To work out how many boxes of flooring to order, measure the floor area, add the waste allowance the manufacturer recommends for your layout (commonly about 10% for a straight lay and 15% for a diagonal one), divide by the square footage printed on one carton, and round up to a whole box. On a plan with several rooms, MeasureSet, a Windows takeoff app from Automata Labs, does the measuring and the division: click inside each room for its floor area, give the flooring label its waste allowance and the coverage of one carton, and the totals show the number of cartons to order, ready for Excel.
That is the whole formula. The rest of this guide covers where the waste figure comes from, the rounding choice that changes the order by a box or two, and what to check before you place it.
Measure the rooms on a plan PDF and see the cartons to order, with waste included.
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What is the formula for boxes of flooring?
Boxes = round up (measured area × (1 + waste allowance) ÷ coverage per box)
| Input | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Measured area | The floor area of every room getting this product, from the plan or a site measure |
| Waste allowance | The manufacturer’s installation instructions for your layout, adjusted for the job |
| Coverage per box | Printed on the carton or the product spec sheet, in square feet or square metres per carton |
| Round up | You cannot buy part of a box |
Use the coverage figure for the exact product. Two lines from the same brand can pack different square footage per carton, and the number on the box is the one to trust.
How much waste should you add for flooring?
Start with the manufacturer’s figure for the product you are ordering. Two examples from published installation instructions for vinyl plank:
| Manufacturer document | Straight lay | Diagonal lay |
|---|---|---|
| Mohawk SolidTech Plus installation instructions | Add 10% “for standard installations to account for cuts” | Add 15% |
| Tarkett ProGen LVT installation instructions | Add 5 to 10% for standard (straight) installations | Add 15% |
Tarkett’s wording explains why the allowance exists: it is “to allow for cuts and to have extra material left over that can be used if a future repair is needed.” Other products and other materials (tile, sheet goods, hardwood) have their own figures, and pattern layouts such as herringbone usually need more. Adjust upward for many small rooms, closets and angled walls, where offcuts are too short to reuse.
A worked example: one open area
Say the plan shows an open living and dining area of 640 sq ft, and the chosen plank says 23.64 sq ft per carton on the box (an example figure; use your own product’s).
| Layout | Area with waste | ÷ coverage | Boxes to order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight, 10% | 640 × 1.10 = 704 sq ft | 704 ÷ 23.64 = 29.78 | 30 |
| Diagonal, 15% | 640 × 1.15 = 736 sq ft | 736 ÷ 23.64 = 31.13 | 32 |
Going diagonal adds two boxes on this floor. That difference is worth knowing before you quote.
Should you round up per room or for the whole order?
This is the choice that changes the order. Take three bedrooms of 185, 210 and 245 sq ft, the same product, 10% waste:
| Method | Calculation | Boxes |
|---|---|---|
| Round up per room | 8.61 → 9, 9.77 → 10, 11.40 → 12 | 31 |
| Round up once on the total | 640 × 1.10 ÷ 23.64 = 29.78 → 30 | 30 |
Rounding per room orders one more box here, because each room’s fractional box is rounded up separately. Rounding once on the total is fine when one crew installs all the rooms in one go and offcuts move between rooms. Rounding per room is safer when rooms are installed on different days, by different crews, or might be ordered as separate change orders. Pick one rule per job and write it on the quote.
How do you measure the area from a floor plan?
You need the floor area of each room inside the walls, not the room’s footprint to the wall centres. On a PDF plan:
- Set the scale. Use the printed scale or, better, calibrate from a long dimension on the drawing.
- Measure each room’s floor area. Trace the room or click inside it with a room tool.
- Deduct what does not get flooring. Kitchen islands with no flooring under them, fixed cabinets (manufacturers such as Mohawk say kitchen cabinets must be installed before the floor, and not on top of it), and built-ins.
- Group rooms by product. Bedrooms in carpet, living areas in plank, wet rooms in tile each get their own total.
Our guide to calculating flooring square footage from plans goes step by step through the measuring, and setting the scale on a PDF drawing covers calibration. Note that the square-footage guide was written before MeasureSet added order quantities; the carton total described below is newer.
