Laminate flooring calculator

How the packs are calculated

area with waste = area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) · m² per pack = plank width × plank length × planks per pack ÷ 10,000 · packs = area with waste ÷ m² per pack (rounded up) · skirting = perimeter − total door width

Laminate is bought in packs, so the whole sum is the area with waste divided by the coverage of one pack, rounded up. If the pack says how many m² it covers, enter that number. If it only gives the plank dimensions and how many are inside, enter those and the calculator works out the pack coverage itself.

The floor area is the room length times its width, less any built-ins the floor does not run under. If you already have it, enter it directly; if not, work it out in the area calculator and come back here.

When you enter the plank dimensions, the result also shows how many planks cover the area and how many you actually get in those packs. The difference between the two is what you are left with, and it is normal for there to be one — packs are not opened in half.

How much waste to add

Waste covers cutting at the end of each row, fitting around door frames and pipes, and the odd plank damaged while clicking it in. The calculator starts at 10%, and the buttons above the field only prefill that same field — it stays yours to change.

For plain, straight laying parallel to the wall, 10% is the usual plan. For diagonal laying or a pattern (herringbone, a set offset) around 15% is planned, because every edge is cut at an angle and the offcut can less often be used in the next row.

These are planning conventions, not a standard. A long, narrow room with many recesses uses more than a regular square of the same size. The waste is added to the area before the packs are calculated, so a price per m² is charged on that increased area — because that is what you pay for.

Underlay and skirting

Underlay is calculated on the NET floor area, not on the area with waste. The roll lies beneath the finished floor and covers it exactly once, while the waste comes from cutting the laminate above it. Adding the waste to the underlay as well would buy rolls for square meters that do not exist.

Skirting comes from the room perimeter less the total width of the doorways: the perimeter is 2 × (length + width), and the sum of every doorway the skirting does not run through is subtracted. If you also enter the length of one piece, you get the number of pieces, again rounded up.

The price you enter applies to the laminate. Underlay and skirting are shown as quantities, without a price, because theirs differ by product and type — take the numbers from the result and multiply them by your own prices. Labour is charged on the net floor area, once, not per layer.

Worked example: a 5 × 4 m room

A 5 × 4 m room has 20 m² of floor. With 10% waste you calculate on 22 m². If a pack covers 2.4 m², you need 22 ÷ 2.4 = 9.17, so 10 packs. Those cover 24 m², leaving about 2 m² over.

The underlay is calculated on the net 20 m²: if a roll covers 15 m², you need 2 rolls. The room perimeter is 2 × (5 + 4) = 18 m; with one 0.9 m doorway that is 17.1 m of skirting. At 2.5 m per piece, 17.1 ÷ 2.5 = 6.84, so 7 pieces.

If a pack costs 32 KM, the material comes to 10 × 32 = 320 KM. If labour is 8 KM per m², that is 20 × 8 = 160 KM, so 480 KM in total. The prices here are only an example — enter your own, because they differ by shop and fitter.