The first number everyone brings us is the floor area. It is the right place to start, but it is never the number you order.
Start with the rooms, not the house
Measure each room separately, length by width, and add them up. Do not subtract small obstructions like an island or a kitchen unit unless the floor genuinely does not run under them. Do add closets, doorways and any threshold that the material carries through.
Then add the overage
Every layout wastes material at the edges, because boards and tiles get cut to fit. How much depends on the pattern:
- Straight plank or grid layouts: around 5 to 10 percent.
- Diagonal layouts: around 15 percent, sometimes more.
- Herringbone and chevron: 15 to 20 percent, because almost every piece at the perimeter is cut.
- Rooms with a lot of small cuts — bay windows, angled walls, lots of doorways — push the figure up regardless of pattern.
And then add the attic stock
This is the part people skip and regret. Keep a box or two spare after the job is done.
Flooring is made in dye lots and production runs. Two boxes of the same product bought a year apart can differ enough in shade that a repair patch stands out. If a dishwasher leaks or a dropped tool splits a board, the spare box is what lets you fix it invisibly. If you never need it, you have lost the cost of one box.
Bring us the numbers
Send the room dimensions and the layout you have in mind and we will work the overage out with you rather than applying a flat percentage to everything. Call the warehouse on (206) 380-3026 or use the quote form.