Getting your measurements right before ordering wood flooring is one of the most important — and most commonly rushed — steps in a flooring project. Over-order and you waste money; under-order and you risk a batch mismatch when you top up. A few minutes with a tape measure and a simple calculation will save significant headache and cost down the line.
How to Measure Your Room
For a rectangular room, measuring is straightforward: length × width = floor area in square metres. For L-shaped or irregular rooms, break the space into rectangles, calculate the area of each, and add them together. Always measure at the widest points — including into alcoves and bay windows — to ensure you have full coverage. Measure twice; it costs nothing and removes the risk of discovering a mistake after you’ve placed your order.
Adding the Wastage Allowance
Never order exactly the amount of floor space you need. Cutting losses are inevitable, and every room requires boards to be trimmed at walls, around door frames, and at angles. The standard wastage allowance for a straight lay is 10%. For a diagonal or herringbone installation, increase this to 15%, as the angled cuts produce more off-cuts. Add the percentage to your total area before converting to packs: if your room is 20m² and you’re laying diagonally, order for at least 23m².
A Sample Calculation
Room dimensions: 4.5m × 3.2m = 14.4m². Add 10% wastage: 14.4 × 1.10 = 15.84m². Round up to 16m². If your chosen board is sold in packs covering 2.16m² per pack, you need: 16 ÷ 2.16 = 7.4 packs — so order 8 packs. It is always better to have a small amount of leftover flooring than to run short. Keep any unopened surplus packs in a dry, temperature-stable location; you may need them for future repairs.
Don’t Forget the Accessories
Flooring accessories are easy to overlook in the ordering process but essential for a finished result. Before you order, check whether you need:
- Underlay — required for all floating floors; check the tog rating if you have underfloor heating.
- Scotia or beading — covers the expansion gap between the flooring edge and the skirting board.
- Threshold bars (T-bars) — needed wherever the floor meets a different floor covering at a doorway.
- Reducer bars (R-bars) — where the new floor sits higher or lower than an adjacent floor.
- Adhesive — if gluing directly to a concrete subfloor rather than floating.
- Care products — floor protector pads for furniture legs, and the appropriate cleaning product for your floor’s finish type.
If you are buying flooring with stairs, you will also need stair nosing profiles for each tread. These are typically sold by the metre and need to match the board species and colour.
Checking Pack Coverage
Board coverage per pack varies by product. Always check the pack label or product specification — coverage is typically listed in m² per pack. Convert your required area to packs before ordering, rounding up to the nearest whole pack. Note the batch number on the pack label: if you need to reorder, requesting the same batch number gives you the best chance of colour-matching, though an exact match cannot be guaranteed once original stock is exhausted. This is another reason to order generously from the outset.