Flooring Calculator
Calculate how much flooring you need in square feet, including a waste percentage for cuts and pattern matching.
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Net Area
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Area to Order —
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sq ft
Net Area
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Order Area —
Boxes —
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Areas
Room 1 Area —
Room 2 Area —
Total Net Area —
Area to Order —
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Cost Estimate
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Underlayment —
Installation —
Total Project —
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the room length and width in feet.
- Enter a waste percentage (10% is standard).
- Optionally enter sq ft per box to see number of boxes needed.
Formula
Net area = Length × Width
Order area = Net area × (1 + waste ÷ 100)
Boxes = ceil(Order area ÷ sq ft per box)
Example
Example: 15 × 20 ft room, 10% waste → 300 sq ft → order 330 sq ft. At 20 sq ft/box = 17 boxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Order the room area plus a waste allowance. For straight-lay hardwood, laminate, or LVP, add 10% waste. For diagonal installations, add 15% because more cuts are made at the edges. Complex herringbone or parquet patterns can waste 15–20% due to the angled cuts required at room perimeters. For example, a 15 × 20 ft room (300 sq ft) with a 10% waste allowance means ordering 330 sq ft. Always round up to full boxes and keep extras for future repairs — flooring dye lots change frequently and a stored spare plank can save a difficult match later.
- For straight-lay solid hardwood or laminate, 8–10% waste is the industry standard. This accounts for end cuts, defective boards, and minor mistakes. For engineered hardwood with a diagonal or herringbone pattern, use 15% because every edge cut is angled rather than square. For highly irregular rooms with many corners, bay windows, or fireplace hearths, bump the waste to 12–15% even for straight-lay. The waste percentage in this calculator applies on top of the net room area, so a 10% waste factor on a 200 sq ft room gives you 220 sq ft to order.
- Yes — when measuring a room for flooring, measure from wall to wall and include the area under doorways. Flooring typically extends to the center of the doorway threshold or transition strip, so measure to that midpoint. If two rooms share the same flooring material with no transition strip, measure them as one combined area. Do not deduct for doorways themselves, since flooring still passes underneath the door jamb. A common mistake is measuring only the open floor area and missing the few square feet under each door opening, which causes a flooring shortage at the end of the project.
- Enter the coverage per box in the optional sq ft per box field — this number is printed on the box label or product page. The calculator divides your total order area (net area plus waste) by the coverage per box and rounds up to the next whole box. For example, if your order area is 330 sq ft and each box covers 20 sq ft, you need 17 boxes. Never round down — partial boxes cannot be returned to most flooring suppliers once opened. Buy one extra box if possible and store it for future repairs.
- Yes — include all areas where flooring will be installed, including closets, walk-in wardrobes, and alcoves, as part of your total room measurement. Measure each space separately and add the areas together before entering into the calculator. For very small closets (under 20 sq ft), the waste from cuts at the doorway can exceed 10%, so consider adding an extra 5% to the waste factor for that area. Including closets in the total typically only adds a small amount to the order but ensures you have enough material to complete the entire space in one dye lot.