Is 10% extra flooring enough?

For a straight lay in a simple room it is usually too much. For herringbone, chevron or a diagonal lay it can be too little. Counting from a real layout gives the right number for your room and pattern.

How is the pack count worked out?

Every board is placed in your room, offcuts are reused as row starters and fillers where the rules allow, and the boards used are rounded up to whole packs.

Can I enter my own prices?

Yes, per pack or per board, in your own currency. The shopping list shows the total, and the exported list adds the cost per area and the cost of the extra over the floor area.

Why does it matter if I run out?

Flooring is made in batches that can differ slightly in shade. A second order weeks later may not match, so buying the right amount once matters more than it seems.

Exactly how many packs to buy, counted from a real layout

The usual way to buy flooring is area plus 10%, rounded up to whole packs. In a simple room that overbuys. In an awkward one or with a pattern it can underbuy, and running out halfway through a job often means a different batch with a slightly different shade.

Floor Optimizer counts the packs from the actual layout: every board placed and every offcut reused where it fits, rounded up to whole packs. The shopping list totals packs, cost and anything else the job needs.

Count your packs

Free to try. No account needed to start.

In short: Floor Optimizer is a flooring layout planner that counts exactly how many packs of flooring to buy and what they cost, from a real layout. It lays every board in your real room and gives you the waste, the packs to buy and a board-by-board cut list.

How it works in Floor Optimizer

Draw the room and pick a pattern

Room shape and pattern drive the waste, so both are part of the count.

Enter the boards from the box

Board size, boards per pack and the price per pack or per board, in your currency.

Read the shopping list

Packs to buy and the total cost. The exported list adds the cost per square metre or square foot and what the extra over the floor area costs.

What it handles

Counted from the layout

The pack count comes from the boards the layout uses, instead of a flat percentage added to the area.

No guesswork buffer

There is no padded percentage on top. The count is the boards the layout uses, rounded up to whole packs, and you decide whether to add a spare pack.

Cost per pack or per board

Enter the price however your shop sells it. Pack pricing rounds to whole packs; board pricing does not.

Everything on one list

Transition strips for dividers between rooms are included, so the list covers the whole job.

What is Floor Optimizer?

Floor Optimizer is an online flooring layout planner for DIYers and flooring fitters. You draw your room or whole floor plan to your measurements, enter the boards you plan to buy and pick a laying pattern, and it places every board in your actual room shape. From that layout it works out the waste, the exact packs to buy and a board-by-board cut list, so the floor is planned before anything is bought or cut. It runs in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone.

What it is: A browser-based flooring layout planner, cut list generator and pack calculator in one.
Who it is for: Homeowners laying their own floor, and flooring fitters quoting and planning jobs.
Materials: Laminate, vinyl plank (LVT), engineered and solid wood, and other boards or tiles laid in rows or patterns.
Rooms: Any shape: rectangles, L-shapes, angled walls, bays, curves and obstacles, typed to the millimetre or 1/16 inch. A whole floor plan can be split into rooms by walls, joined by doorways.
Patterns: Straight lay, running bond, random stagger, strip plank, herringbone, chevron, basketweave and windmill.
What you get: The full layout, waste percentage, exact pack count and cost, a board-by-board cut list, and a printable PDF install pack (the full plan comes with an unlock or Pro).
Price: Free to try without an account, with the layout preview and a sample of the cut list. A one-time payment unlocks the full plan for a room; Floor Optimizer Pro is a monthly subscription for every room.

Frequently asked questions

Is 10% extra flooring enough?: For a straight lay in a simple room it is usually too much. For herringbone, chevron or a diagonal lay it can be too little. Counting from a real layout gives the right number for your room and pattern.
How is the pack count worked out?: Every board is placed in your room, offcuts are reused as row starters and fillers where the rules allow, and the boards used are rounded up to whole packs.
Can I enter my own prices?: Yes, per pack or per board, in your own currency. The shopping list shows the total, and the exported list adds the cost per area and the cost of the extra over the floor area.
Why does it matter if I run out?: Flooring is made in batches that can differ slightly in shade. A second order weeks later may not match, so buying the right amount once matters more than it seems.