Laminate Flooring Calculator

How to use the laminate flooring calculator

1. Fill in the fields — they start with a worked example.
2. Read the answer, and the arithmetic shown beneath it.
3. Copy the results, or adjust the inputs to compare scenarios.

About this tool

Floor area is the easy part. The number that decides how much you buy is the cutting allowance, and the right figure depends on how the flooring is laid rather than on the room's size.

Straight, square rooms with boards running the long way waste least — around 5%. An irregular room, or a diagonal or herringbone pattern, wastes far more, because every board meeting an angled edge produces an offcut too short to use. 15% is a reasonable figure for those, and herringbone can exceed 20%.

Buy by the pack, not by area, and buy the spare pack. Flooring is manufactured in batches with slight colour variation between them, so a pack bought three months later may not match — and a damaged board with no spare means either an obvious repair or relaying the room.

Tiles follow the same logic with one addition: keep spares from the same batch permanently, because a cracked tile in five years cannot be matched from a shop.

Common uses

• Working out how many packs of laminate a room needs.
• Estimating vinyl or engineered board for a floor.
• Checking a quote against your own measurements.

Frequently asked questions

How much waste should I allow?

Around 5% for a straight lay in a square room, 10% for most real rooms, and 15% or more for diagonal or herringbone patterns, where every angled cut leaves an unusable offcut.

Should I buy a spare pack?

Yes. Batches vary slightly in colour, so a pack bought later may not match, and a damaged board without a spare means an obvious repair.

What about tiles rather than boards?

Use the tile calculator, which works from individual tile dimensions rather than pack coverage.

Do I deduct for kitchen units?

Only if flooring genuinely will not run beneath them. Running it underneath is usually better, since it allows units to be replaced later without a visible gap.