How to Calculate Total Square Feet and Order Laminate Flooring

Measure the room at its widest and longest points to make sure you don't run out of flooring.

Before ripping up your old floor and heading to the showroom to look for new laminate flooring, take an accurate measure of your floor so you can determine just how much new flooring you need. Before you order, find out how much floor each box of laminate covers to make sure you don't run out of supplies or buy flooring you don’t need.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Steel tape measure
• Pad
• Pencil

1. Measure the length of your floor area by the width of the floor. Multiply the two numbers. Add 5 to 10 percent to the total for cutting waste to determine the total square feet of laminate you need. For instance, a kitchen might be 10-feet-long by 15-feet-wide for a total of 150 square feet. Add 10 percent for a total 165 square feet of materials needed.

2. Look on the case of flooring for the number of feet it will cover. Calculate the number of cases of flooring you need by dividing the total square feet of flooring you need by the number of square feet in each case of flooring. For instance, if a box of flooring covers 18.62 square feet, divide 165 by 18.62 to know you need 8.86 cases of flooring. Round up to the next number and buy nine cases of flooring.

3. Determine if you need underlayment, or the material that goes under the laminate. Some laminates already have it attached. If the laminate requires underlayment calculate how many rolls you need. If each roll of underlayment covers 50 square feet, divide 50 by 165 to determine you need 3.3, or 3, rolls of underlayment.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to add 5-10% extra material for cutting waste.

References

• HGTV: Installing Vinyl Flooring