Calculator
How much will the flooring actually cost?
Add one room or several, allow for waste, and see how many boxes to buy. Price the flooring by the box or by the square foot or metre, then add underlayment, trim, removal, labour, and delivery if you want them in the total. The math stays in your browser.
The result appears here
Add a length and a width. If you are buying by the box, add the coverage printed on it.
Still needed: 3 measurements.
A room you can check by hand
Take one 12 ft by 10 ft room. Use a 10% waste allowance and boxes that cover 20 sq ft each. The prices below are arithmetic, not a shelf price. Type your own if you want a cost.
Floor area
12 × 10 = 120 sq ft.
After 10% waste
120 × 1.10 = 132 sq ft.
Boxes
132 ÷ 20 = 6.6, which rounds up to 7 boxes. An even split would not add another box.
If the box price is $45
7 × $45 = $315. Optional costs stay at $0 until you type them, so the grand total is $315 plus those amounts. A price per square foot is not added on top.
The example button fills the room, the waste, and the coverage. It does not fill a price.
Questions
How is the floor area calculated?
Each room is length times width. A 12 ft by 10 ft room is 120 sq ft. A second room is added to that figure. The calculator does not subtract closets or hearths unless you leave them out of the measurement.
How does the waste allowance work?
It is added to the combined area before anything is purchased. Ten percent, the starting figure, multiplies by 1.10, so 120 sq ft becomes 132 sq ft. Type 0 if you do not want extra material. Waste is not applied a second time at the register.
Why buy whole boxes?
Boxes are sold whole. 132 sq ft of flooring at 20 sq ft a box is 6.6 boxes, which rounds up to 7. If the area divides evenly, no extra box is added. The coverage has to be the number printed on the box you plan to buy.
What if I know a price per square foot instead of a box price?
Choose “By the sq ft” or “By the sq m”. The material cost is the area after waste times that price. A price per box, even if you typed one earlier, is not added. You can still enter coverage if you want a box count, but that count does not create a second charge.
Does laminate, vinyl, or hardwood change the math?
No. The type is a label on the result and the shopping list. It does not look up a price, a thickness, or a coverage. Custom flooring uses the name you type, and the same formulas.
Can I price the job in Canadian or US dollars, and in metres?
Yes. CAD and USD only label the numbers you type. There is no exchange rate. Switching between feet and metres converts lengths and coverage you have already entered. It does not invent a store price.
Where do underlayment, trim, removal, labour, and delivery go?
They are optional totals, and each one starts at zero. Open Optional costs and type what you expect to pay. They are added once, after the flooring material. A blank line is zero, not a hidden fee.
Does a lower total mean I should install it myself?
No. This page is materials and the extra costs you type. It does not price your time. If you have a contractor's quote, open the DIY vs. hire calculator and put this project's total in as the material cost.
What the formula leaves out
Rooms are rectangles
Each room is length × width. The job area is the sum. Closets, stairs, and cutouts are not removed unless you leave them out of a measurement.
Waste is added once
Ten percent multiplies the combined area by 1.10. It is applied before the boxes are counted. Typing 0 means no extra material.
Boxes round up
You cannot buy part of a box. The count is the area after waste divided by the coverage you enter, rounded up. An exact fit does not add another box.
One material price
Price the flooring by the box or by the square foot or metre, not both. The other figure is ignored, so it is not added twice. A blank material price is shown as “Price not entered” and is not treated as free.
Optional costs start at zero
Underlayment, trim, removal, labour, delivery, and miscellaneous expenses are zero until you type a number. They are added once, after the flooring material.
The flooring type is a label
Laminate, luxury vinyl plank, hardwood, and a custom name do not change the arithmetic and do not fill in a store price.
Tax, stairs, and a contractor's quote are not in this total unless you type them into a cost. The DIY vs. hire calculator is the place to put a quote next to your time. The method page keeps the formulas, and the disclaimer still applies.