Figure out exactly how many boxes of laminate, vinyl plank, hardwood, or tile flooring to buy — and what it will cost — from your room size, box coverage, and a waste allowance.
Printed on the carton, e.g. 20.06 sq ft/box.
Boxes to buy
17
Add a price per box for a cost estimate.
Boxes = area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) ÷ coverage per box, rounded up to the next whole box. Order a little extra so future repairs match the same dye lot.
Buying flooring by the box means the math always rounds up — you cannot buy 16.5 cartons. The reliable way to get the count right is to build it in three steps:
In formula form: boxes = ⌈ area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) ÷ coverage ⌉. A 300 sq ft room at 10% waste and 20 sq ft per box works out to 330 ÷ 20 = 16.5, which rounds up to 17 boxes.
If you install floors for a living, box count is only the start. Add underlayment, transition strips, trim, and adhesive, then layer in labor and your margin before you quote. When it is time to send a clean, professional quote or bill, pair this tool with the best invoicing app for contractors or a free invoice app so nothing falls through the cracks. Just getting started? See how to start a handyman business for the full playbook on turning jobs like this into a business.
Multiply the room length by its width (or enter the square footage), add a waste allowance, then divide by the coverage printed on each box and round up. For example, a 300 sq ft room with 10% waste is 330 sq ft; at 20 sq ft per box that is 330 ÷ 20 = 16.5, rounded up to 17 boxes. Always round up — you cannot buy a partial box.
A 10% waste allowance is the standard starting point for straight-lay installs in simple rectangular rooms. Bump it to 15% for diagonal or herringbone patterns, plank flooring with lots of cuts, or rooms with many corners, closets, and angles. The extra covers trim cuts, mistakes, and future repairs.
Beyond covering cut waste, keeping a spare box or two lets you replace a damaged plank years later with material from the same dye lot. Colors and textures shift between production runs, so a later-purchased box rarely blends in perfectly. Ordering a little extra up front is cheap insurance.
Yes. The flooring calculator is completely free, with no signup and no credit card. It runs entirely in your browser. When you are ready to quote and invoice the flooring job, Fieldtics has a free tier for scheduling and a low-cost plan for invoicing and payments.
Need a different estimate? Browse all of our free tools for service businesses.
Estimate the material here, win the job, then run it in Fieldtics — scheduling, quotes, and invoicing in one free app. The free tier covers unlimited clients, job scheduling, a customer CRM, and the mobile app with no credit card. The $29/mo Professional tier adds quotes, invoicing, online payments, and team scheduling. Trusted by 500+ service businesses.