In most DIY flooring installation guides, the first step will be to measure your floor. Measuring your floor is fundamental and accurate measurements are an essential part of a perfect installation whether you're opting for solid wood, vinyl flooring, LVT or laminate flooring. To help avoid any complication, or difficult sums, here is an easy to follow guide for simple wooden floor measuring.
What You Need:
- Tape Measure
- Paper
- Pen
- Calculator
How To Measure A Floor
To measure a floor you need to; measure the length and width of your room in metres, multiple the length by the width and work out the square metres, then multiply the room size by 1.1 to account for wastage and double check your measurements with a flooring calculator.
More information is provided below on these 5 simple steps to measure your floor. By following this process you can easily work out how much flooring you need and how to account for any wastage too. We've also put together a video tutorial, shown below after the steps, to make the process of measuring your floor even easier.
Related: How to Install Skirting Boards
Step 1. Measure in metres the width and length of each area in your room
When measuring your room, it's important to also include alcoves and bays in your calculations.
What Shape Is Your Room?
It’s important to take into account the shape of your room before you try to calculate the room measurement. A simple square room will have a different measuring process to an L-shaped room. The usual process is to establish which are the widest and the longest parts of the room and then measure them in metres, not imperial. This should also include any bay windows, alcoves, entrances or exits from the room. Remember to measure each side at least twice as a double check to safeguard against any mistakes. You’d be surprised how different the figures can be a second time around.
Step 2. Multiply the length of each area by the width
Once you've got these measurements, make sure to keep a note of them.
Step 3. Add together each calculation. This will equal the room's size in square metres.
When you have the length and width of the room, multiply them together to give the square meters. For example, if your floor is 3 metres long and 5 metres wide, the area needed to be covered is 15 metres squared. If there are more than two areas to measure in the room, such as if your room is L-shaped, then consider it as two rectangles and measure individually. Then add the two figures together at the end for the whole squared area.
Read more: How Do You Work Out Square Metres?
Step 4. Multiply the room size by 1.1 - this adds 10% to account for any wastage.
Once all your floor measurements have been taken and are converted into square meters it is advisable to add 10%.
Why Do You Add 10%?
It's not just for cutting or mismeasurements but also in case any damage is caused after installation. In the case of real wood flooring there maybe planks that are not to your liking and you may wish not to install these, so do not disregard this step as it will come in handy later down the line.
Read more: How to Fit Underlay
Step 5. Use a flooring calculator to double-check your measurements.
You can use a flooring calculator, such as the one that we have on each product page, to ensure that you are ordering the right amount.
Our Flooring Calculator
When you browse any type of flooring at Factory Direct Flooring Ltd, each product has a flooring calculator on the page. Simply enter the surface area in either metres or feet squared and our My Project flooring calculator will tell you how many packs you’ll need and how much it will cost you.
By simply measuring your room and entering your dimensions, we will provide you with an instant price which will show on every type of flooring you browse across our website. You can either input the total coverage or your width and length measurements, in meters or feet. You can even save your measurements room by room to make your shopping experience stress-free.
It also offers to add an extra 10% for wastage. While this may cost a little bit more, we highly recommend adding it just in case there are mishaps during the installation process. Enjoy the My Project flooring calculator below:
Got any further questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be on hand to assist you with your flooring enquires!