Calculator
Flooring Calculator
Estimate the area of a room and how many boxes of flooring to buy.
How many boxes of flooring do I need?
Flooring is sold in boxes covering a fixed area, and rooms are rarely a perfect fit for a whole number of boxes — cuts, offcuts and mistakes all eat into coverage. This calculator takes your room area, adds a waste allowance, and divides by the box coverage to get a buy quantity that won’t leave you short mid-install.
Frequently asked questions
Why add a waste allowance?
Cutting flooring to fit around walls, doorways and obstacles always produces offcuts that can't be reused, and mistakes happen even with careful measuring. 10% is a common default for a simple rectangular room; more complex layouts (lots of corners, diagonal patterns) often need 15% or more.
Why does coverage per box vary so much between materials?
Box coverage depends on plank/tile size and how many pieces are packed per box, which varies by manufacturer and material — laminate and vinyl plank boxes commonly cover 18-24 sq ft (1.7-2.2 m²), while tile boxes vary more widely by tile size. Check the specific product's box label rather than assuming a standard number.
What if my room isn't a simple rectangle?
Split it into rectangular sections (an L-shaped room becomes two rectangles, for example), calculate each section's area separately, and add them together before running it through this calculator. The waste allowance should also increase for irregular layouts since they generate more cuts.
Should I round up to the nearest full box?
Yes — this calculator already rounds up, since flooring is only sold by the full box and a fractional box isn't purchasable. It's also worth keeping any full leftover boxes for future repairs, since matching a discontinued material later can be difficult.