Laminate, Vinyl Plank and Hardwood Flooring: How Much to Buy and How to Install It

How much flooring you need, with a worked example

Measure the length and width of each room at the longest points, multiply to get square feet, and add the areas of closets, alcoves and other offsets separately. Do not subtract kitchen islands or cabinets you plan to install over the floor unless you are sure the planks will not run underneath them.

Then add waste for cuts, the narrow last row and damaged pieces. One laminate manufacturer's guide says to add 10 percent to your square footage for standard installations and 15 percent for diagonal installations. A prefinished engineered hardwood maker says to add 5 to 10 percent for grading and cutting allowances. We did not read a published diagonal or herringbone figure for hardwood, so ask the maker of your product, and expect to order more for pattern layouts and for rooms with many corners.

Worked example, a 12 by 15 ft bedroom with a 3 by 4 ft closet: 12 x 15 = 180 sq ft, plus 3 x 4 = 12 sq ft, gives 192 sq ft. Straight layout at 10 percent: 192 x 1.10 = 211.2 sq ft. Diagonal at 15 percent: 192 x 1.15 = 220.8 sq ft. Carton coverage varies by product, so read it off the label. If a carton covers 20 sq ft (an illustrative number only), 211.2 / 20 = 10.56, so buy 11 cartons straight, and 220.8 / 20 = 11.04, so buy 12 cartons diagonal. Always round up, never down.

Choosing the right flooring type

Laminate, luxury vinyl plank and engineered hardwood are usually sold as floating floors: the planks lock or glue to each other, not to the subfloor, so the whole floor can expand and contract. Solid hardwood is fastened to the subfloor and needs a wood subfloor in good condition.

Moisture should drive the choice. The laminate guide we read says not to install over a floor with a sump pump or in a room with a floor drain, and it limits wood subfloors to 14 percent moisture and concrete to 4.5 percent (or 5 lb per 1,000 sq ft per 24 hours). The engineered hardwood instructions say the product cannot go in full bathrooms or other high moisture areas. The vinyl instructions we read say the floor itself is not damaged by moisture, but still call for testing the subfloor because excess moisture causes problems below.

• Laminate: click-together planks, usually installed over a foam or attached pad; indoor only.
• Luxury vinyl plank: click-together, thinner; the subfloor must be smooth because imperfections can telegraph through.
• Engineered hardwood: can be floated (glued or locked), stapled or glued; suited to above, on and, in the instructions we read, below grade when floated with a vapor barrier.
• Solid hardwood: nailed to a wood subfloor, needs the widest gap and the strictest moisture control.

What to buy

Buy the flooring, the underlayment the manufacturer requires, transition and wall trim, and a small set of cutting and spacing tools. Check whether your planks have an attached pad; if they do, adding a second pad can void the warranty, and the laminate guide says not to install over multiple layers of acoustic underlayment.

• Flooring with the full area plus waste, ideally from the same production lot, with spare cartons for future repairs.
• Underlayment matched to the floor: foam for laminate without an attached pad, a 6-mil virgin polyethylene film over concrete, or the specific product the maker names for vinyl.
• Spacers in the thickness of your expansion gap, plus extras for the long wall.
• A saw suited to the material (hand or circular saw and miter saw for laminate and wood; a sharp utility knife works for vinyl), with a fine-tooth blade.
• A tapping block and pull bar for tongue and groove products, a light-colored rubber mallet, a tape measure, square, chalk line and pencil.
• A moisture meter for wood and a way to test concrete, a flat straightedge at least 6 to 10 ft long, and a leveling or patching compound approved for the floor.
• Eye protection and a dust mask; knee pads; transition strips and trim to cover the gap.

Preparing the subfloor and room

Remove carpet, pad and tack strips, pull the quarter round, and clean the subfloor. Undercut door jambs and casings so planks slide beneath them; the laminate guide wants the flooring at least 3/8 in under undercut jambs.

