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Make It Fit

Flooring & Tile

Flooring Calculator

Turn room measurements into the number of planks or packs to order for laminate, vinyl or engineered wood.

Calculate your flooring

Areas in feet. Split an irregular room into more than one area, or exclude anything you won't floor. The estimate updates as you type.

Area to floor

Area 1

ft
ft
Waste
%
Flooring
sq ft

Use the coverage printed on your flooring pack — it varies by product.

The method

  1. 01

    Measure the flooring area

    sum of (length × width) for each area

  2. 02

    Subtract excluded areas

    flooring area − excluded areas

    Only needed where part of the room, such as a kitchen island or hearth, won't be floored.

  3. 03

    Add a waste allowance

    area × (1 + waste allowance)

    Around 5–10% is common for a straightforward, straight-lay room; diagonal, patterned or cut-heavy layouts often need more.

  4. 04

    Divide by coverage per pack

    area with waste allowance ÷ coverage per pack

  5. 05

    Round up to whole packs

    round up to the next whole pack

Worth knowing

  • Measure at more than one point — rooms are rarely perfectly square.
  • Order underlayment and trim separately; they are not included in pack coverage.
  • Let the flooring acclimate in the room before fitting, as the manufacturer directs.

Flooring calculator example

Room
10 × 12 ft
Waste allowance
10%
Coverage per pack
20 sq ft
  1. Flooring area10 × 12 = 120 sq ft
  2. Area with waste120 × 1.10 = 132 sq ft
  3. Packs needed132 ÷ 20 = 6.6 packs
  4. Round up7 packs

Buy 7 packs.

Flooring is sold in whole packs, so 6.6 packs rounds up to 7 — giving 140 sq ft of purchased coverage.

How much extra flooring should you buy?

A waste allowance covers cuts around edges and obstacles, plank or board offcuts, the odd damaged piece, and pattern or layout requirements.

Typical waste allowance by layout
LayoutTypical waste allowance
Straightforward rectangular room, simple layoutAround 5–10% may be a useful planning range
Typical room with cuts, doorways, or some complexityAround 10% is a common planning starting point
Diagonal, patterned, complex layout, or many cuts10–15% or more may be appropriate, depending on the product and layout

Important: these are planning guidelines, not guarantees. The right allowance depends on room shape, plank or board size, the installation pattern, the number of cuts, damaged pieces, and the manufacturer's own instructions.

How to measure an irregular room for flooring

A quick example of adding rectangles together:

Main area: 8 × 10 ft
80 sq ft
Second area: 3 × 4 ft
12 sq ft
Gross area
92 sq ft

A fixed feature that won't be floored, like a kitchen island or a hearth, then comes off that gross total with “Exclude an area.”

How to measure a room for flooring covers taking the dimensions at floor level, splitting the rectangles without double-counting, and where the floor stops at a doorway.

Flooring calculator FAQ

How do I calculate how much flooring I need?
Measure the room and subtract any area you won't be flooring, add a waste allowance, then divide by the coverage per pack and round up to a whole pack. The calculator above does all of this for you as you type.
How much extra flooring should I buy?
It depends on the room's layout, the product, and how many cuts the job needs — there's no single figure that fits every job. See the guidance above for typical planning ranges.
Should I subtract kitchen cabinets or islands?
Only exclude an area you're sure won't be floored, based on your actual installation plan — a fixed island base, for example. Use "Exclude an area" for each one, and the calculator subtracts it before working out packs.
Why does the calculator round up to whole packs?
Flooring is generally sold by the pack rather than individually, so you can't buy a fractional pack. The result rounds up to the next whole pack you'd actually need to order.
Where do I find coverage per pack?
It's printed on the flooring packaging, or listed in the manufacturer's or retailer's product information. Use the figure for the actual product you're buying — the calculator's "Coverage per pack" field is editable for exactly this reason.

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