ContractorHandbook

How Much Flooring for an 11x12 Room?

Boxes to order

7 boxes

132 square feet of floor, ten percent waste, boxes of 22.5 square feet.

It does not stop at a number.

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waste10%room area, sq ftone box covers a fixed number of square feetarea with waste / coverage per box = boxes, rounded up
Flooring is sold by the box and installed by the plank, so the only number that matters on the label is the square feet per box. The waste allowance covers the cut at each wall and the offcut that starts the next row.

How that number is worked out

These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.

  • Floor area132 sq ft
  • Coverage per box or carton22.5 sq ft
  • Waste allowance10 %

Boxes to order7 boxes

Floor area132 sq ft
With 10% waste145.2 sq ft
Boxes at 22.5 sq ft7
Coverage bought157.5 sq ft
Left over25.5 sq ftkeep it for repairs

The material list this produces

Flooring, boxes7
Underlayment, sq ft132
Transition strips, each2

Waste allowance compared

Waste is set by how you lay it, not by how careful you are. Straight lay to herringbone, same room.

Waste allowanceBoxes to orderWith 10% wasteLeft over
5%7 boxes138.6 sq ft25.5 sq ft
10%7 boxes145.2 sq ft25.5 sq ft
15%7 boxes151.8 sq ft25.5 sq ft
20%8 boxes158.4 sq ft48 sq ft

What else matters here

A hundred and thirty two square feet plus ten percent is 145.2, seven cartons, 157.5 square feet bought and 25.5 spare.

An eleven by twelve is usually a room that measured eleven by twelve, and that is the risk. Rooms are almost never square, and an older house can easily be two inches out from one end of a wall to the other. Measure both directions at both ends and in the middle, then order off the largest numbers you found.

Measure to the finished face of the wall rather than to the baseboard, because the floor runs underneath it, and add the depth of every doorway opening. Those thresholds are floor too, and a floor that stops half an inch short at the door needs a wider transition strip to hide it.

What this calculator assumes

  • 10 percent waste covers a straight lay in a simple rectangle. Go to 15 for a diagonal or herringbone lay, and 20 if the room is cut up with closets and angles.
  • Buy the whole job in one delivery. Dye lot and batch shade move between production runs, and a single replacement box six months later will not match.

Questions people ask

How many boxes of flooring for an 11x12 room?

About 7 boxes at 22.5 square feet each, covering 132 square feet with ten percent waste.

How do I measure a room for flooring?

Measure each direction in at least two places and use the largest, because rooms are rarely square. Measure to the wall rather than the baseboard, and add the doorway openings.

Does the doorway count as floor area?

Yes. The flooring runs through the opening to the middle of the door or to the transition, so add the depth of each doorway to the room area.

Different numbers?

The flooring calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.

Other common sizes