There is no single right order, and the answer changes with the type of floor going down. What matters is deciding deliberately, protecting the finish that goes in first, and not defaulting to whichever trade shouted loudest for the slot.
Painting walls and ceilings before flooring means paint can run right down to the subfloor without worrying about splash or drips on an expensive finished surface, and any scaffold or step ladders can stand directly on a protected subfloor rather than a vulnerable new floor.
Where flooring dictates a skirting height, or where a floor finish needs its own settling or acclimatisation period, it can make sense to lay it first and scribe skirtings to it afterwards. Carpet tiles and resin floors in particular are often better installed before final decoration so any residual dust and adhesive odour has cleared.
Whichever order is chosen, the finish laid first needs continuous protection — correx or board on new flooring, dust sheets and edge protection on new paintwork — for the whole remaining programme, not just the day it's installed. Protection removed too early is the single biggest cause of late-stage damage.
It matters less on a small single-room job, but on multi-room fit-outs the sequence affects protection cost and rework risk enough to plan properly.
Yes, with a small gap left to scribe to the final floor height, which is often tidier than trying to cut flooring precisely to a fixed skirting.
Correx or hardboard on hard floors, and breathable protective film on carpet and carpet tile, taped at joints rather than left loose.
Tell us your flooring type and installation date and we will recommend a sequence for your job.
The right order depends on the flooring type, but whatever goes down first needs protecting until the last trade leaves.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
