, and they share the same flooring problems. The ground floor of the main rooms is usually softwood boards on joists over a ventilated void, with air bricks in the outside walls. After more than a century the boards are rarely flat: expect gaps, cupped edges and patches where pipes and cables have gone in. The kitchen at the back is often on a solid floor at a slightly different level.

• Hall: if the original geometric tiles are still there and sound, keep them. If not, LVT is the practical choice, but it has to go over plywood and not straight onto the boards, or in time every board edge shows through the surface. The plywood and preparation are itemised in your written quote.
• Front and back rooms: carpet is the most forgiving floor over old boards. A wool-mix twist at £25–£40/m² suits these rooms, and because most terrace rooms are narrower than a 4 m roll, the carpet usually goes down in one piece with no join. If you want timber, engineered wood (£40–£90/m²) can be laid over boards that are sound and level.
• Stairs: steep, narrow and often with winders at the turn. Fit a hard-wearing twist over a dense underlay, because soft, deep piles wear quickly on the nosings. Stair carpet is priced per step: from £25, and typically £25–£55 depending on the carpet, the winders and any spindles. Our page on stair carpet in Peterborough explains the fitting methods.
• Bedrooms: carpet again. Loose and squeaking boards need screwing down before the underlay goes on, because nothing can be done about them afterwards without lifting the carpet.
• Kitchen and bathroom: a solid floor in an old house may have no damp-proof membrane, so it should be checked for moisture before LVT or vinyl goes down. Where a floor needs levelling first, that adds £5–£15/m².

One rule applies to every suspended timber floor: keep the air bricks clear. The void under the boards needs that airflow to stay dry, whatever you lay on top.

What Should You Check Before Flooring a Cambridge Flat or Conversion?

Start with the lease, not the sample book. Many leases for flats above the ground floor either require carpet or ask for the freeholder's consent before a hard floor is laid, because footsteps carry to the flat below. We cannot read the lease for you, so get any consent in writing before you order.

• Converted houses: the floor between the flats is usually still timber joists and boards, so sound travels easily. Carpet on a dense underlay is the quietest floor you can fit, and the kindest to whoever lives underneath.
• Purpose-built flats: the floors are normally concrete, which is flat and stable. If the lease allows a hard floor, laminate (£18–£35/m², underlay and fitting included) or click LVT (£35–£50/m²) on an acoustic underlay works well.
• Access: when you book, tell us the floor level, whether there is a lift and where a van can park, so we can plan how the carpet or boards get in.
• Rented flats: a polypropylene twist in the bedrooms and living room, with LVT or sheet vinyl in the kitchen and bathroom, stands up best between tenancies. As a guide, a two-bed flat carpeted throughout costs £800–£1,200. See our landlord flooring service.

What Is Different About Flooring a Cambridge New Build?

The newer districts on the edges of the city, including Eddington in CB3, Trumpington Meadows and Great Kneighton in CB2 and Orchard Park in CB4, are a different job altogether. The floors are flat and the walls are straight. What matters is moisture, heating and timing.

• Screed: a new screed holds water for a long time after it is laid. It has to be dry and level before LVT or engineered wood goes on top, so it is tested first, not assumed.
• Underfloor heating: check your handover pack. If you have it, LVT and engineered wood both work well over it, and carpet needs a low-tog underlay so the heat can get through. The heating should be commissioned and run before the floor is fitted.
• Timing: the easiest time to fit is between getting the keys and the furniture arriving, while the rooms are empty.
• The developer's package: ask exactly which carpet and underlay are included, then compare. For new builds our fitted prices are £18–£35/m² for carpet and £35–£70/m² for LVT.
• Doors: new doors are often hung close to the bare floor. If a thicker carpet and underlay would catch, trimming the doors is an optional extra, quoted as a separate line.

Our new-build flooring service covers the whole home.

Room by Room: Terrace, Flat or New Build?

Our service pages are written around our Peterborough base, but the products and the fitters are the same ones we bring to Cambridge: carpets in Peterborough, LVT flooring in Peterborough, laminate flooring in Peterborough and engineered wood flooring in Peterborough.

What Does a New Floor Cost in a Cambridge Home?

Every price we give is supplied and fitted by our own team. These are the guide prices:

• Hard-wearing polypropylene twist carpet: from £14/m², with underlay and gripper included.
• Wool-mix twist or saxony carpet: £25–£40/m². Premium wool and woven carpet: £40–£70+/m².
• Stair carpet: from £25 per step.
• Sheet vinyl: from £15/m². Laminate: from £18/m².
• LVT: £35–£70/m², with premium glue-down Karndean and Amtico at £50–£70+/m².
• Engineered wood: £40–£90/m².

As a guide to whole jobs, a typical three-bed semi carpeted throughout comes to £1,400–£3,500, a hallway and kitchen-diner of 25–35 m² in LVT comes to £900–£2,400, and a standard straight flight of 13–14 steps in a mid-range carpet on dense underlay comes to £350–£700. Carpet prices include underlay, gripper, door bars, moving standard furniture and taking away the old carpet. The full list is on our flooring prices in Peterborough page, and your written quote gives the exact figure for your rooms.

How Does a Home Visit Work When the Showroom Is in Peterborough?

Our showroom is at 4 The Manor Grove Centre, Vicarage Farm Road, Peterborough PE1 5UH. You are welcome there, but you do not need to make the trip. For a Cambridge home the visit comes to you:

1. Book by phone or online.
2. We bring carpet, LVT, laminate and wood samples to your home, so you choose in your own rooms and your own light.
3. We measure every room and check the subfloor wherever we can get to it.
4. You receive a written quote within 24 hours.
5. Our own team fits the floor on the agreed day, with a 2-year workmanship guarantee.

Carpet samples come from Cormar, Westex, Ulster and Victoria, and LVT samples from Karndean, Amtico, Moduleo and Quick-Step. We are rated 5.0 from 75 Google reviews.

Book a Free Home Visit in Cambridge

Tell us the postcode, the type of home and the rooms you want to do, and we will bring the right samples. Call 01733 924009, Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, to book a free home visit with samples. We measure up while we are there and send a written quote within 24 hours.