The reflooring cost Cape Town homeowners face for a typical three-bedroom house of about 100 square metres lands between R40,000 and R70,000 in 2026, using mid-range laminate or vinyl and including installation.
That is a wide gap for the same house. This article shows exactly where the difference comes from, room by room, with the sums written out.
The house we are pricing
A standard Cape Town three-bedroom home, single storey, roughly 100 square metres of floor area to replace. Here is how that area usually splits.
- Lounge and dining: 32 m2
- Main bedroom: 16 m2
- Bedroom two: 12 m2
- Bedroom three: 10 m2
- Passage and entrance: 10 m2
- Kitchen: 12 m2
- Bathrooms: 8 m2
Kitchens and bathrooms usually get tiles rather than planks, so they are priced separately below.
Reflooring cost Cape Town: the worked sums
Installed rates in 2026, supply and fit, per square metre:
- Laminate: R280 to R850
- Vinyl: R450 to R850, with most mid-range work near R650 to R695
- Engineered and solid wood: R950 to R2,800
- Bamboo: R450 to R1,100
- Carpet: R350 to R650
- Labour only, if you supply the material: R80 to R320
Take the 80 m2 of living space and bedrooms first. At a budget laminate rate of R320 per m2 that is R25,600. At a mid-range R550 per m2 it is R44,000. At R850 per m2 for a premium plank it reaches R68,000.
Now add the 20 m2 of kitchen and bathroom tiling, plus the extras that never appear in a showroom price.
- Stripping the old floor: R30 to R80 per m2, so R3,000 to R8,000 across 100 m2
- Underlay: R20 to R60 per m2 on plank areas, roughly R1,600 to R4,800
- Levelling where needed: R30 to R80 per m2 for compound, more if a screed is required
- Skirtings and trims: priced per metre, easy to forget and rarely trivial
Three realistic totals
- Budget build: entry laminate throughout, minimal levelling, roughly R40,000
- Mid-range build: good laminate or vinyl, full strip-out and underlay, roughly R55,000
- Upper build: premium plank or wood in the living areas, roughly R70,000 and up
Wood changes the picture completely. Doing the same 80 m2 in solid or engineered wood at R950 to R2,800 per m2 costs R76,000 to R224,000 before you have touched the kitchen, which is why our engineered wood flooring prices guide exists as its own read.
Where the money actually goes room by room
Cost per room is not simply area. Small rooms carry a higher effective rate.
- Passages: narrow, full of cuts and door thresholds, slow work for little area
- Bedrooms: the cheapest square metres in the house, big open rectangles
- Lounges: usually cheap per m2 unless furniture has to be moved and stored
- Kitchens: cutting around units and appliances adds real labour time
- Bathrooms: smallest area, highest rate, because of waterproofing and cuts
If the budget is tight, do the bedrooms and living areas in one go and leave the wet rooms for a later phase. Splitting the job that way is far easier than downgrading the material everywhere.
Choosing material by room, not by whim
Mixing materials sensibly saves more than haggling on the rate.
- Bedrooms: laminate is fine, low traffic and dry
- Lounge and passage: the highest traffic, worth spending on a higher wear rating
- Kitchen: vinyl or tile, because spills are constant
- Bathrooms: tile, properly waterproofed underneath
- Coastal homes: humidity matters, so check the moisture rating before buying
The plank decision itself is a genuine fork in the road, and we set the two options against each other in our laminate vs vinyl flooring comparison.
How long a whole-house re-floor takes
For 100 m2 with a competent crew, plan on one to two weeks of disruption.
- Day 1: clear furniture, lift the old floor, remove skirtings
- Day 2: assess the subfloor and level where needed
- Days 3 to 5: drying time if a compound or screed was used
- Days 5 to 8: lay planks, roughly 20 to 30 m2 a day per team
- Day 9: skirtings, trims, thresholds and clean-up
Living in the house through it is doable if you work room by room. Empty each room the night before rather than on the morning, because a crew standing around waiting is a crew you are paying. Tile and adhesive standards are published by the South African Bureau of Standards.
We quote whole-house jobs room by room so you can see what to cut if the number is high. Look at our flooring and tiling service, check current rates in our laminate flooring installation cost guide, then send us your floor plan for a written breakdown. The assessment is free and we do not charge a call-out fee.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to re-floor a 3-bedroom house?
For a typical Cape Town three-bedroom home of about 100 square metres, budget R40,000 to R70,000 in 2026 for mid-range laminate or vinyl including installation. Entry-level laminate throughout comes in nearer R40,000, while premium planks in the living areas push past R70,000.
How much does new flooring cost per square metre?
Supplied and installed in 2026: laminate R280 to R850 per m2, vinyl R450 to R850, bamboo R450 to R1,100, carpet R350 to R650 and wood R950 to R2,800. If you buy the material yourself, installation labour alone runs R80 to R320 per square metre.
What extra costs are left out of flooring quotes?
Four items regularly missing: stripping and disposing of the old floor at R30 to R80 per m2, underlay at R20 to R60 per m2, levelling the subfloor at R30 to R80 per m2 for compound, and new skirtings or trims priced per metre. Ask for each to be listed separately.
How long does it take to re-floor a whole house?
Around one to two weeks for 100 square metres. Strip-out is a day, subfloor assessment and levelling another, then drying time if compound or screed is used. Laying runs at roughly 20 to 30 square metres a day per team, with a final day for skirtings and clean-up.
Is it cheaper to do the whole house at once?
Usually yes, per square metre, because set-up, delivery and waste removal are spread over more area and offcuts get used. If cash flow is the constraint, split by room rather than downgrading the material everywhere, and start with the bedrooms and living areas.