Flooring Calculator
Calculate floor area, waste allowance, and exact packs of laminate, LVT, or wood flooring needed.
Floor area is 20.00 m²; with 10% waste that's 22.00 m². At 2.20 m² per pack, you need 10 packs.
Results update as you type. The pack count rounds up because partial packs aren't sold; modest leftover stock is useful for future repairs.
Formula
Floor area is the simple multiplication
length × width. Add a waste allowance:
area × (1 + waste% / 100). Divide by the
pack's coverage and round up — partial packs don't sell, and a small surplus is invaluable
for future repairs.
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Frequently asked questions
How much waste to allow?▾
10% covers a typical rectangular room with square-laid laminate or LVT. Increase to 12–15% for: diagonal or herringbone patterns, strong pattern matching, rooms with alcoves and bay windows, and tile flooring (where breakage during cutting is more common). The waste covers offcuts that can't be reused — the leftover doesn't go back in the box.
Where is pack coverage shown?▾
On the box, usually in m². Typical figures: laminate ~2.0–2.5 m²/pack, LVT ~2.6–3.5 m², engineered wood ~1.6–2.4 m², ceramic tile boxes ~0.9–1.5 m². Manufacturer websites often quote 'nominal' figures; the box label is the authoritative one. Pack coverage varies by plank size — wider planks usually mean fewer planks per pack.
Do I need underlay (Trittschalldämmung / sous-couche)?▾
For floating floors (laminate, click-LVT, engineered) — yes, separately. It's sold by the roll, calculated from the same m² figure. Some click-LVT and laminate products have integrated underlay; check the box. Real-wood nailed-down installations don't need acoustic underlay but typically use a moisture barrier.
Should I buy a spare pack?▾
Strongly recommended. Production batches differ slightly in colour, especially for laminate. A sealed spare pack from the same batch is worth its price for repairs over the next 5–10 years. Most retailers refund unopened packs; the downside is small.
What about transitions and skirting?▾
Calculated separately, by the linear metre. Measure: doorways for transition profiles; the room perimeter (minus doorway widths) for skirting boards / scotia. Add 5–10% waste to those linear-metre figures too — corners and obstacles cause cutting losses.
Does this work for tiles?▾
Yes. Use the box coverage from the tile manufacturer (often 1–1.5 m² per box for floor tiles) and bump waste to 15–20% to cover breakage and pattern matching.