How many packs of laminate do I need? Worked examples by room size

The formula is: room area in m² × (1 + waste percentage) ÷ pack coverage, rounded up to a whole pack. For a typical 12 m² bedroom with 2.22 m² packs and 8% waste, that is 12 × 1.08 ÷ 2.22 = 5.8 → 6 packs. The rest of this guide is worked examples for common room sizes and shapes, so you can find the one closest to yours and follow the same arithmetic.

What you need before you calculate

1. Room area: length × width in metres for a rectangle; split irregular rooms into rectangles and add them (see how to measure a room for flooring).
2. Pack coverage: printed on the pack, usually 1.5 to 2.6 m². The examples below use 2.22 m² (a common figure for 1285 × 192 mm boards, 9 per pack).
3. Waste percentage: depends on your laying pattern, so allow 5% to 8% straight lay, 10% to 15% diagonal, 15% to 20% herringbone (full reasoning in flooring waste percentage).

Worked example: 3 × 4 m bedroom (12 m²)

A straightforward rectangle, straight lay, no alcoves, the easiest case, so use 8% waste:

• Area: 3 × 4 = 12 m²
• With waste: 12 × 1.08 = 12.96 m²
• Packs: 12.96 ÷ 2.22 = 5.84 → 6 packs

Note how little headroom there is: 6 packs give you 13.32 m², only 0.36 m² (about a third of a board row) above your target. This is why you round up even when the answer is close to a whole number.

Worked example: 5 × 4 m living room (20 m²)

Larger room, one bay window recess of 1.8 × 0.4 m, straight lay. The recess is extra floor, so add it:

• Main area: 5 × 4 = 20 m²
• Bay recess: 1.8 × 0.4 = 0.72 m²
• Total: 20.72 m²
• With 10% waste (the recess and its angled cuts justify more than the 8% minimum): 20.72 × 1.10 = 22.79 m²
• Packs: 22.79 ÷ 2.22 = 10.27 → 11 packs

Worked example: L-shaped hallway

An L-shaped hall, 4 m long and 1.2 m wide, turning into a leg of 2.5 × 1 m. Split the L into two rectangles:

• Rectangle A: 4 × 1.2 = 4.8 m²
• Rectangle B: 2.5 × 1 = 2.5 m²
• Total: 7.3 m²

Hallways punch above their weight for waste: narrow widths mean the rip cut along the wall is a large fraction of every board, and halls collect doorways. Use 12% even for a straight lay:

• With waste: 7.3 × 1.12 = 8.18 m²
• Packs: 8.18 ÷ 2.22 = 3.68 → 4 packs

Quick reference: packs by room size

Straight lay, 8% waste, 2.22 m² packs. For herringbone, use the right-hand column (18% waste).

If your pack coverage differs, do not scale this table; redo the division. Pack sizes vary enough (1.5 to 2.6 m²) that the rounded answer often changes.

Why the pack count deserves more precision than a rule of thumb

Two effects fight each other. Rounding up to whole packs adds hidden margin, sometimes most of a pack. Meanwhile a flat waste percentage can under-shoot if your room width leaves a sliver-thin last row that wastes most of each board in it. Whether these cancel out is pure luck of your room's dimensions.

The way to remove the luck is to plan the actual layout: Floor Optimizer places every board in your real room shape, reuses offcuts where the pattern allows, and returns the exact board count, which you divide by boards-per-pack for a pack count that is arithmetic, not estimation. For the full buying process end to end, see how much flooring do I need?