Check flatness with a straightedge. The vinyl instructions require floors flat to within 3/16 in over 10 ft. The NWFA guidelines say wood subfloors should be flat to within 1/4 in over 10 ft (or 3/16 in over 6 ft) when fasteners are 1 1/2 in or longer, and 3/16 in over 10 ft (or 1/8 in over 6 ft) for glue-down or shorter fasteners. One engineered hardwood maker asks for 1/8 in within a 6 ft radius. Sand high spots and fill low spots with a patching or leveling compound the manufacturer accepts.

Test moisture before you buy underlayment. The engineered hardwood instructions we read cap wood subfloors at 14 percent and want the wood within 2 percent of the flooring, and cap concrete at 3 lb per 1,000 sq ft per 24 hours or 75 percent relative humidity, with new concrete at least 30 days old before testing. Other makers differ, which is why you follow the instructions that come with your carton.

Subfloor choices are not universal. One vinyl document says never to install vinyl over OSB or particleboard, while another vinyl document from the same maker accepts APA-rated OSB of at least 3/4 in. Where sources disagree, the instructions for your product win.

Step by step: installing a floating floor

The steps below fit click-together laminate, vinyl and floated engineered planks. Nail-down hardwood adds fastener steps covered by its own instructions.

• 1. Bring unopened cartons into the room and acclimate them for the time the manufacturer specifies (see the acclimation section).
• 2. Prepare and test the subfloor, then lay the underlayment or vapor film. Overlap film edges 8 in per the laminate guide, or butt and tape seams if your maker says so.
• 3. Plan the layout. Measure the room width and divide by the plank width; if the last row would be under 2 in (engineered instructions) or too narrow, trim the first row so both end rows match. Avoid end pieces under 9 in long, per the vinyl instructions.
• 4. Start in a corner with the groove side toward the wall, and set spacers along the wall in the gap size your maker specifies.
• 5. Lock the first row together, cutting the last plank of the row short of the far wall by the gap width. Use the offcut to start row two if it is long enough.
• 6. Stagger end joints. The vinyl instructions say at least 6 in; for hardwood the NWFA says 6 in for strip, 8 to 10 in for 3 to 5 in plank, and 10 in for wider plank. Avoid H patterns.
• 7. Tap boards together with a tapping block on the tongue only, never on the groove, and use a mallet for click products; do not use tapping blocks on drop-lock vinyl whose maker forbids them.
• 8. Work from several cartons at once to mix shade and grain.
• 9. Cut the last row to width, using spacers against the wall, and pull it into place.
• 10. Remove spacers, then install trim and transitions fastened to the wall or the doorway, never through a floating floor.

Finishing, curing and drying times

For a floating floor with edge glue, the engineered hardwood instructions say to keep foot traffic off for at least 12 hours while the adhesive sets, and to wait 24 hours before damp mopping or placing heavy objects or furniture. Click-together vinyl without adhesive has no stated cure time in the documents we read.

Protect the finished floor if other trades are still working. The vinyl instructions recommend reinforced fiber board or heavy kraft paper of at least 60 lb; the engineered instructions say to use breathable cover such as cardboard or kraft paper, not plastic. The laminate guide wants the room at least 65 degrees F for two days after installation.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the expansion gap or letting the floor touch walls, cabinets, pipes or door frames, which is the classic cause of buckling.
• Laying flooring that has not acclimated, or acclimating it in a garage, basement or patio; the NWFA lists those as unacceptable storage places.
• Nailing or screwing trim through a floating floor, or installing cabinets and islands on top of it.
• Ignoring a wavy subfloor and hoping the underlayment will hide it.
• Ordering exactly the measured area with no waste, then finding the color lot has changed.
• Tapping on the groove side, which damages the edge.
• Running one continuous floor through long rooms or doorways without a transition when the maker requires one.
• Soaking vinyl or laminate when cleaning; water can migrate through the joints.

