How many boxes of flooring do I need?

Boxes for common room sizes

With 10% extra for cuts. Divide by the coverage on your own box if it's different.

Room	Area	With 10% extra	20 sq ft boxes	24 sq ft boxes
10 × 10 room	100 sq ft	111 sq ft	6	5
10 × 12 room	120 sq ft	132 sq ft	7	6
12 × 12 room	144 sq ft	159 sq ft	8	7
12 × 14 room	168 sq ft	185 sq ft	10	8
12 × 16 room	192 sq ft	212 sq ft	11	9
200 sq ft	200 sq ft	221 sq ft	12	10
300 sq ft	300 sq ft	330 sq ft	17	14
400 sq ft	400 sq ft	441 sq ft	23	19
500 sq ft	500 sq ft	550 sq ft	28	23
1,000 sq ft	1,000 sq ft	1,100 sq ft	55	46
1,500 sq ft	1,500 sq ft	1,651 sq ft	83	69

How to measure a room for flooring

Measure the length and width of each room at the widest points, wall to wall, and multiply. Split L-shaped rooms and open plans into rectangles, and add them up. Include closets, doorway openings and the space under the range and fridge if the new floor goes there; don't subtract fixed kitchen islands or cabinets. Round each measurement up to the next half foot. It costs a few dollars, and running short costs a return trip and possibly a different production lot.

How much extra to buy

Every floor loses material to cuts at walls, doorways and around obstacles. Allow about 10% for a straight-lay floor in ordinary rooms, 12% for rooms with lots of corners, closets or angled walls, and 15% for diagonal or herringbone layouts. See which way to lay flooring. Tile with large formats or natural stone may need a little more.

How much flooring is in a box?

Vinyl plank and laminate boxes usually cover 18–25 sq ft, engineered hardwood 20–30 sq ft and solid hardwood around 18–25 sq ft. Tile boxes vary most, from about 8 to 16 sq ft depending on the tile size. The exact coverage is printed on the box. Enter it above for an exact count. Carpet is sold by the square foot or square yard off a roll, so the calculator shows square yards for carpet instead of boxes.

Common questions

Estimate the cost