Coming up with a budget for a floor begins with measuring the surface area. For many this is a simple job. You measure the length and width and then multiply the two to get the square footage. But what about odd-shaped areas?
Square It: Irregular areas can be easily measured up by finding the squares and rectangles.
Round It Off: And forget about inches. Just round it off at the next foot.
Keep a Sharp Eye: Don’t forget the closets and other areas like under the fridge and stove. Too many people don’t think about these and then have to put carpet in the closet or another material under the fridge. It’s not a nice prospect.
Transition Pieces: Don’t forget these if your are going into another room which has another material.
Extra: Allow for 10% extra for any mistakes you make in laying the floor down and repairs that may be needed in the future. This is especially true because lines, colors and designs may get discontinued and getting a good match might not be feasible. Also Irregular areas are tough to measure so go high.
Ordering: Boxes of hardwood flooring come in at around 22.5 square feet per box. So if you have 672 square feet this would mean 29.87 boxes. So adding 10% this would come out to 33 boxes of hardwood.
If you use 30 or part of 31 boxes you can always return the extra 2, allowing for a few extra pieces.
