Clearance Flooring

What is clearance flooring?

• Last-of-line: ranges being discontinued by us or the maker.
• End-of-batch: the remaining packs of a production batch, sometimes in limited quantities.
• Limited stock: once it is gone, it is gone, and a later batch of the same floor will not be available.

Clearance does not mean damaged or seconds: the boards are standard stock with the normal specification.

How to buy clearance flooring wisely

1. Measure first

Measure every room carefully, multiply length by width and add cutting waste: about 5% to 10% for straight plank layouts, 10% to 15% for herringbone, chevron and rooms with many corners. Our measuring guide explains how.

2. Check the quantity available

Make sure there is enough for the whole project, including waste. If you plan to continue the floor into another room later, buy enough now.

3. Buy spares

Keep a pack of spare boards. If a board is damaged in years to come, you will not be able to buy a matching one.

4. Order samples

Check the colour and finish in your own home before you order the full quantity.

5. Check suitability

A clearance floor must still suit your room: wood never in bathrooms, water-resistant floors in kitchens and hallways, approved floors for underfloor heating, and acoustic underlay upstairs.

Plan the accessories too

Finishing pieces made to match a specific range, such as matching stair nosings or colour-matched beading, may also be limited. Order them with the floor. Generic accessories, such as underlay and adhesives, are always available:

• Underlay to suit the floor and subfloor.
• Beading or skirting to cover the expansion gap.
• Threshold strips for doorways.
• Adhesive for glue-down floors.

Sale, clearance or cheap?

Sale: current ranges reduced for a period; they will be restocked. Clearance: last-of-line or end-of-batch; not restocked. Cheap flooring: our most affordable floors at their everyday level, in every material.

When you receive your floor

Check the packs straight away: product name, colour and batch number should match on every pack. Store them flat and dry in the room where they will be laid, let wood and laminate acclimatise for the time the maker states, and open and mix several packs as you lay. Our installation guides explain fitting for each type of floor.

Comparing samples at home

Order free samples of two or three options and put them on the floor of the room where they will be laid. Look at them in daylight and in the evening under your own lamps, next to the walls, skirting, units and furniture they will sit with. Colours and textures look different in every room and on every screen, so a few minutes with real samples is the best way to avoid a costly mistake. Stand back as well as looking close up: a floor is mostly seen from standing height and from the doorway.

Common mistakes

• Ordering only the room area without cutting waste.
• Planning to “add more later” for another room.
• Throwing away offcuts and spare boards that cannot be replaced.
• Choosing a floor that does not suit the room because it is reduced.

If you are unsure whether a clearance range has enough for your project, call our team before ordering and we will check with you.

Is clearance right for your project?

Clearance flooring is ideal for a single room, a contained area such as a bedroom or study, or a project where you know the exact size now. It is less suited to a home you plan to floor room by room over several years, because the same range will not be available later. For phased projects, a current range from our main collection, or the sale, is the safer choice, so you can add more of the same floor whenever you are ready.