Flooring is bought by the box, so the real question is how many boxes a room needs. Measure the room or type in the area, set the coverage printed on the box and a waste allowance for cuts, and this calculator gives you the floor area in square feet and square metres, the whole boxes to order and the estimated cost — for laminate, vinyl or hardwood.
sq ft
sq ft
%
$
Boxes needed—at your box coverage
Floor area—sq ft
Area incl. waste—sq ft
Floor area—m²
Estimated cost—boxes × price
How to Calculate Flooring
Measure the room, set the box coverage, and read the boxes.
1
Enter the room or area
Use Room to type the length and width in feet or metres, and the calculator works out the floor area for you. Already know the total square footage? Switch to Area and enter it directly.
2
Set coverage and waste
Enter the coverage printed on the box — often around 20 sq ft — and a waste allowance for cuts and offcuts. Ten percent suits a straight lay; go higher for diagonal or herringbone patterns.
3
Read boxes and cost
You get the floor area in square feet and square metres, the area including waste, and the whole boxes to order. Add a price per box for an estimated cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much flooring should I buy?
Buy enough to cover the floor area plus a waste allowance, because you will lose some material to cuts at the walls, doorways and around obstacles. For a straightforward rectangular room laid straight, add about ten percent on top of the measured area. Go up to fifteen percent for a busy room shape with alcoves and closets, and toward twenty percent for a diagonal or herringbone layout where the angled cuts waste far more. Work out the floor area in square feet, multiply by one plus your waste percentage, then divide by the coverage printed on the box to get the number of boxes and round up. The calculator does all of this for you: enter the room size, a box coverage and a waste percentage, and it shows the area before waste, the area including waste, and the whole boxes to order.
How many boxes of flooring do I need?
Divide the floor area including your waste allowance by the coverage of one box, then round up to the next whole box, because flooring is only sold in full boxes. Each box lists how many square feet it covers on the label, commonly around twenty square feet for laminate and vinyl planks though it varies by product, so always use the figure on the box you are buying. For example a 200 square foot room with a ten percent waste allowance needs 220 square feet of flooring, and at twenty square feet per box that is eleven boxes. Enter your own box coverage in the calculator and it divides the area including waste by that figure and rounds up, so the box count always reflects the exact product you have chosen.
How do I measure a room for flooring?
Measure the length and the width of the room at the widest points and multiply them to get the floor area in square feet. For an L-shaped or irregular room, split it into rectangles, work out the area of each and add them together. Include the floor inside doorways and any closets or bay windows you plan to floor, since they take material too. Measure in feet and inches or in metres — the calculator has a Room mode with a foot or metre unit selector so you do not have to convert by hand — or if you already know the total square footage from a floor plan, switch to Area mode and type it straight in. Whichever way you measure, the tool converts it to square feet and square metres and adds your waste allowance on top.
Why should I buy extra flooring?
Extra flooring covers the material you cannot avoid losing and the pieces you may need later. Every plank cut to fit against a wall leaves an offcut that is often too short to reuse, doorways and pipes force awkward cuts, and a diagonal or herringbone pattern multiplies the angled waste. Beyond the install, keeping a spare box or two from the same batch is worth it: if a plank is ever damaged you can swap in an exact match, whereas a later purchase may be a different dye lot or a discontinued line that no longer matches. That is why a ten to twenty percent allowance is standard, and why it is sensible to round the box count up rather than down. The calculator lets you set the waste percentage and shows both the raw area and the amount to actually buy.
Do I need underlayment as well as flooring?
Most floating floors such as laminate and click vinyl need an underlayment beneath them unless the planks come with a pad already attached, so check the product before you order. Underlayment cushions the floor, smooths minor subfloor imperfections, dampens sound and, on concrete or below-grade rooms, often adds a moisture barrier. It is sold by the square foot in rolls, so you can size it from the same floor area this calculator gives you — use the area before waste, since underlayment is butted edge to edge rather than cut to a pattern, and add only a small margin for trimming and overlap at the seams. Glue-down and nail-down hardwood have different requirements, so follow the manufacturer instructions for the specific floor you are laying.