Flooring Calculator

Flooring material is lost during cutting, especially around corners, doorways, and odd-shaped rooms. Diagonal installations require even more waste. A 10% waste factor is a common starting point for rectangular rooms with straight layouts. Diagonal patterns, herringbone, or rooms with many obstacles can require 15 to 20% extra. Always round up to the nearest full box because opening a new box later means the dye lot may not match.

Divide the total square footage by 9. There are 9 square feet in one square yard (3 ft x 3 ft). So a 180 sq ft room equals 20 square yards. Some carpet and vinyl sheet goods are priced per square yard, so this conversion is useful when comparing prices or reading older quotes.

Divide your total square footage (including waste) by the square footage per box shown on the product packaging. For example, if your room needs 220 sq ft with waste and each box covers 20 sq ft, you need 11 boxes. Always round up to whole boxes since you cannot buy partial boxes. Enter the sq ft per box in this calculator to get the exact count.

Yes. The area calculation is the same for any flooring product. The key variable is the square footage per box, which varies by product. Hardwood and laminate boxes typically cover 20 to 30 sq ft. Vinyl plank boxes often cover 20 to 25 sq ft. Tile is usually sold by the piece or by the square foot. Enter the coverage per box (or per case) from your product packaging.

Measure each room separately and add the results. Do not measure the whole house as one area because walls, cabinets, and transitions break up the space. For each room, measure the longest length and widest width (even if the room is not perfectly rectangular). Adding a per-room waste factor is more accurate than applying a single factor to the whole house total.