ContractorHandbook

How Much Flooring for 700 Square Feet?

Boxes to order

35 boxes

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

It does not stop at a number.

When the figures look right, the flooring material list downloads as a real PDF with your business details on it, built inside your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.

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 area700 sq ft
  • Coverage per box or carton22.5 sq ft
  • Waste allowance10 %

Boxes to order35 boxes

Floor area700 sq ft
With 10% waste770 sq ft
Boxes at 22.5 sq ft35
Coverage bought787.5 sq ft
Left over87.5 sq ftkeep it for repairs

The material list this produces

Flooring, boxes35
Underlayment, sq ft700
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%33 boxes735 sq ft42.5 sq ft
10%35 boxes770 sq ft87.5 sq ft
15%36 boxes805 sq ft110 sq ft
20%38 boxes840 sq ft155 sq ft

What else matters here

Seven hundred square feet with ten percent is 770, thirty five cartons, 787.5 bought.

Around this size the labor question becomes real. Installers price per square foot and the rate moves with the method: a click together floating floor is the cheapest, glue down costs more because of the adhesive and the time, and nail down solid hardwood costs more again. Stairs are priced per tread and are always the expensive part of a job.

What sits outside the per square foot number is the reason quotes diverge. Tear out and disposal of the old floor, subfloor repair or leveling, undercutting doors and jambs, moving furniture and appliances, and the transitions and trim are each their own line. Ask for them itemized before comparing two bids, because the cheaper square foot rate with prep excluded is usually the more expensive floor.

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 700 square feet?

About 35 boxes at 22.5 square feet each, covering 700 square feet with ten percent waste.

What do flooring installers charge?

A per square foot rate that rises from floating to glue down to nail down, plus separate charges for tear out, subfloor prep, doors, furniture and trim. Stairs are priced per tread.

How do I compare two flooring quotes?

Make both itemize tear out, disposal, subfloor prep, transitions and trim. A low square foot rate with prep excluded usually ends up costing more.

Different numbers?

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

Other common sizes