Flooring Calculator

Find how many boxes of hardwood, laminate or vinyl plank, or square yards of carpet, you need for a room, with waste and cost.

Flooring Type
Layout
Sets the waste allowance; you can change it.
$
Priced
Fractions and decimals both work.
Boxes
Room area
With waste
Square yards
Carpet roll
Cost

Room List

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RoomSizeAreaWith WasteBuyCostRemove

How Much Flooring Do You Need?

Measure each room's length and width and multiply to get square feet. Add a waste allowance for cuts: about 10% for a straight layout, 15% for diagonal, and more for herringbone or rooms with lots of corners. Divide by the square feet in a box to get the number of boxes, and round up.

Boxes = length × width × (1 + waste) ÷ sq. ft. per box, rounded up

Carpet is sold by the square yard (9 square feet) off rolls usually 12 feet wide. For carpet, the calculator also shows how many linear feet of roll it takes to cover the room in strips.

Square yards = square feet ÷ 9   Strips = ⌈room width ÷ roll width⌉

The calculator tries running the roll both ways and uses whichever takes less carpet.

Worked Example

Waste Allowances

LayoutTypical Extra
Straight, simple room5% to 10%
Diagonal15%
Herringbone or chevron15% to 20%
Many corners, closets or anglesAdd 5%

Tips

Buy all your flooring from the same lot so color and finish match, and keep a box for future repairs. Let wood and laminate acclimate in the room before installing, following the maker's instructions. For irregular rooms, split the floor into rectangles, add each one to the list, and total them.