Herringbone LVT: Installation Guide, Waste and Cost

Herringbone is the pattern most people picture when they say they want a "proper" wood floor: short planks laid at right angles in a zig-zag. In LVT you get the look at a fraction of the cost of real parquet, and with a floor that copes with kitchens, hallways and underfloor heating. It is also a harder floor to lay than a straight plank. This guide covers how it is set out, how much extra to order, what the subfloor needs, and what it costs, so you know what a good job involves before you ask for quotes.

Key Takeaways

• Herringbone and chevron are different patterns with different plank shapes. Herringbone has square-cut ends; chevron has angled ends that form a V.
• The layout is set out from a centre line and built outwards, so it stays symmetrical and the cuts at each wall match.
• Allow more waste than for straight planks: one click-herringbone guide recommends 10 to 20 per cent, against 5 to 10 per cent for ordinary layouts.
• The subfloor needs to be flat. Manufacturers commonly quote 3 mm under a 2 m straight edge, and underlay will not correct an uneven base.
• On the site's price estimator, herringbone LVT is £78/m² for the material and £17/m² to fit.

Herringbone vs Chevron: Know Which One You Are Buying

The two patterns look similar from across a room and are easy to confuse. Herringbone uses rectangular planks with square-cut ends. Each plank sits at a right angle to its neighbour, so the ends overlap in a staggered zig-zag. Chevron planks have their ends cut at an angle, so they meet in a continuous V with no overlapping ends.

The practical difference is that they are different products. You cannot lay herringbone planks as chevron, or the other way round, and chevron generally demands more precise cutting. If you are choosing from a showroom sample or an online listing, check the plank shape and the stated pattern before you order.

How Herringbone LVT Is Laid

The key difference from a straight plank floor is where you start. A straight floor can be laid from a wall. A herringbone floor is normally set out from the middle of the room, so the pattern is balanced and the cuts at opposite walls come out the same size. Published installation guides, including a step-by-step herringbone LVT guide from Wood and Beyond, describe the same sequence:

First, mark the centre of the room and a guide line parallel to the starting wall. Second, build a row of starting triangles on that line, using the A and B planks in the right order for the width of the plank. Third, trim the outer edge of the starting row to the line, and keep the offcuts, because they are often reused to fill the finishing wall. Then continue outwards, alternating A and B planks, and check the alignment regularly (the Wood and Beyond guide suggests roughly every fifth row), because a small error early on gets larger the further the floor goes.

That is why herringbone punishes a rushed start. If the first rows are slightly out of square, the pattern drifts, and by the far wall the zig-zag no longer meets the skirting evenly. It is far easier to take time over the setting out than to lift rows and begin again.

Whichever system you use, leave an expansion gap around the edges for a click floor, typically around 5 mm in the Wood and Beyond guide, and let the planks acclimatise in the room before fitting, which the same guide puts at 24 to 48 hours. Manufacturers differ on both, so the guide for your specific product takes priority.

Click or Glue-Down?

Herringbone LVT comes in both forms. Click-lock planks lock together and the floor sits on the base on an underlay. Glue-down planks are stuck to the subfloor with adhesive. Each suits different situations, and the manufacturer's instructions for the product decide what is allowed, including whether underfloor heating is compatible and how the floor should be maintained.

On the estimator on this site, glue-down plank LVT is £26/m² and click-lock is £34/m², with a £5/m² adhesive allowance when the floor is glued down. Herringbone has its own grade, covered in the cost section below. If you want to understand the difference between the two methods and why the subfloor matters for each, my LVT flooring guide goes through it.

How Much Extra to Order

Herringbone wastes more material than a straight layout. The pattern needs a lot of cuts at the edges and around doorways, and the offcuts do not always fit back into the pattern. Published guidance varies: a Direct Wood Flooring click-herringbone installation guide recommends allowing 10 to 20 per cent waste depending on the size of the area, whereas general retailer advice for ordinary layouts, such as that on the Flooring Surgeons site, is 5 to 10 per cent, with more for complex patterns.

Small rooms, rooms with lots of corners and awkward doorways sit at the high end. A large, regular room sits at the low end. My price estimator adds 10 per cent as a standard allowance, which is a sensible starting point for a regular room, but for a small or awkward room I would order more, and I would order the extra in the same batch so the colours match. It is much cheaper to buy a few spare packs at the start than to find the batch has sold out when you need two more planks.

The Subfloor: Why It Matters More Than Usual

LVT is thin, and a pattern floor makes any unevenness obvious. A dip or ridge in the base can show through, can put stress on the joints of a click floor, and can break the line of the pattern. Several manufacturer guides quote a maximum of 3 mm under a 2 m straight edge, and some pattern floors specify tighter limits, so check the one for your product.

Underlay will not fix this. A Flooret support page states that underlay should not be used to level an uneven subfloor. The usual remedies are latex smoothing on concrete, which I price on the estimator at £10 to £18/m², or a plywood overlay over uneven timber boards, at £18/m². My guide to LVT subfloor preparation costs explains how to choose between them, and the moisture limits guide covers the moisture checks on concrete and timber that have to pass before any LVT goes down.

What Herringbone LVT Costs Fitted

These are the figures from the price estimator on the homepage. They are guide prices for a standard room with a sound subfloor, and the final quote follows a visit.

Add subfloor smoothing where the floor needs it (£10 to £18/m² for latex, £18/m² for a plywood overlay) and the adhesive allowance if the floor is glued down. Then add the waste allowance to the material quantity. On a 10 m² room with a 10 per cent allowance, for example, you pay for 11 m² of the herringbone material at £78 and fit 10 m² at £17. Most of the difference between herringbone and an ordinary plank floor on the estimator is the material and the extra waste. Because a pattern floor takes longer to set out and cut, the fitting price is confirmed on the quote.

If you have already chosen and bought your flooring, I also fit labour-only: the fitting-only guide explains how that works. For a comparison against carpet in a family home, see my LVT vs carpet guide.

Where Herringbone Works Best

Herringbone suits rooms where the floor is on show: hallways and entrances, open-plan kitchen and living areas, and dining rooms. It is less suited to very small rooms, where the pattern is cut up so much by the walls that you lose the effect and pay for extra waste, and it can feel busy in a room that already has a lot of pattern. In a narrow hallway the pattern can run along the length or across it, and the choice changes how long the space looks, so it is worth deciding before you buy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Areas I Cover

Based in South London, covering Surrey, Kent and Sussex with the mobile showroom:

The Bottom Line

• Herringbone is laid from a centre line with alternating A and B planks, and the first rows decide how the whole floor turns out.
• Order more than you would for straight planks, and order it all in one batch.
• Get the subfloor flat first. Underlay will not hide a dip or a ridge.
• On my current prices, herringbone LVT is from about £95/m² fitted, before adhesive and any subfloor work.

If you are planning herringbone in South London, Surrey, Kent or Sussex, I fit LVT flooring as supply-and-fit or fitting-only, with no subcontractors and a mobile showroom that comes to you (more about Paul here). Get in touch or call 07903 320 414 for a quote.