How Many Boxes of Flooring Do I Need?
Flooring is sold by the box, so the real question is not "how many square metres" but "how many boxes" - and that depends on the coverage printed on the pack. Here is how to work it out.
By the Calculate My Reno Team / Published
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Open the Flooring Calculator
Flooring is priced and sold by the box, but you measure your room by the area. The job is turning one into the other - and adding the right amount of waste so you are not left short.
The three numbers you need
- Your floor area - length × width (see how to measure a room for flooring for irregular rooms).
- The coverage per box - printed on the pack, e.g. “2.0 m²” or “20.1 sq ft”.
- A wastage allowance - extra for cuts, breakages and spares.
The formula
boxes = ceil( floor area × wastage ÷ coverage per box )
You always round up to a whole box - you cannot buy half a box, and the rounding gives you a useful spare.
Worked example
A 12 ft × 12 ft bedroom, boxes covering 20 sq ft each, straight layout:
- Area: 12 × 12 = 144 sq ft.
- Add 10% wastage: 144 × 1.10 = 158.4 sq ft.
- Boxes: 158.4 ÷ 20 = 7.9, rounded up to 8 boxes.
The flooring calculator does this in one step - enter your room size and either the plank size or the box coverage, pick your layout, and it returns the number of boxes.
How much should the wastage be?
| Layout | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Straight, square room | 5% |
| Diagonal or long/irregular room | 10% |
| Herringbone / chevron | 15% |
Rooms with bay windows, alcoves, kitchen islands or several doorways sit at the high end of each range, because more of the floor meets a wall and needs a cut.
Why you should not order exactly
Two reasons to round generously rather than tightly:
- Batch matching. Boxes from different production runs can vary slightly in shade. Buying everything at once, from one batch, avoids a patchy floor - and topping up later risks a mismatch.
- Future repairs. Keep at least one full box (or a few planks) back. Matching a discontinued floor years later is difficult or impossible.
Don’t forget the underlay
If you are fitting a floating floor (most laminate and click vinyl), you usually need underlay too - unless it is pre-attached to the planks. Underlay is sold by the area, so size it from your floor area without the plank wastage. Then compare flooring types in our guide to laminate vs vinyl plank vs hardwood.
Frequently asked questions
How many boxes of flooring do I need for a 12x12 room?
A 12 ft × 12 ft room is 144 square feet. Most laminate boxes cover about 20 sq ft, so 144 ÷ 20 = 7.2, and with a 10% wastage allowance you need 8 boxes. Coverage per box varies by brand and plank size, so check your box label and run the exact figures through the flooring calculator.
How much does one box of flooring cover?
It varies a lot by product: laminate and vinyl plank boxes commonly cover 18–24 sq ft (about 1.7–2.2 m²), while engineered hardwood packs can cover more or less depending on board size. The coverage is printed on the box - use that figure rather than guessing, because a wrong assumption of even 2 sq ft per box adds up across a room.