Laminate Flooring Calculator

How Many Packs of Laminate Do I Need?

The usual answer is the room area plus 10%, divided by the pack cover. Wickes' guide says to add an extra 10-15% for cutting and wastage. For a 4m × 3m room on 2.22 m² packs that is 6 packs. It says nothing about how the planks lay.

So this calculator lays the floor out. It takes the expansion gap off every side, works out how many rows fit, and gives each row a start piece, whole planks and an end piece, with the end joints staggered from row to row. It tries several patterns and keeps the one that needs the fewest planks. For the same room that comes to 50 planks, which is 6 packs.

No percentage is added on top, because the plan already shares offcuts and adding 10% would count them twice. A spare pack is shown as its own line, like the architrave in the skirting calculator. The count is often the same as the room area rounded up to whole packs. In the table below, area plus 10% buys a pack more than the layout needs in 5 of 8 rooms.

How the Layout Works

• Expansion gap all round. Wickes says 10-12mm, and Quick-Step says at least 8mm on the whole perimeter. It is taken off every side before the rows are laid.
• End joints staggered. Quick-Step: end joints in adjacent rows must never be in line, with at least 30cm between them. Wickes: never start a second row with a full-length board. The calculator keeps every joint 300mm or more from the joints in the row beside it.
• No short pieces. Quick-Step: the first and last panel of a row should be more than 20cm. No piece at a wall is shorter than 200mm.
• A last row that is wide enough. Wickes: if the final row would be under 60mm, trim the first board lengthways. The calculator cuts the first row narrower so the last row is 60mm.
• Offcuts shared, within the limits of a click plank. A plank cut in two gives one start piece and one end piece. It does not give two of the same kind. That is our reading of how the tongue and groove ends fit.
• Several rooms. Up to four rectangles, laid separately with their own gaps, sharing offcuts.

What it does not do: it does not lay L-shaped rooms as one floor, allow for door frames, pipes or threshold bars, or count underlay. Enter each rectangle as a room and use the extra allowance for awkward spots.

Laminate Plank Sizes, With Sources

Plank sizes and pack sizes vary. Every size in the dropdown has a merchant product page that states the plank length and width, planks per pack and pack cover, and no product page means no dropdown entry. Check your own pack before ordering.

Where the Rules Come From

The fitting rules are from installation guides: Wickes' guide to laying laminate (10-12mm gap, never start a second row with a full board, an offcut of 300mm or more can start the next row, trim the first row if the last would be under 60mm) and Quick-Step's installation guide (PDF) (gap of at least 8mm, end joints at least 30cm apart, first and last panel more than 20cm, first and last row at least 5cm, floating floors up to 13 × 13m). Where the two differ we have used the stricter figure. The rule that a cut plank gives one start piece and one end piece is our own reading of how the ends fit, and manufacturers' floors differ, so follow the guide in your pack if it says otherwise.

Common Room Sizes: Packs Needed

Generated from the calculator above. Each room is one rectangle on 1285 × 192mm Wickes 8mm planks (9 to a 2.22 m² pack), 10mm gap, counted from the cutting plan with nothing added. The "area + 10%" column is the usual rule of thumb for comparison.

Use the calculator for your own room. A different plank size, or planks running the other way, can change the answer by a pack. Fitting a new kitchen as well? Our kitchen worktop calculator works out the worktop boards and where the joints go. Levelling old floorboards first? Our hardboard calculator lays out the sheets and counts the nails.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many packs of laminate flooring do I need?

The usual sum is the room area plus 10%, divided by the pack cover. Wickes' guide says to add an extra 10-15% for cutting and wastage. For a 4m × 3m room on the 2.22 m² Wickes packs that is 6 packs. It does not look at how the planks actually lay. This calculator leaves the expansion gap, lays every row with the end joints staggered, and shares each cut plank between two rows where it can. The same room needs 50 planks, which is 6 packs. Across the rooms in the table below, area plus 10% buys a pack more than the layout needs in 5 of 8.

Should I add 10% for waste?

Not on top of a cutting plan, because the plan already reuses offcuts and adding a percentage counts them twice. The answer here is the plan count, in whole packs. A spare pack is shown on its own line (7 for the room above) so you can add it or not. Unlike turf, laminate can be stored, so a spare pack is a real option. There is also an extra allowance box, left at 0%, for awkward rooms with door frames and pipes that the rectangle does not show.

Which way should the planks run?

That is partly a matter of looks, so it is your call. The calculator's default tries both directions and uses the one that needs fewer planks, and you can force either. Picking the other direction changes the count, sometimes by a pack, so it is worth a look before you order.

How big should the expansion gap be?

Wickes says to leave a 10-12mm expansion gap around the edges of the room. Quick-Step's installation guide says 1mm per metre of floor width with a minimum of 8mm, and that gaps are mandatory on the whole perimeter. The calculator defaults to 10mm, takes it off every side, and lays planks in what is left. Quick-Step also limits a floating floor to 13 × 13m before it needs an expansion joint, and the calculator warns if a room is bigger.

How far apart should the end joints be?

Quick-Step's guide says end joints of panels in adjacent rows must never be in line, with at least 30cm between them, and that the first and last panel of a row should be more than 20cm. Wickes says never to start a second row with a full-length board. The calculator uses 300mm and 200mm. It tries several patterns, including starting each row with the offcut of the row before, and keeps the one that needs the fewest planks.

Why is my first row cut narrower?

Wickes says that if the final row would be under 60mm wide, you trim the first board lengthways so the last row is wider. Quick-Step says the first and last rows should be at least 5cm. The calculator uses the stricter 60mm. When it applies, the first row is cut narrower by exactly what the last row needs, and a note tells you the widths.

Can offcuts be reused?

Yes, but not as freely as a generic estimate assumes. Wickes says an offcut of 300mm or more from the end of a row can start the next row. A click plank has a tongue at one end and a groove at the other, so a plank cut in two gives one piece for the start of a row and one for the end of a row, never two of the same kind. That last part is our reading of how the ends fit, not a merchant rule, and we check pieces of the same width only. The cutting plan shows which two pieces come from each plank. On the 192mm Wickes plank in the 4m × 3m room, 13 planks are shared between two rows.

What size are laminate planks?

It varies. Wickes' 8mm planks are 1285 × 192mm, nine to a 2.22 m² pack. B&Q's GoodHome Kirton is 1380 × 193mm and Horsham is 1286 × 160mm. Each size in the dropdown has a merchant product page, listed below. Use Custom for anything else, and check the pack before ordering.

Does it work for L-shaped rooms?

Enter each rectangle as its own room. Each one is laid separately with its own expansion gap, and offcuts are shared between them. That overstates the gap where the two parts join into one open floor, so for a big L-shaped room treat the count as slightly generous. The calculator does not model door frames, pipes, threshold bars or underlay.