Flooring Cost: Tiles vs Vinyl vs Laminate

Flooring is one of the largest single line items in a flat renovation, mostly because it covers the biggest area. For a Singapore HDB flat the illustrative range is about S$3–10 per square foot for vinyl, laminate or overlay tiles, and about S$8–18 psf for ceramic or porcelain, supply and install. These are approximate market ranges for 2026 compiled from published Singapore flooring guides — not quotes, and not official rates. The single biggest swing is not the material you pick but whether you overlay the existing floor or hack it out first.

Cost by material

The figures below are supply-and-install ranges, before any hacking, levelling or skirting. Material grade, finish and the size of the job all move the final number, so treat them as a planning guide and get at least three quotes from an HDB-registered contractor.

Illustrative per-sqft flooring ranges (2026), supply and install, before hacking. Not quotes.

Approximate supply-and-install ranges, 2026, compiled from published Singapore flooring price guides. Not quotes.

Vinyl (SPC and LVT) dominates HDB flooring for a simple reason: it is waterproof, installs in a day or two, and can usually be laid straight over a sound existing floor. Laminate looks similar and costs about the same, but its fibreboard core is not suited to Singapore’s humidity. Tiles, engineered wood and stone cost more per square foot and usually need the old floor hacked out first, which adds cost on top of the headline rate.

Overlay or hack?

This is the decision that really sets your budget. Overlaying lays the new finish over the existing floor with no demolition, no debris to cart away and no hacking permit. Hacking removes the old finish down to the screed — necessary when tiles are cracked, hollow or uneven, or when you want tile or stone, which cannot be floated over an old surface.

Overlaying avoids these extras. Approximate 2026 ranges; skirting is priced per linear foot.

Hacking and its related work typically add the following on top of the material rate:

Durability and waterproofing

Price is only half the decision; how a floor copes with water and wear matters just as much in a humid, wet-prone flat.

For kitchens, bathroom thresholds and homes with pets or young children, a waterproof surface such as vinyl or tile is the safer choice. Keep laminate and engineered wood to dry bedrooms and living areas.

The HDB rules that affect flooring

Flooring work sits inside HDB’s renovation rules, and a few of them directly change what you can do and when.

• Removing and replacing a floor finish needs a renovation permit. Your contractor — who must be listed in HDB’s Directory of Renovation Contractors — applies before the work starts. Laying a new finish over an intact existing floor does not need a flooring permit on its own.
• Thickness is capped. The total thickness of floor finishes and screed must not exceed 50mm, so an overlay still has to stay within that limit.
• Hacking is noisy work. Tile removal and cutting are restricted to weekdays, 9am–5pm. Plan the schedule — see the renovation noise and timing rules.

A worked example (illustrative)

Take a 4-room flat with roughly 650–900 sqft of flooring area. Floored in SPC vinyl as an overlay, with skirting and no hacking, the supply-and-install total typically lands around S$3,000–S$8,000. Switch to porcelain tile and hack the old floor, adding disposal and screeding, and the same flat comfortably passes S$8,000 and can reach S$20,000 depending on tile choice and condition. These are illustrative figures to show the shape of the decision, not a quote for any specific flat.

Related

• HDB renovation cost guide
• Kitchen renovation cost
• Resale flat renovation cost
• HDB renovation permit guide

Cost figures are illustrative ranges compiled from published industry sources, not quotes. Confirm current prices with your contractor and current rules on the HDB website before you start.