Herringbone layout planner: the pattern planned before the first mitre
Herringbone is the least forgiving layout in flooring: the pattern starts from a centreline, an error in the first spine carries through the whole floor, and every board meeting a wall is cut at an angle. This planner lays the full pattern in your real room shape and tells you the real waste figure instead of the folklore 15% to 20%.
Free to try. No account needed to start.
How it works
Draw your room
Sketch the floor to your measurements. Room proportions decide where the angled cuts land, so the shape matters here more than in any other pattern.
Enter your herringbone boards
Length and width from your range, then classic 45 degree or square-set. The planner checks the pattern actually closes for those dimensions.
See the pattern placed
The spine, the field and the border cuts, board by board, with the real waste and pack count.
See it in action
What you get
The centreline planned, not guessed
The spine is placed so the pattern balances the room, the one decision you cannot fix once the first rows are down.
Real waste instead of the 15% to 20% rule
Angled wall cuts are counted piece by piece, and planned herringbone lands far below the folklore range.
Cut counts you can price
About 4 times the cuts of a straight lay, shown before you commit, and the honest basis for a fitting quote.
Left and right boards handled
Wood herringbone needs left- and right-handed boards; laminate and LVT use symmetric blocks. The plan counts what your format needs.
Frequently asked questions
- How much waste does herringbone really produce?
- Budget 15% to 20% if you are buying blind, because that covers the bad cases. A planned layout in a normal room lands well under the folklore range, and square-set herringbone wastes less than classic 45 degree in the same room. The planner counts your room instead of quoting a range.
- Where do you start laying herringbone?
- From a centreline down the room, never from a wall. The first spine of boards sets the angle and position of everything else, which is why the planner places it for balance before any cutting starts.
- Can I use normal planks for herringbone?
- No. Herringbone needs boards made for the pattern: left- and right-handed boards in solid or engineered wood, or shorter symmetric blocks in laminate and LVT, with the length an exact multiple of the width. The planner checks your dimensions close properly.
- Is the herringbone layout planner free?
- Planning is free without an account: draw the room, enter your boards, run the pattern and see the waste, pack count, layout preview and the first two boards of the cut list. The complete cut list and downloads are a one-time unlock for the room, or Pro.