Flooring & Tile Calculator

By Stephen Morrison, Editor Last reviewed October 30, 2026

Works for laminate, vinyl plank, hardwood, carpet tiles and tile. Enter the room and the coverage on the box, pick your layout, and get the number of boxes or tiles to buy. Not sure which material suits the room? Try the flooring selector.

Quick answer: a 12 × 14 ft room is 168 sq ft. Add 10% for a straight lay and you need 184.8 sq ft:10 boxes at 20 sq ft per box.

How the calculator works

Area: length × width + extra area
Buy: area × (1 + waste% ÷ 100)
Boxes: buy ÷ coverage per box, rounded up
Tiles: buy ÷ (tile length × tile width ÷ 144), rounded up

Waste by layout

Layout	Typical extra	Why
Straight	10%	Cuts only at the walls; offcuts often start the next row.
Diagonal	15%	Every piece at a wall is cut at an angle, and the triangles are hard to reuse.
Herringbone or pattern	20%+	Angled cuts along every edge, plus pattern matching.

Boxes for common room sizes

At 20 sq ft per box. Your product's box size will differ, so use the calculator for the real count.

Room	Area	Straight (10%)	Diagonal (15%)
10 × 10 ft	100 sq ft	6 boxes	6 boxes
12 × 12 ft	144 sq ft	8 boxes	9 boxes
12 × 14 ft	168 sq ft	10 boxes	10 boxes
14 × 16 ft	224 sq ft	13 boxes	13 boxes
15 × 20 ft	300 sq ft	17 boxes	18 boxes

Before you order

Buy every box from the same lot or dye number, and open a few to mix planks from different boxes as you go.
Most floating floors need underlayment. Buy it by area, using the floor area above.
Let wood and laminate acclimate in the room for as long as the maker's instructions say.
Tile also needs thinset, grout and spacers. Tile size and trowel size set the amounts, so check the bag labels.

Common questions

How much extra flooring should I buy?

A common rule of thumb is about 10% for a straight lay, 15% for diagonal and 20% or more for herringbone and other patterns. Rooms with lots of corners, closets or doorways need more. If your flooring's installation guide gives a figure, use that.

How many boxes for a 12 × 14 room?

168 sq ft plus 10% is 184.8 sq ft. With 20 sq ft boxes that's 10 boxes (200 sq ft). Check the coverage printed on your box; it varies a lot by product.

How many 12 × 24 tiles do I need for 100 sq ft?

Each 12 × 24 in tile covers 2 sq ft. 100 sq ft plus 10% is 110 sq ft, so 55 tiles. Switch to "Individual tiles" above for other sizes.

Should I keep leftover flooring?

Yes. Keep at least one unopened box. Later batches can differ in color or shade, so spare planks or tiles from the same lot make repairs invisible.

Do I subtract cabinets and islands?

Usually yes for fixed cabinets and islands, since floating floors and tile stop at them. Measure the open floor, or use the square footage calculator's cut-out option and enter that total here.