How does MeasureSet turn rooms into boxes?
MeasureSet is PDF takeoff for flooring, paint, drywall and concrete bids, running on your PC.
| Step | What MeasureSet does |
|---|---|
| Open the plan | Reads the printed scale and offers it; points snap to walls and lines |
| Measure rooms | Click inside a room to measure it wall to wall, even where walls are drawn as two lines; draw areas and deduct openings where needed |
| Name rooms | Room names are read from the plan, and Excel gets a room schedule |
| Set the product | Give a label a waste allowance, a unit and what one unit covers, for example one carton covering 23.64 sq ft |
| Read the order | Totals show what to order: cartons, gallons, sheets or cubic yards |
| Share | Export Excel with blank price columns, CSV, and a marked-up PDF with the totals |
The Trade labels option adds starter labels for flooring, painting, drywall and concrete, so you do not build them from scratch. Every room carrying the same label follows that label’s waste and coverage, so changing the product on one label updates the whole order. When a revised sheet arrives, compare it with the earlier one in red and blue before you re-measure.
The room schedule in Excel is where you apply your rounding rule: per-room rounding is one formula column; whole-order rounding is the total.
Give a flooring label its waste and carton coverage, and every room on the plan rolls into one order.
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What should you check before ordering?
- Dye lot. Order the whole job, plus spares, from one lot where possible. Mohawk also recommends blending planks from several cartons during installation.
- Transitions and trim. Thresholds, reducers and wall trim are separate items; measure the linear feet of doorways and walls that need them.
- Stairs. Treads and nosings are counted per step, not by area.
- Attic stock. Some owners want a box or two left for repairs. Tarkett’s waste wording already has repairs in mind; agree with the client whether extra spares are on top.
- Returns. Check the supplier’s policy on returning unopened cartons before you decide how close to cut the order.
When is a takeoff app worth it over a tape and a spreadsheet?
| Job | Tape and spreadsheet | MeasureSet |
|---|---|---|
| One room, site measured | Quickest | Not needed |
| A house from a plan PDF before the site exists | Scale-ruler work, room by room | Click each room, read the order |
| Several products across many rooms | Manual grouping | Labels group rooms by product |
| A revised plan mid-bid | Remeasure and hope you catch every change | Compare the revision in red and blue first |
MeasureSet is a takeoff ruler, not an estimating suite: it has no cost database, no assemblies and no cloud collaboration, and a measurement is only as good as the calibration and the drawing. Our guide to doing a takeoff from PDF plans covers the basics, and the one-time purchase takeoff page explains the pricing model.
Frequently asked questions
How many square feet are in a box of flooring?
It varies by product. Carton coverage is printed on the box and on the spec sheet; always use that figure for the exact product you are ordering.
Is 10% waste enough for flooring?
For a straight lay in simple rooms, 10% matches what Mohawk recommends for SolidTech Plus, and Tarkett gives 5 to 10% for ProGen. Diagonal layouts call for 15% in both documents. Patterns and many small rooms usually need more; follow the instructions for your product.
Do I subtract closets and cabinets?
Subtract areas that will not get flooring, such as under fixed cabinets. Closets usually get the same floor, so include them, and they add waste because of the short cuts.
Can MeasureSet count boxes of tile or carpet?
It counts any unit you define: give a label the unit and what one unit covers. The Store listing names cartons, gallons, sheets and cubic yards as examples.
Do my plans get uploaded?
No. MeasureSet runs on your PC with no account, nothing is uploaded, and your plan PDFs are never written over.
Try MeasureSet
MeasureSet is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial. Open the plan for your next flooring bid, set the carton coverage on the flooring label, and compare the order with your usual method. More detail is on the MeasureSet product page.
Work out the cartons for your next flooring bid during the 15-day free trial.
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Mohawk, SolidTech, Tarkett and ProGen are trademarks of their owners. MeasureSet is not affiliated with any flooring manufacturer. Always follow the installation instructions for the product you buy.
Last updated 19 October 2026. Published by Automata Labs, a software company in Canada.