How much floor do I need for my room?

When installing a new floor, there are a few things to keep in mind before placing an order with your local store. A very important part of the installation process is measuring your flooring surface and calculating how many square meters of flooring you actually need to buy.

What to measure?

Every room is different. The shape, the walls and the number of doorways, angles and corners can vary a lot. The more angles, the more difficult it can be to calculate how much flooring will be used.

Square meters of the room

Measure the length and width of the room and plan the direction of your flooring boards. Usually the floor is laid in the same direction as the main light source (e.g. the main window). If you have chosen your floor, you can use our calculation tool on the web page of that specific floor to verify how many boxes you need.

Expansion of your flooring

You should always leave a gap of 8 - 10 millimeters on walls, thresholds, stairs, pipelines, etc. to allow the floor to expand. Floors expand and shrink due to differences in temperature or humidity and need space to move. This will prevent open joints and cracking sounds.

Make sure you have enough

When you have calculated how much you need, you should also plan for some spillage. When sawing the floors, you inevitably will end up with pieces you cannot use anywhere else. If it is a regular room, you can expect a 5% extra floor. For more difficult rooms with many angles, curves, etc. we recommend 10% extra.

Learn more:

• How to install a laminate floor?
• All about Quick-Step's laminate flooring