St Francis School

St Francis School is an independent prep school and nursery set in 17 acres of the Pewsey Vale, alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal. Like many schools in older buildings, it had areas of tired flooring that needed replacing, and the school wanted a clean, hard-wearing grey LVT that would stand up to busy days with pupils and still look smart.

The tricky part of this job was underneath. Much of the existing floor was laid over original parquet, which is a characterful surface in its own right but not a reliable base for new LVT. Over time, individual blocks shrink, lift and move, and every gap or ridge would show through a thin resilient floor. Rather than fit straight over it, we took the time to prepare properly.

After uplifting the old floor coverings, including about 113m² of carpet, and using a heavy-duty floor stripper to clear what was left, we overlaid the parquet with plyboard to create a stable, even base. Where we needed a finer finish, we used feather finish to smooth out joints and small hollows. Around 55m² of the subfloor needed more than that, so we primed and fully screeded it to bring it level. With the base sorted, the new grey LVT went down as a straight lay across the space.

Timing mattered just as much as the prep. We started on site on 26 August 2025 and had the work complete by 29 August, during the final week of the summer holidays. That meant the school had its new floors in place before pupils returned, with no disruption to lessons.

This is the sort of project where good preparation makes all the difference. A new floor is only as good as what it sits on, and getting the subfloor right first means St Francis will get years of hard wear and a smart, even finish from its new LVT.

Interested in flooring for your school or workplace? Get in touch with our commercial team for a quote.