Help + Info Centre

Floor preparation needs can vary from job to job as some subfloors may only need a slight sand while others may require broken boards of a subfloor to be fixed or an entire floor space to be levelled. Not preparing a floor correctly can lead to your new floor covering not performing practically or aesthetically.

The person visiting your home for a measure and quote can get an indication of the amount of prep work needed however, often the full extent is not revealed until the installer is onsite and has removed existing floor coverings and can make a full assessment. Unforeseen preparation will be additional to your quote so talk to your sales consultant to request a ‘heads up’ if this may be the case with your floor.

Carpet installations under 60sqm and hard flooring installations under 20sqm, typically take 1 day. Installations larger than this can take 2 days or more.

Time may also need to be set aside for floor preparation before your chosen floor covering can be applied.

If you are keen on rolling up your sleeves to install your flooring yourself, it is best to talk to one of our in-store consultants first as some flooring types can be easier to self-install than others or require less specialised tools. Keep in mind that to uphold your manufacturer’s warranty of a product, it will need to be installed according to their installation standards which may be tricky when the installation is DIY. To make your project stress free and to protect your investment, all of our stores offer a full installation service. If budget is a factor, check out our generous interest free finance options that can help you towards your dream floor.

Our flooring samples can be taken home to view on a loan basis. Due to the cost of samples, we ask that customers return these after making their flooring choice. Stores may require a credit card, bond or may invoice you for any unreturned samples.

Samples ordered through our SampleBox service on this website are yours to keep and do not need to be returned.

There needs to be a clear path for easy access to the installation area and rooms receiving new flooring need to be cleared of all furniture. You can choose to do this yourself or our stores can organise this for you. If you do choose for this option, make sure that you let us know well in advance so that the right number of helpers are scheduled for your job. If you have any breakable valuables, it is best to move these to a safe area ahead of time.

Flooring is a finishing trade so all other aspects of your build or renovation need to be completed prior to your flooring installation. It is important that all paintwork has been finished, dried and has had plenty of time to cure and harden. If your paintwork hasn’t had enough time to cure, scratches and scuffs are likely to be left on the walls and skirting boards.

If you are having laminate or wood installed in your home, it may be best to leave your skirting boards off all together until after the installation for the best finish. Your sales consultant can guide you through this.

In most instances, your chosen flooring will need to be ordered specifically for your project. Depending on your selection, stock could be held within New Zealand, not yet available but due for production, an ‘indent’ product coming from Australia (taking a few weeks), or could be sourced from as far away as Europe (requiring a 3-month lead time).

For this reason, it is important to let your sales consultant know what timeframe you are working to so they can recommend products accordingly. Some stores carry stock in their warehouses which can be accessed immediately if you are needing a quick solution.

The timeframe for your installation will also be dependent on the availability of the installation labour. Depending on the time of year and the number of projects that we have going on at the time, availability will differ. You may be lucky to find an install date within a week or two of selecting your new flooring, but more often than not it will be a month or more out.

You do not need to be home on the day of the installation. You can instruct our store on where you have left a key or if you need peace of mind, you can leave a key with our store ready for the installer to collect. Often it is easiest if customers are not home as it can be a Health and Safety issue if you are strolling through the work site. Some installations that use strong smelling adhesives or floor treatments may require homeowners to vacate the premises.

If you do intend on being home during the installation, we ask that you stay away from the rooms receiving new flooring until your installer has finished. The same applies for any children or pets that will also be home at this time.

It is important that our installers have clear access into the home and to the rooms receiving the flooring. All furniture and belongings will need to be removed from the rooms receiving the new flooring, and the area will need to be clean and tidy. Our installers will also need to use electricity and water, so make sure these are available. All pets need to be isolated away from the installation areas. If your pets are kept outside, please ensure our friendly installers can come and go safely as they walk from their vehicle to the home.

For more information on what you can do to be ready for your install, check out our Installation Checklist here that details pre-and post-installation tasks.

We can appreciate that timelines on building and renovation projects can often change. If there is any delay it is important to give us as much notice as possible to move your installation date. The rescheduled date will be at the nearest availability. If the change is too close to the installation or our installers arrive on site to discover the site is not ready for flooring, a cancellation fee may be incurred. To prevent these issues from occurring, it is important to keep us informed on how your project is progressing, what stage you are at and whether there may be a delay. Adding a few extra ‘buffer’ days into your timeline can also pay off when unexpected delays pop up!

