Flooring is sold in metres squared (m2) but how do you work out exactly how much you need to order?  Measuring a room for flooring can feel a little overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re doing – especially if it’s an irregular shape. But don’t worry, we’re going to break it down and show you how.

Whether you’re measuring your room for engineered wood, solid wood, laminate or vinyl flooring (LVT), get out your tape measure and follow this simple guide for the easiest, most accurate ways to measure up.

How To Measure A Square Or Rectangular Room for flooring

If your room is a square or rectangle, the formula is simple. To find the total surface area, all you need to do is measure the length and the width in metres and multiply them.

So, if your room is 8 metres long by 4 metres wide, it will be 32 m2. Voila!

How To Measure An L-Shape Room for flooring

The best way to measure an L-shape room is to split the area into two rectangles. Simply calculate how many metres squared each rectangle is, and then add them together for the total surface area. Hey presto!

So, if Rectangle 1 is 35 m2, and Rectangle 2 is 16 m2  the room is 51 m2

How To Measure An Odd Shaped Room For Flooring

If the room you need to measure is an irregular shape, don’t sweat it. In this case, we recommend dividing it up into as many square or rectangular chunks as possible, calculate the metres squared of each chunk, then add them all together to find the total area. Job done!

How To Measure A Circular Room For Flooring

Although much rarer, round rooms need to be measured slightly differently.

First of all, you must find the radius. To do this measure the width across the centre of the room and divide it by 2. So, the radius of a room that is 12 metres wide is 6 metres.

Next, take this number and multiply it by itself – 6m x 6m = 36m.

Finally, multiply this number by Pi to get your total surface area – 36m x 3.142 = 113.112 m2

Easy as Pi(e)!

Helpful Tips: How To Avoid Wastage

When you’ve worked out your total surface area, it is typical to add on 5% to allow for standard wastage. To work this out, simply multiply the total area by 1.05.

If the total area was 32 m2 you should order 34 mi.e., 32 m2 X 1.05 = 33.6 m2 (which should be rounded up to 34 m2  )

When measuring for parquet floors, the rules are a little different. Due to this type of flooring being laid from the centre of the room, the pattern limits the use of off-cuts, so you should always add on 10% for wastage.

If the total area was 32 m2 you should order 34 mi.e., 32 m2 X 1.10 = 35.2 m2 (which should be rounded up to 36 m2  )

Get in touch

Hopefully we’ve given you the tools to accurately measure rooms of all shapes and sizes for flooring. If you’re still struggling with the different methods, why not get in touch?  Our friendly flooring experts are always happy to help!

Remember to follow us on Instagram for the latest news and discussions. We’re always finding new ways to improve our stock, so keep up to date!