Flooring calculator
Work out the area and how many packs of flooring to buy.
Your inputs
Your inputs are processed on your device and are not sent to a server.
Example loaded. You can change any value.
There is no figure yet: nothing is calculated until you ask for it.
- Enter your measurements.
- Check the units and the assumptions.
- Press Calculate, or load the example.
Rather see a worked case? Press “Load example” and change any value afterwards.
Next step
The floor ends at the baseboard, and it uses the same perimeter.
Where each number comes from Conversion constants are exact; densities and coverage rates come from cited sources; everything else is an assumption you can change. Methodology · Sources and updates
How to use it
- Measure the room length and width.
- Adjust the waste for the room shape and the laying direction.
- Enter the coverage per pack, printed on the label.
- The result rounds up to whole packs and tells you what is left over.
How it is calculated
This is the simplest calculation on the site, which is exactly why people come up short: they work out the precise area and buy precisely that.
Waste is not optional. Every row ends in a cut, and that offcut only starts the next row if it is longer than about 12 inches. Between that, damaged planks and fitting around radiators and door casings, 5-10 % disappears.
Rounding to whole packs is what actually decides your purchase: needing 232 sq ft is irrelevant if a pack covers 24 sq ft. You are buying 10 packs, which is 240.
Worked example
A 16 x 13 ft room, laminate in packs covering 24 sq ft, 8 % waste:
- Area: 16 x 13 = 208 sq ft
- With waste: 208 x 1.08 = 225 sq ft
- Packs: 225 / 24 = 9.4 → 10 packs (240 sq ft)
- Left over: 15 sq ft, about five planks
Good to know
- Buy it all from one batch. Shade varies between production runs and shows up in a large room with side light.
- Diagonal laying: 15 %. Every row starts and ends on an angled cut, and almost no offcut gets reused.
- Narrow hallways waste more. A 3 ft corridor wastes a lot when the plank is 4 ft long.
- This excludes underlay and trim. Underlay goes by area, skirting by perimeter.
Frequently asked questions
How much extra flooring should I buy?
5-10 % for rectangular rooms laid straight. 15 % for diagonal or herringbone layouts and rooms with many alcoves. Below 5 % you risk running out on the last row.
How many boxes of flooring do I need?
Divide the area including waste by the coverage per box and round up. For a 208 sq ft room with 8 % waste and 24 sq ft boxes, that is 10 boxes.
Can I reuse the offcut at the end of a row?
If it is longer than about 12 inches, yes: it starts the next row and helps stagger the joints, which is what you want visually anyway. Shorter than that, it is scrap.
Does this work for vinyl and engineered wood?
Yes, the area-and-pack maths is identical. For solid hardwood, raise the waste to 10-12 % because more boards get rejected for knots and defects.
Should I subtract built-in furniture?
Better not to. Kitchens and fitted wardrobes get replaced, and then the floor would not reach. Only subtract openings that will never change, like a structural column.