Are you asking yourself how to find out how many boxes of laminate flooring you need? Having difficulty calculating the square footage of your room? Not sure exactly how much flooring you’ll need? Don’t feel bad, we receive many calls from customers with these questions. Through step by instructions, the following article will answer all of your questions and make you look like a pro!
Establish Your Square Footage
Calculation of a standard square or rectangular room is simple and requires only to measure the length and width of the room and multiply the results. If you have a space with multiple rooms or your room is not perfectly rectangular, split your space into smaller rectangles and calculate the square footage separately for each area and add all of the measurements together. It’s a relatively simple formula!
Add The Waste Factor
When it comes to laying laminate it always a safe bet to assume for extra. You will need to purchase extra flooring to cover any mistakes, accidents, and unforeseen damage. This is known as the waste factor.
The general rule of thumb is to add 5%-10% to the final square footage you calculated in the first step.
Example of 5% Added:
150 sq.ft. (total measured from rooms) x 0.05 (5% waste factor) = 7.5 sqft
150 sq.ft. (total measured from rooms) + 7.5 sq.ft (calculated amount of waste) = 157.5 sq.ft – final square footage to order
Converting Sq.Ft. to Boxes Needed
To calculate the number of boxes you need to know your final square footage, which is the total square footage + extra square footage for waste.
- Check packaging content of the floor you are interested in. All boxes of flooring have a different sq.ft. so this is important!
- Divide your final square footage of your room by the square footage listed on the box of the flooring.
- Round it up. Since laminate flooring is sold in full boxes only, you’ll have to round up your calculation to the closest full box.
Example:
157.5 sq.ft. (final square footage) / 25 sq.ft. (box content) = 6.6 boxes
You will need 7 boxes for your installation.
Or You Can Use Our Online Calculator
Step 1: Start with 1 Box
Simply use our online calculator, located within each product on our website. You will start with a basic setup, which is the square footage of one box. The calculator on our website makes this very simple! First you have to find the flooring that you want! Each floor will have different square footage, since the box content differs between manufacturers and brands.
Step 2: Enter Your Final Square Footage
In our example, we calculated that we needed 157.5 sq.ft. to cover the rooms and 5% waste. Enter 157.5 into the provided box. You’ll notice how the number automatically rounds up to the next sq.ft./box. Since our calculation said we needed 6.6 boxes, the website automatically rounds up to the next full box. This would be 7 boxes or 180.60sq.ft. You will be getting a little extra than the waste you calculated for, but in the long run it could save you big bucks, especially if your flooring becomes discontinued!
Step 3: Check Out
You’re done! Continue with the checkout and you have ordered your floor! Congratulations!
Planning a wood flooring project takes time and many measurements. Be sure to double check or even triple check your measurements. Especially when ordering an item that you cannot find locally, knowing the exact amount or ordering a little more will help prevent you from paying double shipping costs down the road. While you only pay a flat rate shipping fee for your larger order, you will need to pay a shipping and handling for smaller orders. Better to be prepared.
If you’re still not sure then we encourage you to give us a call so we can help you decide on the correct amount needed. Simply call 1-800-520-0961 and we will be happy to help!
More Calculation Help:
- How to Calculate the Square Footage of Your Room
- What is the laminate flooring waste factor?
- Why is there different square feet per box of laminate flooring?
123 comments
Hello, how much of the wide plank laminate flooring would I need with these measurements 13.583ft x 37.083ft or 163inches for width and 445inches for length?
Thanks for your question, Ronald! You would need to order about 530 square feet of flooring to cover this area and have enough for waste factor.