Flooring cost calculator

How to use the flooring calculator

Estimate the floor area, extra material for waste, and number of flooring boxes for a room. Enter room dimensions or a known area, then add carton coverage, price, or underlayment details if needed.

1. Choose Feet / inches or Metres / cm.
2. Enter the room Length and Width, including any plus inches values.
3. Enter Or a known area instead if you already know the floor area.
4. Enter Coverage per box and Waste %.
5. Optionally add Price per box (optional) and select underlayment estimation.

What to enter

Feet / inches or Metres / cm

Choose the unit system. Imperial uses feet, inches, and sq ft. Metric uses metres, centimetres, and m².

Length

Room length. The default is 12 ft in imperial mode or 12 m in metric mode.

plus inches

Add remaining inches to Length in imperial mode, or centimetres in metric mode. The default is 0.

Width

Room width. The default is 10 ft in imperial mode or 10 m in metric mode.

plus inches

Add remaining inches to Width in imperial mode, or centimetres in metric mode. The default is 0.

Or a known area

Optional floor area in sq ft or m². When filled in, it overrides Length × Width.

Coverage per box

Coverage printed on the carton, in sq ft or m². The default is 20 in the selected area unit.

Waste %

Extra material for cuts and breakage. The default is 10%. The allowed range is 0–50%.

Price per box (optional)

Optional non-negative price for one box. The calculator multiplies it by the whole number of boxes.

includeUnderlayment

Select this to estimate underlayment rolls for the same purchase area, including waste.

underlaymentRollCoverage

Coverage per underlayment roll, in sq ft or m². The default is 100 in the selected area unit.

Example: 12 ft by 10 ft room

Using the defaults, the floor area is 12 ft × 10 ft = 120 sq ft. With 10% waste, the purchase area is 120 × 1.1 = 132 sq ft. At 20 sq ft per box, 132 sq ft ÷ 20 sq ft per box = 6.6 boxes. The calculator rounds up to 7 whole boxes.

How the flooring estimate is calculated

The calculator converts the selected dimensions to square feet internally. Floor area is Length × Width unless Or a known area is entered. The waste factor is 1 + Waste % ÷ 100, so the purchase area is floor area × waste factor. Boxes are purchase area ÷ Coverage per box, rounded up with a ceiling to the next whole box. If a price is entered, material cost is boxes × price per box, rounded to two decimals. If includeUnderlayment is selected, rolls are purchase area ÷ underlayment roll coverage, also rounded up to a whole roll.

Reading the results

Boxes to buy is the whole number of cartons to purchase. Floor area is the measured area before waste, and Area to purchase includes the selected waste allowance. Coverage per box shows the carton coverage used. Optional results show material cost and underlayment rolls.

Limitations and common mistakes

• The calculator uses a rectangular Length × Width area unless you provide a known area. Split irregular rooms into rectangles and add their areas first.
• Coverage per box is a product input. Check the carton because flooring products can have different coverage.
• Waste is limited to 0–50%, and the calculator does not decide whether your layout needs a higher allowance.
• The estimate does not include installation labor, trim, transitions, or adhesive.

Frequently asked questions