ContractorHandbook

How Much Flooring for 300 Square Feet?

Boxes to order

15 boxes

300 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 area300 sq ft
  • Coverage per box or carton22.5 sq ft
  • Waste allowance10 %

Boxes to order15 boxes

Floor area300 sq ft
With 10% waste330 sq ft
Boxes at 22.5 sq ft15
Coverage bought337.5 sq ft
Left over37.5 sq ftkeep it for repairs

The material list this produces

Flooring, boxes15
Underlayment, sq ft300
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%14 boxes315 sq ft15 sq ft
10%15 boxes330 sq ft37.5 sq ft
15%16 boxes345 sq ft60 sq ft
20%16 boxes360 sq ft60 sq ft

What else matters here

Three hundred square feet with ten percent is 330, fifteen cartons, 337.5 bought and 37.5 square feet spare.

That leftover is not slack in the estimate, it is the repair stock, and it is worth treating as part of the job. A dropped pan, a chair leg, a leak under a dishwasher: any of those takes out two or three planks, and a plank pulled from a matching box is an hour of work while a plank from a new dye lot is a visible patch forever.

Store it flat, indoors, in a conditioned space, still in the carton, and write the room and the date on the box. A garage or an attic is not storage for flooring, because both cycle through humidity extremes that will cup or shrink what is in them. If there is genuinely nowhere, at least keep a full row's worth rather than the offcuts.

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 300 square feet?

About 15 boxes at 22.5 square feet each, covering 300 square feet with a ten percent waste allowance.

How much leftover flooring should I keep?

Whatever the waste allowance leaves, which here is about 37 square feet. Enough to replace a few planks from the same dye lot is the point.

Where should I store leftover flooring?

Flat, in the carton, in conditioned space indoors. A garage or attic swings through humidity extremes and will ruin it before you need it.

Different numbers?

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

Other common sizes