Flooring Cost Calculator

Beyond the boxes of flooring itself, budget for underlayment, transition strips between rooms, removal of old flooring if needed, and installation labor — these commonly add 30–50% on top of material cost for a professionally installed floor.

A 15 ft × 12 ft room is 180 square feet. With a standard 10% waste allowance, you'd need about 198 square feet of flooring — roughly 9 boxes if each box covers 22 square feet.

5-7% extra is typical for vinyl plank, and 10% is standard for laminate and hardwood. Diagonal or herringbone hardwood layouts often need 15% to account for more complex cuts.

Yes — solid hardwood and many engineered products should sit in the installation room for 48-72 hours before installing, so the wood can adjust to the room's humidity and temperature and reduce gapping or buckling later.

Installed cost varies a lot by material: vinyl plank typically runs $3–$8 per square foot installed, laminate $4–$9, and solid hardwood $8–$15 or more, including materials and labor. Removing old flooring or leveling the subfloor first will add to the total.

Add up the square footage of every room getting new flooring (measure each room separately since waste percentages can differ by material and layout), then apply this calculator to each room individually — a whole-house total is just the sum of the per-room box counts.

Vinyl plank (LVP) is typically the cheapest durable option, often $1–$4 per square foot for materials alone, with laminate close behind. Solid hardwood and natural stone tile are usually the most expensive, both in material cost and waste allowance.

Split the room into two or more rectangles, calculate the area of each separately (length × width), then add them together for the total square footage before applying your waste allowance — this calculator's area field accepts that combined total directly.