Flooring Calculator: 12 × 20 ft room
Find how many boxes of laminate, vinyl plank or hardwood you need for a room, with a waste allowance and rough cost.
// Bill of materials
Costs are rough, materials only — edit the price to match your quote.
Pre-filled for a 12 × 20 ft room. Change any value to recalculate, or start from scratch.
How it's calculated
Area = width × length. We add your waste allowance for cuts and mistakes, then divide by the coverage of one box and round up, since flooring is sold by the box.
Worked example — 12 × 20 ft room
- Room width
- 12 ft
- Room length
- 20 ft
- Flooring type
- Laminate (≈ 20 sq ft/box)
- Waste allowance
- 8 %
- Flooring price
- 2.75 $/sq ft
Nearby sizes
| Room size | Boxes to buy | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 × 8 ft room | 4 boxes | Open |
| 8 × 10 ft room | 5 boxes | Open |
| 8 × 12 ft room | 6 boxes | Open |
| 10 × 10 ft room | 6 boxes | Open |
| 10 × 12 ft room | 7 boxes | Open |
| 10 × 14 ft room | 8 boxes | Open |
| 10 × 16 ft room | 9 boxes | Open |
| 12 × 12 ft room | 8 boxes | Open |
| 12 × 14 ft room | 10 boxes | Open |
| 12 × 16 ft room | 11 boxes | Open |
| 12 × 18 ft room | 12 boxes | Open |
| 12 × 20 ft room (this page) | 13 boxes |
Tips for buying flooring
- Order 8–10% extra: you lose material to end cuts, and the first and last rows are almost never full width.
- Buy it all up front and check the lot numbers match — flooring shade varies between production runs.
- Let the boxes acclimate in the room for 48 hours before installing, or the planks can gap or buckle later.
- Keep one full box after the job for future repairs; discontinued lines are impossible to match.
- Add extra for diagonal or herringbone layouts — up to 15% — because angled cuts waste more.
- Don't forget underlayment and transition strips; they're priced separately from the flooring.
Frequently asked questions
How many boxes of laminate do I need for a 12x14 room?
A 12x14 room is 168 sq ft. With 8% waste that's about 182 sq ft, and at 20 sq ft per box you'd buy 10 boxes. Vinyl plank boxes cover more, so you'd need fewer.
How much flooring should I buy for waste?
8% is a safe minimum for straight-laid planks. Use 10% for angled rooms and up to 15% for diagonal or herringbone patterns.
How many square feet are in a box of flooring?
It varies by product: laminate and hardwood boxes are often about 20 sq ft, luxury vinyl plank about 24. Always check the box — this calculator uses typical figures you can adjust by picking the type.
Should I include closets and doorways?
Yes, if you're flooring them. Measure each area, add them together, then apply the waste percentage to the total.