Flooring Calculator

Multiply the room length by the width to get floor area in square feet. Multiply by one plus the waste percent to add an allowance for cuts and pattern matching. Divide by the box coverage from the product label and round up to the next whole box. That ceiling is the order quantity.

10 percent is a fair default for a rectangular room with straight runs. Plank flooring with a long stagger or directional grain often runs 12 to 15 percent. Diagonal layouts, herringbone, oddly shaped rooms, multiple closets, and stairs typically need 15 to 20 percent. The waste percent you enter is added on top of the floor area before dividing by box coverage.

On the product label. Common laminate and vinyl plank boxes cover 20 to 30 square feet. Hardwood boxes vary more widely, often 18 to 25 square feet. Hardwood often uses 'random length' bundles, in which case the box label still lists a coverage figure. Plug that figure in.

Use it for carpet tiles or modular carpet, where each box covers a known square footage. For roll carpet, the math is similar but rolls come in fixed widths (12 or 15 feet are common) and you order linear feet of roll. The flooring calculator is best for box-quantity flooring; consult a flooring retailer for roll carpet seam layouts.

Yes, the simplest approach is to compute each room separately and add the box totals. Combining oddly shaped rooms into one length × width often produces a number that does not match how the boxes will actually lay out, especially around doorways and transitions.

The cost line is boxes-to-order times your entered price per box. It does not include underlayment, transition strips, trim, baseboard quarter round, adhesives, removal, delivery, sales tax, or installation labor. Treat it as a flooring-only planning figure.