In what order should laminate boards be laid?

Row by row from the starting wall, each row started with an offcut or a cut board so the joints stagger. The playback shows that order for your room.

Which wall should I start from?

Usually the longest straight wall, or the one that leads to a balanced last row. The playback shows where the first row of your layout goes.

Does the cut list match the layout?

Yes. Every piece has the same number on the layout and in the cut list. By default the cut list shows how each board is cut up, and identical pieces can be grouped into one line with a count when you prefer a shorter list.

Can I pause and step through?

Playback runs through the floor and can be stopped and replayed. It comes with the full plan. For working at the saw, the numbered cut list is the reference.

See the order to lay every board, step by step

Seeing the finished floor doesn't tell you how to get there. Where does the first board go, which offcut starts the second row, and what happens at the doorway?

Floor Optimizer numbers every piece on the layout. Press play and the floor builds up piece by piece on screen, from the first row to the last, and the numbers match the cut list.

Plan and play your floor

Free to try. No account needed to start.

In short: Floor Optimizer is a flooring layout planner that shows the order to lay the boards, step by step. 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

Plan the floor

Draw the room, enter your boards and run the layout.

Press play

The floor builds up piece by piece in laying order, from the first row to the last.

Follow the numbers

Each piece on the layout has a number, and the cut list uses the same numbers with the cut each one needs.

What it handles

First row shown

The playback starts with the first row, so you can see where the floor begins.

Offcuts in their place

Pieces are coloured by the board they are cut from, so you can see an offcut turn up again where it starts a later row.

Numbers that match

Layout numbers and cut list steps line up, so you can follow the plan without working anything out.

Good for first-timers

Watching the floor go down once before doing it makes the job far less daunting.

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

In what order should laminate boards be laid?: Row by row from the starting wall, each row started with an offcut or a cut board so the joints stagger. The playback shows that order for your room.
Which wall should I start from?: Usually the longest straight wall, or the one that leads to a balanced last row. The playback shows where the first row of your layout goes.
Does the cut list match the layout?: Yes. Every piece has the same number on the layout and in the cut list. By default the cut list shows how each board is cut up, and identical pieces can be grouped into one line with a count when you prefer a shorter list.
Can I pause and step through?: Playback runs through the floor and can be stopped and replayed. It comes with the full plan. For working at the saw, the numbered cut list is the reference.