Flooring Calculator
Use this flooring calculator to find how many boxes of laminate, vinyl plank or hardwood flooring a project needs from its room sizes, box coverage and waste allowance. It adds a waste percentage for a straight or diagonal layout, rounds up to whole boxes and also gives planks, underlayment area, baseboard length and cost. For tile with grout use the tile calculator, for roll goods sold by the square yard use the carpet calculator, and for plain floor or wall area see the square footage and drywall calculators.
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Boxes to buy
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Floor area
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Area with waste
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Area in those boxes
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Planks needed (approx.)
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Underlayment area
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Baseboard (room perimeters)
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Estimated cost
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Area = length × width of each room, added together. Area with waste = area × (1 + waste %). Boxes = area with waste ÷ coverage per box, rounded up, because boxes are sold whole. Many guides use about 10% waste for a straight layout and about 15% for a diagonal one; both are adjustable allowances and you can enter your own. Box coverage varies by product (the 20 sq ft default is only a placeholder, so read your box label). Planks = area with waste ÷ the area of one plank. Underlayment is counted at the floor area, and baseboard is the total room perimeter, so subtract doorways yourself. Cost = whole boxes × coverage per box × price per unit area.
Tile Calculator · Carpet Calculator · Square Footage Calculator · Drywall Calculator
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How it works
- How many boxes of flooring do I need?
- Add up the room areas, multiply by 1 plus the waste percentage, divide by the coverage of one box and round up. For 200 sq ft with 10% waste that is 220 sq ft, and at 20 sq ft per box you need 11 boxes.
- How much waste should I allow?
- Many guides use about 10% for a straight layout and about 15% for a diagonal layout, and the calculator offers those as starting points. Rooms with many corners, patterns or lower-quality boards may need more. Choose Custom waste to enter your own figure.
- Where do I find the coverage per box?
- It is printed on the box and on the product page, usually in square feet or square meters per box, and it differs between brands and plank sizes. The 20 sq ft default is only a placeholder, so enter your product's figure.
- Do I need underlayment and baseboard?
- Many floating floors use underlayment, and some planks come with it attached, so check the product instructions. This page shows underlayment at the floor area and baseboard as the sum of the room perimeters to give you a starting number; subtract doorways and add waste for baseboard separately.
- How is this different from the tile and carpet calculators?
- This page is for boxed plank flooring: laminate, vinyl plank and hardwood bought by the box. The tile calculator handles tile sizes and grout joints, and the carpet calculator handles roll goods sold by the square yard with roll width and seams.