A wood-flooring quote on the same square metre of floor can range from a budget figure to two or three times that, and homeowners are sometimes left guessing which one is realistic. The honest answer is that the cost is built up from a small number of specification choices, each of which moves the number in a predictable way. This article sets out those drivers for parquet, solid timber and engineered wood — wood-only; we are not the contractor to ask about vinyl or laminate pricing.

The numbers below are ranges, not quotations. Real prices are confirmed in writing after a site visit. Stock availability and species supply change month to month.

The five things that move the number

1. Species and grade

Species is the single biggest line-item driver. Within a species, the grade — FAS, Select, Common or supplier-specific tiers — moves price further. Local ballpark for parquet and timber at the time of writing:

  • Strip parquet, common species (Burmese teak, kempas, merbau), 14–18 mm thick, narrow widths — entry-tier real-wood price point. Easy to source, easy to install.
  • Solid timber planks in oak or walnut, 14–21 mm, wider widths — mid to upper price point. Wider boards (150 mm+) and premium grades carry a clear premium.
  • Engineered wood, entry grade, 2–3 mm wear layer — comparable to mid-range solid parquet on a per-m² basis. Often the value option for wide-plank looks.
  • Engineered wood, 4–6 mm wear layer from European mills (oak, walnut) — top of the range, comparable to or above premium solid timber.

The species reference is The Wood Database for published properties and EN 350 durability class; supply-side pricing varies with FX, freight and grading. We quote the supplier's invoice price as a transparent line on our breakdown.

2. Board format — width, length and pattern

Two floors in the same species can differ in price by 30% on board format alone:

  • Wider planks cost more per m² than narrow strip parquet. Wider boards demand higher-grade lumber (fewer knots over the wider face) and a more controlled mill.
  • Longer planks cost more than shorter ones. A 1.8 m plank yields less waste at install but costs more at supply than a 0.6 m parquet strip.
  • Patterned installs — herringbone, chevron, basket-weave — add to the labour line, typically 20–40% above a straight-lay install for the same square metre.

For a like-for-like comparison, we quote the same pattern when comparing engineered and solid options.

3. Substrate and install method

The condition of what is under the wood floor decides install labour and sometimes adds remedial work:

  • Glued install on a sound concrete screed is the local default. Cost is predictable.
  • Floating install with acoustic underlay over an existing tiled floor suits engineered wood overlay projects. Adds the underlay cost; usually saves on screed preparation.
  • Screed remediation — patching, levelling, removing failed self-levelling compound — is a separate line item. We do not bury it in the per-m² rate; it is quoted by area after the site visit.
  • Skirting work — removal and replacement, or undercut to slide new flooring under existing skirting — adds a per-linear-metre line.

We confirm screed flatness against the wood-flooring manufacturer's tolerance, typically 3 mm under a 2 m straightedge. The principle is the same as the substrate flatness expectation set out for resilient and wood floor installations in ASTM F710 Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring (a useful reference even for wood, where the local market does not have an equivalent local code dedicated to wood-floor screed prep).

4. Coating system

The sand-and-coat cycle is its own quotable scope. Coating choice changes the cost of the same square metre of finishing work:

  • Standard 1K water-based varnish, 3 coats — baseline price.
  • Standard 2K water-based or premium 1K (Bona Domo or equivalent), 3 coats — typically 15–30% above baseline coating cost.
  • Bona Traffic HD or equivalent 2K water-based system, 3 coats — typically 50–80% above baseline coating cost.
  • Oil-based polyurethane, 3 coats — comparable to a standard water-based system on cost, with a longer cure window and stronger odour during application.

The labour to sand and prepare the floor is similar regardless of coating; it is the topcoat material and application practice that change. The full breakdown sits in our quotation as separate sanding and coating lines, so the comparison between coating options is on like-for-like sanding.

VOC regulation in the Singapore market follows the practice direction set out under the Environmental Protection and Management Act and is comparable in spirit to the EU Directive 2004/42/EC limits on VOC content of varnishes — a useful technical benchmark when reading coating data sheets. Where indoor-air sensitivity is a concern, we recommend water-based 1K or 2K systems over oil-based; both are widely available locally.

5. Project conditions

The fixed-cost side of any quote is shaped by the site and the access:

  • Working hours. Most MCSTs limit noisy work to 9 AM – 5 PM weekdays. Restricted hours stretch the schedule and add cost.
  • Lift booking, hoarding, dust protection — usually a per-job allowance.
  • Move-out and dust control. A vacated unit is faster, cleaner and cheaper to work in than one where the homeowner is living through the works.
  • Repair scope. Board replacement, gap filling, skirting reinstatement and threshold work are quoted as separate lines, not folded into the per-m² rate.

What "all-in" looks like for a typical condo

For a clean reference point — an 80 m² condominium unit with sound screed, parquet supply-and-install plus three coats of standard water-based varnish — the all-in budget is built up roughly as:

  • Wood supply: 40–55% of total.
  • Sanding and coating labour and materials: 20–30%.
  • Install labour and adhesive: 15–20%.
  • Site overheads (move, dust, transport, lift booking): 5–10%.
  • Repair scope (skirting, board replacement, screed patch) as a separate line.

Premium choices move the supply line. The labour lines are relatively stable across species. That is why upgrading from a standard water-based varnish to Bona Traffic HD looks expensive on the coating-only line but is a single-digit percentage on the all-in invoice.

Where the price is not the lever

A few areas that we do not encourage clients to value-engineer:

  • Sander grit progression and dust extraction — running fewer passes or skipping dust extraction saves a few hours and produces a visibly worse floor. The standard is set out in the principles of AS 4786.2:2005 Timber — Sanding and finishing of timber floors — Procedures and inspection.
  • Number of coats — three coats is the standard residential specification. Two coats look acceptable on day one and wear through visibly within 18 months in traffic lanes.
  • Adhesive grade — wood-flooring adhesives are not interchangeable with general tile adhesives. The manufacturer's named adhesive is the right specification.

How we quote

We provide a written quotation that separates:

  • Wood supply (species, grade, board format, area).
  • Sanding labour (preparation, grit progression, edge work, gap fill option).
  • Coating system (product, number of coats, cure window).
  • Install labour (pattern, adhesive, underlay if any).
  • Repair lines (board replacement, screed patch, skirting).
  • Site overheads (move, dust protection, transport).

That structure lets the homeowner see what changes when the species or the coating changes, and where the value lies. Project-specific recommendations and pricing are confirmed in writing per job.

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References used in this article

  • ASTM International. ASTM F710 — Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring (used as a reference for substrate flatness/RH practice).
  • Standards Australia. AS 4786.2:2005 — Timber — Sanding and finishing of timber floors.
  • European Parliament and Council. Directive 2004/42/EC on the limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds.
  • The Wood Database — species reference for published properties. wood-database.com
  • Singapore Standards reference — Enterprise Singapore eShop for SS 572:2012 and related codes. Singapore Standards eShop

Standards are referenced as named documents; full text is available from the issuing bodies and is not reproduced here.