How much flooring do I need?
Boxes of LVP, laminate, hardwood or tile — or square yards of carpet — for up to 4 rooms. Free, no email required to see the math.
Your inputs
Angled and patterned layouts throw away more at the walls.
You'll need
Assumptions (tap to adjust)+
The math, in plain English.
We add up the floor area of every room you enter, bump it by a waste factor for the cuts at the walls, and divide by how much a box covers. Straight runs waste the least; diagonal and herringbone layouts throw away more at every edge, so the waste climbs with the pattern.
LVP, laminate and hardwood are sold by the box and usually float over a thin underlayment, which we figure by the roll. Tile is sold by the box but goes down in thinset, so no underlayment line. Carpet is sold by the square yard, so for carpet we give you yards instead of boxes.
Whatever you pick, it's only as flat and solid as the subfloor under it. Soft spots, squeaks or a hump at a seam mean subfloor repair before anything goes down. And don't forget transition strips at every doorway — they're not in the box count.
Flooring questions
Why buy extra flooring?+
Every row ends in a cut, and the offcut often can't be used anywhere else. Ten percent covers a straight lay in a square room; angled layouts and rooms with closets, jogs and hallways need more. Keep a box after the job, too — dye lots change, and a matching plank for a future repair is worth the shelf space.
LVP or laminate for a rental?+
LVP, almost every time. It's waterproof, so a spilled mop bucket or a pet accident doesn't swell the seams the way it does with laminate. It's also quieter and easier to swap a single plank. Property managers we work with have largely standardized on it for unit turns.
Does my subfloor need repair first?+
If it's soft underfoot, stained, or you can see daylight or damp from the crawl space, yes — and around tubs, toilets and exterior doors in this climate, assume dry rot until you've looked. New flooring over a bad subfloor just hides the problem for a while. Our dry rot repair page covers what to look for.
What does flooring cost per square foot installed in Vancouver, WA?+
These ranges reflect the Vancouver, WA / Portland metro market — outside the area, treat them as a rough guide. A typical range runs from the low single digits per square foot for LVP over a clean subfloor up into the teens for tile or site-finished hardwood, with removal of the old floor and subfloor work on top. Want a real number for your rooms? Request a free estimate and we'll price it line by line.
Can new flooring go over existing tile?+
Often, yes. LVP and laminate can float over sound, flat tile — grout lines usually need a skim of leveler so they don't telegraph through. Watch your finished height at doors and appliances. Going tile-over-tile or hardwood-over-tile is a different conversation; that usually means removal.
Do I include closets and hallways?+
Yes. Add a closet as its own room, or fold it into the room it opens from. Hallways and jogs are where the waste goes up, so if the plan is chopped up, edge the waste factor toward 15% even on a straight lay.
Get a free estimate for flooring.
You've got the numbers — we've got the crew. Free onsite consult and a line-item quote, usually same day to 48 hours, depending on scope.