← 🏠 Homeowners and DIYers toolkit
Flooring Calculator
How much flooring to buy, and how many packs, with waste included.
Part of the 🏠 Homeowners and DIYers toolkit, with more tools made for the job.
Use this instead of length and width.
Leave empty for 10%. Guides often say 7 to 10% for laminate or vinyl, 10 to 15% for hardwood, and more for awkward rooms.
On the pack. Gives the number of packs.
Type the room size, and the flooring to buy appears here.
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Enter the length and width of the room, the extra you want for cuts and the area one pack covers. This shows the flooring to buy and the packs.
Flooring has to be cut at the edges, around doorways and at the end of every row, so you always need more than the room's area. How much more depends on the material and the shape of the room. Guides often put laminate and vinyl at around 7 to 10 percent, hardwood at 10 to 15 percent, and awkward rooms with alcoves or angles higher. The pack coverage is on the box, and flooring is sold in whole packs, so the tool rounds up.
How it’s worked out
- Area is length times width, or the area you type directly. For an L-shaped room, measure each part and add them.
- Area to buy is the area plus the allowance for cuts and waste.
- Packs are the area to buy divided by what one pack covers, rounded up to whole packs.
- Cost is the area in whole packs times the price per square metre or foot.
A 5 m by 4 m room is 20 square metres. With 10 percent extra you need 22 square metres, which is 10 packs of 2.2 square metres.
Common mistakes
- Ordering exactly the room area. There is always cutting, and you cannot reorder the same batch later.
- Forgetting the underlay. Many floors need one, and it is bought separately by area.
- Measuring to the wall and not to the doorway. Include the area under door frames and into cupboards you are flooring.
- Ignoring the pattern. Herringbone or diagonal floors can use 10 to 15 percent or more.
Questions
How much extra should I add?
Many guides suggest about 7 to 10 percent for laminate and vinyl, 10 to 15 percent for hardwood, and more for diagonal layouts or rooms with bay windows and alcoves. Check the maker's advice for your product.
Do I need to leave an expansion gap?
Many floating floors need a gap around the edge for expansion. The maker's instructions say how much, and the skirting or trim usually hides it. It does not change the amount of flooring much.
What about carpet?
Carpet is sold by width and length from a roll, so measure the longest run and the width. Ask the supplier to plan the cuts, since pattern and joins matter.
Can I use it for decking?
The area and waste sums are the same. The decking board calculator on a supplier's site will also work out joists and fixings.
Estimates only
These are estimates and general information, not building, safety, legal or professional advice. Materials, coverage, waste and rules vary by product, project and place, so check the maker's instructions and your local rules, and use a qualified person for gas, electrical and structural work.
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