Measuring up is the part of a flooring project worth slowing down for. Order too little and you're stuck waiting on a top-up box that might not even match the same batch; order wildly too much and you've paid for boards you'll never use. Here's how to work out exactly how much flooring — and how many trims — you actually need.

Step 1: Work out your floor area in square metres

Flooring is sold by area, in square metres (m²). For a simple rectangular room, measure the length and the width in metres and multiply them: a room 4m long by 5m wide is 4 × 5 = 20 m². Measure every room you're flooring and add the totals together for your overall figure. Measure to the widest points, and include doorways and alcoves — it's better to capture them now.

Step 2: Add for waste

You never use 100% of what you buy — there are offcuts at the end of every row, cuts around obstacles, and the odd mistake. So add a waste allowance on top of your area:

  • 5% for a straightforward, square room laid in straight rows.
  • 10% for a complex room with lots of cuts, a diagonal lay, a herringbone pattern, or if it's your first DIY floor.

So our 20 m² room at 10% becomes 22 m² to order.

Step 3: Turn square metres into boxes

Hybrid flooring comes in boxes, and each box covers a set number of square metres — you'll find the m² per box on every product page. To get your number of boxes, divide your total (including waste) by the coverage per box and always round up to the next whole box. If each box covers about 2 m², our 22 m² job needs 22 ÷ 2 = 11 boxes. Ordering one spare box on top isn't a bad idea — it's handy for future repairs and guarantees a colour match.

Measuring an irregular room

L-shaped or an odd shape? Don't try to measure it in one go. Split it into rectangles on a quick sketch, measure each rectangle separately, work out the m² of each, and add them up. The same waste allowance then goes on the combined total.

Step 4: Work out your trims — these are in linear metres

Here's where people trip up. Your floor is measured in square metres, but trims and skirting are measured in linear metres — the straight-line length of the run, regardless of its width. So for trims you measure lengths of edges, not areas:

  • Scotia / quarter-round (the perimeter beading against your skirting): add up the length of every wall the floor runs along. For our 4m × 5m room that's 2 × (4 + 5) = 18 linear metres. Subtract any doorways and any runs where another trim takes over.
  • T-mouldings and reducers (doorways and transitions): measure the width of each doorway or transition. A standard doorway is usually a little under a metre.
  • Stair nosing: measure the width of each step and multiply by the number of steps.

Once you have your linear metres, convert that into the number of trim lengths to buy. Trims come in fixed lengths — ours are around 2.4m each — so divide your linear metres by the length of one piece and round up. Our 18 linear metres of scotia ÷ 2.4m = 7.5, so you'd order 8 lengths. Add a little extra for the waste at mitred corners.

A quick worked example

For a 4m × 5m living room with one doorway:

  • Floor: 20 m² + 10% waste = 22 m² → about 11 boxes (at ~2 m² per box).
  • Scotia: 18 linear metres → 8 lengths at 2.4m.
  • Doorway: one T-moulding or reducer to suit the floor on the other side.

A few tips before you order

  • Order it all at once. Boards from the same order share a batch, so the colour and shade match perfectly. A top-up box weeks later might not.
  • Order your trims with your floor in the matching colour — you'll find them in our accessories. A floor isn't finished until they're on.
  • Keep your offcuts — they're useful for repairs and for cutting around pipes and door frames.
  • See it first. Before you commit to a big order, order free samples and check the colour in your own light.

With your measurements sorted, you're ready to prep and lay — our subfloor prep and laying guides take it from here.

Keep reading

See every how-to on our guides page.