It is important that you’re confident with your flooring selection, please ensure it is fit for purpose and you're happy with your colour and product choice prior to ordering. If you change your mind, it is likely that we will be unable to cancel your order due to the nature of the product (ordered and picked/cut specifically for your project).

If you wish to cancel your order you will need to contact the Flooring Xtra store you purchased from to discuss the situation with them. If the store is able to cancel your order at their discretion, any associated freight, restocking and administration fees will be at your expense.

An additional amount of product is always added to your order (often in the trade this is called ‘wastage’). From this, your installer has enough product to complete the job without too much ‘patchwork’ required. It also means that your installer isn’t caught short, leaving them unable to complete the job. Placing further orders for the same flooring (in the case of carpet) may mean you receive product from across different production batches. This may result in colour variations across your project, which is not ideal.

You may be left with a few good size pieces of carpet which our stores can organise to be bound and made into mats (these work great at entranceways or on top of new carpet in front of fireplaces for extra protection).

For hard flooring or sheet vinyl (commonly called ‘lino’) installations, saving a few extra planks or pieces of flooring somewhere safe and dry, will allow you to perform any ‘patch’ repairs on damaged areas of flooring in the future. Finding an exact match later down the track will be tricky.

We do not accept returns on any product that is left over from an installation.

With carpet, you may notice a slight colour variation between the sample, the bulk production dye lots and within production runs. These are monitored carefully and will be within industry standards.There may also be a slight difference between the samples viewed in store and the product purchased due to store samples being on display for some time and subject to fading. Also, once installed, 9 out of 10 times your chosen carpet will appear a good amount lighter during the day and near true to the sample you selected from at night.

Hard flooring such as wood and stone of both real and replica variety, are designed to be natural looking products so knot, colour and grain variation between planks and tiles are only natural. Often samples only provide a limited indication of the overall look of the finished floor. Colour and design variations do not indicate a defect in the flooring.

Your primary contact through the entire process will be your sales consultant. Along the way should you have any questions or concerns it is best to contact them to chat them through.

If something doesn’t look right at the installation stage, your contact person remains your sales consultant. They will liaise with your installer to put things right or organise a site visit to inspect the issue.

It is best to inform the store of any issues as soon as possible, to ensure they can be fixed before the floor is lived on, or potentially damaged. Often customers are shy about raising a problem however we want you to love your new flooring, so make sure you tell us your concern no matter how small it may seem.

If you have let your sales consultant know that something isn’t quite right, depending on the circumstances, they will typically schedule a time with you for an installer to pop back to complete remedial works, or will make a time with you to see this in person before taking further action.

To protect your investment, it is important that your new flooring is installed by a professional to achieve the best result visually. Manufacturer warranties also require correct installation. For your peace of mind, all installations through Flooring Xtra are covered by our Workmanship Warranty. This warrants the integrity of our laying service and in the event of faulty workmanship a promise to put it right.

Each product is supported with a Manufacturer’s Warranty. This is separate to the Workmanship Warranty that covers your installation, supplied by Flooring Xtra. The Manufacturer’s Warranty is available for each product from your sales consultant.

Upon confirmation of your quote, you will be sent an invoice for your purchase. The deposit size required varies from store to store. A deposit is required for all jobs, regardless of size. As product is ordered specifically for your project (and often cut to size) and labour is committed for your installation, a deposit gives peace of mind that the transaction is going to be fulfilled. Your sales consultant can talk you through what the deposit size is and timelines for payments. To help you cover the costs of your new flooring, interest free finance options are always available.

Carpet is normally bought in widths of 3.66 metres as this is the size of a roll. This measurement unit is referred to as ‘broadloom metre’. On this website, pricing is shown in square metres to help you compare with other floor coverings, which are also priced in square metres to keep things simple.

If you are trying to work out the square metre cost of a broadloom carpet, divide the price by 3.66

E.g. Carpet XYZ is $110 per broadloom metre

$110 / 3.66 = $30.05 per square metre