Flooring Square Footage Calculator

Most rooms are not perfect rectangles. Closets, alcoves, bay windows, hallway extensions, and angled walls all add area that needs to be accounted for in your flooring order. This calculator lets you add a main area plus one additional section to get an accurate total with waste factor included. For rooms with more than one alcove or bump-out, measure each additional section separately and add them together manually before entering the total as the alcove dimensions. Alternatively, break the room into simple rectangles, calculate each one, and add the results. The waste factor depends on your flooring material and installation pattern. Hardwood planks installed parallel to the longest wall typically need 5 to 10 percent waste. Running planks diagonally bumps waste to 15 percent. Laminate click-lock flooring needs 5 to 10 percent. Luxury vinyl plank is similar at 5 to 10 percent for straight layouts. Flooring is sold in different units depending on the material. Hardwood is often priced per square foot. Laminate and vinyl plank come in boxes that cover a specific square footage, usually printed on the box. Carpet is sold by the square yard, so divide your square footage by 9 to convert. Tile is sold by the piece or by the square foot depending on the retailer. When measuring rooms for flooring, always measure at the widest and longest points. Walls are rarely perfectly straight or parallel, and measuring at the narrow point means your flooring comes up short at the wide point. Use the largest measurements and let the waste factor absorb the difference. Do not forget transition areas between rooms. Where your new flooring meets existing flooring in doorways and hallways, you need transition strips and possibly a few extra pieces of flooring to complete those junctions cleanly. Add a foot of extra length at each doorway to your measurements.