How Many Boxes of Flooring Do I Need? Chart by Room Size

Work out the floor area, add 10% for cuts, divide by the area one box covers and round up. A 12 × 12 ft room is 144 sq ft, or 158.4 sq ft with 10% extra: 8 boxes of 20 sq ft, or 7 boxes of 24 sq ft. In metric, a 4 × 4 m room is 16 m², or 17.6 m² with extra: 9 packs of 2 m².

Every board that meets a wall at an angle needs a cut, so diagonal and herringbone floors need more spare than a straight lay.

Boxes of flooring by room size

The coverage per box is printed on the box or the product page, and it varies a lot between products, so the tables show two box sizes. Diagonal and herringbone columns use our default allowances of 15% and 20%.

Boxes to buy, rectangular rooms
Room	Floor area	With 10% extra	20 sq ft boxes	24 sq ft boxes	Diagonal, 20 sq ft	Herringbone, 20 sq ft
10 × 10 ft	100 sq ft	110 sq ft	6	5	6	6
10 × 12 ft	120 sq ft	132 sq ft	7	6	7	8
12 × 12 ft	144 sq ft	158.4 sq ft	8	7	9	9
12 × 14 ft	168 sq ft	184.8 sq ft	10	8	10	11
14 × 16 ft	224 sq ft	246.4 sq ft	13	11	13	14
16 × 20 ft	320 sq ft	352 sq ft	18	15	19	20

Metric: packs to buy, rectangular rooms
Room	Floor area	With 10% extra	2 m² packs	2.22 m² packs	Herringbone, 2 m² packs
3 × 3 m	9 m²	9.9 m²	5	5	6
3 × 4 m	12 m²	13.2 m²	7	6	8
4 × 4 m	16 m²	17.6 m²	9	8	10
4 × 5 m	20 m²	22 m²	11	10	12
5 × 6 m	30 m²	33 m²	17	15	18

How much extra to allow

Laminate makers EGGER and Swiss Krono both say to add 10% to the floor area for cuts and waste. EGGER suggests up to 15% if you have less fitting experience or are laying patterned or tile-effect boards; Swiss Krono says 20% for a tile pattern. Home Depot Canada suggests 5–10% for a flooring project in general.

Angled layouts need a cut at every wall. Our calculator defaults to 15% for diagonal and 20% for herringbone or chevron, which is at the cautious end: some suppliers quote less (Oak Parquet suggests 10% for both). If your fitter or the maker gives a figure, use that.

Worked example: a bedroom with a closet

Bedroom: 14 × 12 ft = 168 sq ft. Closet: 5 × 3 ft = 15 sq ft. Total: 183 sq ft.
Add 10% for a straight lay: 183 × 1.1 = 201.3 sq ft.
Boxes of 20 sq ft: 201.3 ÷ 20 = 10.07, which rounds up to 11 boxes.

The same layout in metric: a 4 × 3.5 m bedroom and a 1.5 × 1 m wardrobe recess make 15.5 m², or 17.05 m² with 10%. In packs of 2.2 m² that is 7.75, so 8 packs.

How to measure

Measure wall to wall at the longest and widest points. Split L-shaped and irregular rooms into rectangles, work out each and add them up.
Include closets, alcoves and the floor under any doorway you plan to cover.
Measure in the units the boxes use: square feet in the US, square metres in the UK and Australia, either in Canada.

Buying the boxes

Enter the coverage on your box. Two boxes of similar-looking planks can cover quite different areas.
Buy from one batch. EGGER suggests an extra pack or two, especially when a product comes from a limited batch, because matching it later is hard.
Underlay is separate. It is sold by the roll and covers the floor area without pattern waste.

Common mistakes

Rounding down. 10.07 boxes is 11 boxes, not 10.
Adding the extra to each box instead of the area. Add 10% to the total area once, then divide.
Using the straight-lay allowance for a diagonal or herringbone floor. Every row ends in angled cuts, so these layouts waste more.