Flooring calculator with materials, waste, and install cost
Pick a material, sketch out rooms, and get the exact square footage to buy plus transition strips, quarter round, underlayment, and a real DIY-vs-hire cost.
Rooms
Add closets, halls, and adjacent rooms to do a whole floor at once.
Quick-add a room
Material
Install details
Supplies checklist
Sized to this job: underlayment, transitions, trim, and install-specific tools.
- 126 sqftUnderlayment (sq ft)~$38
- 1 eaTransition strip (T-mold or reducer)~$15
- 1 eaTapping block~$12
- 1 eaPull bar~$15
- 1 packExpansion gap spacers~$8
- 1 packUtility knife + blades~$10
- 1 setTape measure + chalk line~$15
- 1 dayCircular saw or miter saw rental~$40
Ready to install it?
Kablan walks you through subfloor prep, first-row layout, cuts, transitions, and trim, matched to your specific floor and install method.
FAQ
How much flooring should I actually order?
Your room's floor area plus 8–20% extra depending on pattern. Straight layouts waste ~8%. Diagonal adds ~15%. Herringbone and chevron push 20% because every plank is cut twice. Buy from one lot to avoid color variation between boxes.
Do I really need underlayment?
For floating floors (laminate, LVP, engineered): yes, always. It dampens sound, smooths minor subfloor imperfections, and acts as a moisture barrier over concrete. Solid hardwood nailed directly doesn't need it. Tile skips underlayment entirely and uses thinset over backer board. Sheet vinyl is glued directly to the subfloor.
Floating, nail-down, or glue-down, which do I want?
Floating is the DIY-friendly default: fast, forgiving, zero nails. Works for laminate, LVP, and engineered. Nail-down is standard for solid hardwood on plywood subfloors; requires a flooring nailer rental. Glue-down is used for sheet vinyl, some engineered floors over concrete, and tile. Pick floating unless your material or subfloor requires otherwise.
LVP vs laminate vs engineered hardwood, quick comparison?
LVP is waterproof, softer underfoot, and hides subfloor imperfections: best all-around DIY choice. Laminate is slightly cheaper but can swell if water sits on seams; keep it out of bathrooms. Engineered hardwood looks and feels like real wood (it is real wood on top) and can be refinished once, but costs 2–3x more than LVP.
Should I hire an installer or DIY?
Labor runs $2–10/sqft depending on material and install type. For a 500 sqft room, that's $1,000–5,000 to hire out, often more than the flooring itself. Click-lock floating floors are genuinely DIY-able if you can measure carefully and cut straight. Nail-down hardwood and large-plank glue-down are harder; consider hiring.
What's quarter round and do I need it?
Quarter round (or shoe molding) is the small trim that runs where your baseboard meets the new floor. When you install floating floors you leave a ½″ expansion gap around the perimeter, and quarter round hides it. Skip it only if you're pulling off the baseboards entirely and reinstalling them over the new floor.
Why am I buying transition strips?
Where your new floor meets another floor (tile, carpet, or a different height flooring in another room), you need a transition strip (T-molding, reducer, or threshold) to bridge the height and finish the edge. One per doorway. Match the finish to your flooring.
Do I need to acclimate the flooring?
Yes. Leave boxes flat in the room for 48–72 hours before installing. Wood, laminate, and LVP all expand and contract with humidity. Installing straight from the truck leads to buckling or gaps within months.