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How to Measure for Flooring

Are you curious about how to measure for flooring for your St. Helens Home?

Well, here are a few helpful tips for calculating how much flooring you need, depending on the flooring type you plan to use.  Some types of flooring come in tiles and planks and other products come in sheet or roll goods.  While you can use the flooring calculator at the bottom of this page to get a ballpark estimate, there are some nuances with measuring for carpet, vinyl and marmoleum sheet goods we will discuss that may require slightly more materials than the result you will get from the flooring calculator.  This is because all roll and sheet goods are directional and must be installed in the same direction.  While we address those nuances and share the professional techniques we use for estimating both the amount and costs, it’s always best to have your job professionally measured.

How to measure for Hardwood Flooring, Laminate Flooring, Vinyl Composition Tiles, Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT Flooring) and Tile Floors and Natural Stone:  For hardwood, laminate, VCT Tles, LVT, Ceramic and Porcelain Tile and Natural Stone Tiles just calculate the areas by using the calculator below which will add a ten percent waste allowance.  Just fill in the length and width of your floors or walls and the calculator does the rest of the work!  Be advised that most prefinished hardwood flooring, bamboo, laminate flooring, VCT Tiles, LVT, Ceramic Tile, Porcelain Tiles and Natural Stone tiles are sold in full boxes only, so it is recommended that you take the result from the flooring calculator and round the quantity up to the next nearest box size.  For example, if the flooring calculator estimates that you will need 193 square feet of laminate flooring but the selection you like is sold in 20 square feet boxes then you would round up to 200 square feet which would be 10 boxes.

The flooring calculator is very helpful also in estimating the cost of the flooring because you can fill in the square foot price of materials and the calculator will give you a total cost.

How to measure for Tile for your St. Helens Home or Business.    Measuring for Porcelain Tile and Ceramic Tile is mentioned above because in most ways measuring for ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles and calculating costs is the same as Hardwood flooring, laminate flooring or any other flooring type.  The nuance in measuring for tile is in calculating the necessary tile trims and decorative accent pieces.  This is done by calculating how many lineal feet of various trim(special finished pieces of tiles and/or moldings) or decorative accent tiles that will be needed.  Because there are some nuances in measuring for tile, we have another page devoted just to calculating tile measurements. For calculating the basic tile requirement the calculator below will work just fine however.

How to measure for Carpet(roll goods) and for Vinyl or Marmoleum (sheet goods):  For making a cost estimate of the amount of carpet or vinyl needed for your project and for making a “ball park estimate” use the calculator below.  Because Carpet, Vinyl and Marmoleum are produced with a direction they must all be installed in the same direction.  In some cases this increases the waste allowance above ten percent.  Because measuring for carpet and measuring for vinyl or marmoleum can be slightly more complicated, we have dedicated a page to each.  The professional techniques covered in that section will be useful especially to tradespeople and general contractors.  Most homeowners will find that the calculator below works sufficiently enough to assist them in making the cost estimates they need to shop flooring, and as always we recommend that each customer have their job professionally measured.  Portland Flooring & Carpet of St. Helens provides a complimentary in home measure and design consultation to its customers.  Just call (503) 410-3403 or fill out our convenient online form.

 

*This basic calulator allows for 10% of actual waste. 

Your actual waste may vary and change the actual amount needed to purchase.

** This is a cost estimate only. You should have your areas professionally measured before buying. Prices are subject to change.



 

  Area Length Area Width
Feet Inches Feet Inches
Area1
Area 2
Area 3
Area 4

Enter cost per sq. ft.
(optional): $

      

Estimated Flooring Results:

Total Square Footage All Areas:
10% Square Feet (Extra):
Estimated Total Material Needed:
Total Cost Estimate:

 

How to measure a room for flooring