When to hire a professional

Hire a professional when the subfloor is structurally suspect, bouncy or squeaky, when moisture tests fail, or when the work involves a large concrete slab that needs grinding or leveling. NWFA guidance notes that sanding or grinding concrete should minimize silica dust and that OSHA recommends dust-collection devices or applying water. OSHA says workers who inhale very small crystalline silica particles are at increased risk of serious illness, including silicosis and lung cancer.

Old resilient flooring is another stop sign. EPA says asbestos can be present in older vinyl flooring and its backing, advises against sanding or leveling it, and suggests installing new flooring over it if possible. Damaged or disturbed material calls for an accredited professional, and taking samples yourself is not recommended.

Also call a pro for herringbone or diagonal layouts over large areas, stairs, radiant heat above the manufacturer's temperature limit (the vinyl documents cap it at 83 to 90 degrees F depending on product), and any installation where a warranty requires certified installation.

Cost and ordering tips

Order all cartons in one purchase so they share a production lot, and keep a few extra planks. Ask the supplier for the coverage per carton, the lot number, the return policy on unopened cartons, and delivery terms. Cartons arrive on pallets; ask where they will be left, because they need to move into the climate-controlled room, not the garage.

Confirm that trim and transition pieces are in stock in your finish, since lead times often differ from the flooring itself. Buy underlayment and tools at the same time so acclimation does not stall while you wait for them. Ask whether the maker requires its own underlayment to keep the warranty valid.

Care and maintenance

After installation, sweep and clean vinyl with a neutral pH cleaner and do not soak it, because water can run through the joints and sit on the subfloor, as the vinyl instructions warn. Hardwood makers specify their own hardwood flooring cleaner. The vinyl warranty text also excludes stains from rubber or rubber-backed mats, so use mats the maker approves.

Keep the expansion gap covered by trim but never filled or pinned. Keep indoor humidity and temperature in the range your maker lists, since the same movement that the gap allows for continues for the life of the floor. Store your spare planks flat in a conditioned room so they match if you need a repair.

Acclimation and expansion gaps

Acclimation lets planks reach the humidity and temperature of the finished room. The laminate guide says to lay unopened cartons flat, at least 2 ft from the walls, for 48 to 96 hours, and at least 96 hours in very dry or very humid climates, with relative humidity between 30 and 90 percent and temperature at least 65 degrees F. The vinyl instructions say 24 to 48 hours at 71 degrees F with cartons lying flat. The engineered hardwood instructions say at least 72 hours, in a room held at 60 to 80 degrees F and 35 to 55 percent relative humidity for at least 5 days beforehand.

The NWFA does not give hours for hardwood. It says to follow the manufacturer, to run permanent heating and cooling for at least five days before installation, to check moisture in multiple boards, and that solid strip under 3 in wide should be within 4 percent moisture of the subfloor and 3 in or wider within 2 percent.

Gap sizes differ by product, so follow your carton. The laminate guide calls for 3/8 in, rising to 1/2 in where the area is over 40 ft long or wide with a T-molding. The vinyl instructions call for 5/16 in. Engineered hardwood uses 3/8 or 1/2 in spacers depending on thickness, adding 1/16 in per 3 ft that the room extends beyond 25 ft. The NWFA says 3/4 in around the perimeter for solid strip and plank.

How much flooring for common room sizes

Each row uses 10% waste (straight layout) and 20 sq ft boxes. Change any number in the flooring calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: NWFA Installation Guidelines (copy of the 2007/2008 edition; older than the current edition), Laminate maker Installation Essentials Guide (Pergo), Floating luxury vinyl DIY installation instructions (STAINMASTER, Novalis), Luxury vinyl Clic FD installation instructions (STAINMASTER, Novalis), Prefinished engineered plank installation instructions (manufacturer PDF), OSHA: Respirable crystalline silica, EPA: Protect your family from exposures to asbestos. Read 7 November 2026.