Flooring Calculator
Estimate flooring boxes, purchase area, skirting, underlay and threshold strips from your room sizes
Flooring Calculator
Estimate flooring, underlay, threshold strips and skirting from your room sizes. A quantity tool only — no flooring sold, no brand recommendations.
Room sizes and options
Up to 5 rooms. Enter length and width in metres, measured at the widest point of each room.
Add up the width of every door opening
Door openings carry no skirting, so they are deducted from the perimeter
Estimate
Total floor area
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Purchase area
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Boxes needed
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Skirting pieces
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Materials list
| Item | Specification | Quantity |
|---|
All figures are estimates from room dimensions. Have the installer re-measure on site and follow the supplier layout plan before ordering; actual quantities may differ.
Where the waste rate comes from
- Fragmented rooms waste moreMore corners, columns and short rows mean more offcuts. For the same area, one regular room wastes less than several small rooms.
- More complex patterns waste moreA straight staggered layout needs the least cutting. Herringbone and chevron cut boards at an angle, adding a further 5 to 8 percentage points.
- Longer boards waste moreLong planks leave short offcuts at row ends that are hard to reuse, so solid wood and long engineered boards usually need a bigger allowance.
- Add herringbone and chevron separatelyThe base rate assumes a staggered layout. Herringbone and chevron must be added on top; do not use one flat number for every room.
Rates used here: 5% laminate, 6% engineered, 8% solid wood and 5% SPC for staggered layouts, plus 5 points for herringbone and 8 points for chevron. Add a little more for diagonal layouts, many doorways or irregular room shapes.
Four flooring types compared
| Type | Stability | Underfoot feel | Water resistance | Underfloor heating | Typical thickness | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laminate | Good, resists movement | Firm and hard | Limited — standing water can swell the core | Suitable with a heating-rated product | 8–12 mm | Easy, damp mop only |
| Engineered wood | Good, multilayer core | Comfortable, slightly softer | Limited — wipe spills promptly | Most multilayer products are suitable | 12–15 mm | Moderate, avoid soaking |
| Solid wood | Fair, sensitive to humidity | Warm and comfortable | Poor — water causes swelling and stains | Generally not recommended | Around 18 mm | Needs periodic oiling or waxing |
| SPC vinyl | Very good, dimensionally stable | Firm and cool to the touch | Good — waterproof core | Suitable | 4–6 mm | Easy, mop with water |
Five common mistakes
- Measuring only the net areaWithout a waste allowance the last row and the offcuts around doors can leave you short, and a second order may come from a different production batch.
- Forgetting to deduct door openingsSkirting stops at door frames and thresholds, so subtract the total door width from the perimeter before dividing by the piece length.
- Choosing the wrong floor for underfloor heatingSolid wood can gap or cup over heating. Check that the floor and underlay are rated for warm floors and follow the supplier warm-up schedule.
- Overlapping the underlayLay rolls edge to edge rather than on top of each other; thick overlaps make the floor uneven and wear the joints.
- Mixing different batchesColour and dimensional tolerances vary between batches. Buy the whole job in one order and keep one spare box for later repairs.