How to work out how many packs of laminate you need
- Measure the length and width of the room in metres and multiply them: 5 × 4 m = 20 m².
- Add a waste allowance for offcuts. With 10% the area becomes 20 × 1.10 = 22 m².
- Divide by the coverage printed on one pack: 22 ÷ 2.22 m² = 9.91.
- Always round up to a whole pack: you need 10 packs, which cover 22.2 m².
Do not subtract the expansion gap around the edges of the room. It is only 8–10 mm on each side and is used up during fitting, so measure wall to wall.
Packs needed for common room sizes
| Room area | Area + 10% | 1.99 m² packs | 2.22 m² packs | 2.54 m² packs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 m² | 11 m² | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 15 m² | 16.5 m² | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| 20 m² | 22 m² | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| 25 m² | 27.5 m² | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| 30 m² | 33 m² | 17 | 15 | 13 |
Pack sizes differ between products — EGGER, for example, sells laminate in packs of 1.39 m², 1.99 m² and 2.54 m². Use the coverage printed on the pack you are buying.
How much waste to allow
| Situation | Waste allowance |
|---|---|
| Straight layout in a rectangular room | 10% |
| Large, simple area (hardwood over about 1,000 ft² / 93 m²) | 7% |
| Diagonal layout | 15% |
| Patterned or tile-effect boards, or your first floor | 15% |
Sources: EGGER and Flooring Hut (10% as standard, 15% for patterned boards or little experience); HomeAdvisor, for hardwood (7% for areas over 1,000 ft², 15% for diagonal layouts).
The waste percentage has a bigger effect than it seems, because you round up to whole packs. In a 20 m² room with 2.22 m² packs, 5% and 10% waste both give 10 packs, while 15% (23 m²) tips it over to 11.
L-shaped rooms and rooms with obstacles
Split the floor into rectangles, work out each area and add them up. A room made of a 4.4 × 2.5 m section (11 m²) and a 2 × 2 m section (4 m²) is 15 m², or 16.5 m² with 10% waste. Subtract anything that will not be floored, such as a fixed kitchen island or a fireplace hearth, before adding the waste.
For several rooms, work out each room separately and add the totals at the end, so the waste is counted for every room.
Boxes in square feet
In the US and Canada, laminate is sold in boxes with the coverage given in square feet. A 15 × 12 ft room is 180 ft²; with 10% waste that is 198 ft², and with 20 ft² boxes you need 198 ÷ 20 = 9.9, so 10 boxes. To convert, 1 m² = 10.764 ft² and 1 ft² = 0.0929 m².
Before you buy and fit
- Buy an extra pack from the same batch if you can — colour can vary between batches, and spare boards make later repairs easy.
- Quick-Step asks for the packs to acclimatise for 48 hours, unopened, in the middle of the room at 15–22 °C and 30–75% relative humidity.
- Leave an expansion gap of at least 8–10 mm to every wall, pipe and threshold. Skirting boards hide it.
- Stagger the end joints by at least 30 cm between rows, and plan the layout so the last row is not narrower than 40 mm — if it would be, cut down the first row (Quick-Step fitting instructions).
Most laminate also needs an underlay unless one is attached to the boards; buy it for the room area.