Measuring guide
How much flooring do I need?
Measure your room, add the right wastage, convert to packs. Worked examples, wastage allowances for herringbone and diagonal patterns, and the mistakes that cause a second delivery.
The method, in four steps
Measure the room in metres
Length times width gives you square metres.
Add wastage
10% for a straight lay, more for patterns.
Divide by pack coverage
The coverage figure is shown on every product page.
Round up to the next whole pack
Always up, never down.
That is the whole calculation. The rest of this page is about doing each step properly, because every one of them has a way of going wrong.
Step 1: Measure the room
Rectangular rooms. Length times width. Measure at the widest points, and measure twice.
L-shaped and awkward rooms. Split the room into rectangles, work each one out, then add them together. Do not try to be clever with one measurement.
Include the areas you might forget: bay windows, under-stairs cupboards, alcoves, doorway thresholds and the area under any freestanding furniture that will move.
Do not deduct for kitchen units, islands, chimney breasts or fitted wardrobes unless they are large. Deducting a small area saves less material than one bad cut wastes, and running short is much worse than having a spare pack.
Round each measurement up to the nearest 10cm before multiplying.
Step 2: Add wastage
Wastage is not optional and it is not a sales tactic. It covers cuts at the perimeter, mistakes, damaged boards, and the spare you will want in three years when something gets dropped.
| Layout | Add |
|---|---|
| Straight plank or tile, simple rectangular room | 10% |
| Straight lay, awkward or broken-up room | 12% to 15% |
| Diagonal lay | 15% |
| Herringbone, square to the walls | 10% |
| Herringbone at 45 degrees | 15% |
| Chevron | 15% |
| Small or heavily broken-up rooms | up to 20% |
| Large open plan, simple shape | 10% is fine |
Pattern floors generate more waste because every block meeting a wall is cut at an angle and most of the offcut cannot be used elsewhere. More detail in Herringbone laying patterns.
Step 3: Divide by pack coverage
Almost everything we sell is priced and sold per pack, and each pack covers a set area. That figure is on every product page.
| Product | Pack covers |
|---|---|
| Elements Inspirations plank, 187 x 1227mm | 3.67 m² |
| Elements Inspirations herringbone, 95 x 380mm | 2.599 m² |
| Daytona herringbone, 114 x 457mm | 2.926 m² |
| Daytona plank, 178 x 1219mm | 3.685 m² |
A pack can cover anywhere from about 1m² to nearly 4m², so never assume. Herringbone packs in particular cover much less area than plank packs, which surprises people comparing pack prices.
Step 4: Round up
Round up to whole packs. You cannot buy two thirds of a pack, and you do not want to be 0.4m² short with three planks left to lay.
Worked examples
A rectangular living room, straight plank
- Room: 4.2m by 5.1m.
- Area: 4.2 × 5.1 = 21.42 m²
- Plus 10%: 21.42 × 1.10 = 23.56 m²
- Daytona plank at 3.685 m² per pack: 23.56 / 3.685 = 6.39
Round up: 7 packs, covering 25.80 m²
An L-shaped kitchen diner, straight plank
- Main area 3.5m by 4m, plus a return 2m by 2.5m.
- Area: (3.5 × 4) + (2 × 2.5) = 14 + 5 = 19 m²
- Broken-up room, so plus 12%: 19 × 1.12 = 21.28 m²
- Elements plank at 3.67 m² per pack: 21.28 / 3.67 = 5.8
Round up: 6 packs, covering 22.02 m²
A hallway in herringbone at 45 degrees
- Hallway: 1.2m by 6.4m.
- Area: 1.2 × 6.4 = 7.68 m²
- Narrow room, herringbone at 45 degrees, so plus 20%: 7.68 × 1.20 = 9.22 m²
- Elements herringbone at 2.599 m² per pack: 9.22 / 2.599 = 3.55
Round up: 4 packs, covering 10.4 m²
Note what happened in the third example. A narrow room laid diagonally in a pattern is the worst case for wastage, and the 20% is doing real work.
The mistakes that cause a second delivery
Ordering exactly what the calculator said
The calculation gives you a minimum, not a target.
Forgetting the wastage entirely
The most common single error, and it always ends in a part-pack order at full delivery cost.
Ordering in two goes
Batches vary. Colour and print can shift slightly between production runs, and on a floor the eye will find it. Order the whole job at once, from one batch.
Measuring the floor plan instead of the floor
Plans are drawn to internal wall faces and do not include the extra behind skirtings, in bays or through doorways.
Assuming pack coverage is the same across a range
Herringbone and plank formats of the same product usually differ, and sometimes by a lot.
Deducting for the kitchen island
Unless it is genuinely large, do not. The material saved is smaller than the waste caused by the cuts around it.
Not keeping a spare
Keep at least a few boards, ideally most of a pack, somewhere dry and flat. A damaged plank in five years is a small job with a spare and a large one without.
Ordering more than one room
If several rooms are getting the same floor, add them all together first, then apply the wastage percentage once to the total. Working room by room over-orders, because you are rounding up multiple times.
If the rooms have different layouts, use the higher wastage figure across the whole job.
Samples first
Do not order a floor from a screen. Colour changes with the light in the room, the direction it faces and the time of day, and it changes a lot.
Order free samples, put them down in the actual room, and look at them in daylight and under the lights you use at night. It costs nothing and it prevents the most expensive mistake in flooring.
Let us do the maths
Send us the room dimensions and the product you are looking at, and we will work out the packs and check the wastage allowance for the layout. It takes about two minutes and it is free.
It is worth doing on anything unusual: pattern floors, narrow rooms, multi-room orders and anything with a lot of cuts.
Send your measurementsCommon questions
How much wastage should I add?
10% for a straight lay in a normal room. 15% for herringbone at 45 degrees or a diagonal lay. Up to 20% in small or awkward rooms.
Should I deduct for kitchen units?
Only if the area is large. Small deductions cost you more in risk than they save in material.
Can I order a single extra pack later?
You can, but it may come from a different batch and it will carry delivery cost. Order the whole job at once.
What if I over-order?
Keep a pack for repairs. Beyond that, contact us about the return terms for unopened packs before you order, so you know where you stand.
Do I need to order underlay too?
No. Our click SPC has underlay attached, and glue-down does not use any.
How much adhesive do I need?
A 6kg tub covers about 18 to 21 m² and a 14kg tub about 42 to 49 m². Rule of thumb: 3 to 3.5 m² per kg, less on porous or absorbent subfloors.
See also Why the right adhesive matters for adhesive coverage.