Ordering too much flooring can leave you with unwanted slats and spending more than you budgeted for, while ordering too little can leave you with an unfinished room and a potentially very noticeable mistake. Ordering the right amount of flooring comes down to one thing – how you measure your rooms. Each room of your house where you plan to install solid wood flooring should be measured separately and independently of one another and treated as its own mini project of sorts. For example, a 4m by 6m room would be 24m2 in total area requiring 24m2 of flooring. Creating basic outlines of the rooms on scratch paper can give you a better view of the overall area, making your calculations easier to see. Even if the rooms are not perfect squares or rectangles it is easiest to split the room into manageable shapes to determine their area.
Avoid These Common Measuring Mistakes
One of the worst mistakes to make when measuring a room is not measuring from the right place. Always remember to measure from wall to wall, where the floor meets the wall. If your home has baseboards throughout, do not measure from the protruding flat edge of the baseboard. If you remove a baseboard you will find that they are “floating” in a sense that they might sit above the floor, however the flooring continues underneath them to meet the wall. In carpeted homes, you can find a corner and lift the carpet and see that it runs under the baseboard.
When you order your flooring, make sure to measure from wall to wall as the dimensions will be off by a few centimeters and you might not order enough flooring to cover the floor completely. A few centimeters might not seem like a lot but for an entire house it can add up in terms of total area. Baseboards also give you that buffer if the edges of your solid wood flooring are not perfect against the wall. It can hide those rough edges and create a flush and seamless floor-to-wall transition.
Measuring Non-Rectangular Rooms
The majority of rooms are thankfully simple shapes to measure but every now and then there are odd shaped rooms like circular rooms or even stairs where you might want to install solid wood flooring. Circular rooms should be looked at just the same as rectangular rooms, just with more cuts. If you are finding that some of your rooms or walkways will require additionally cutting and trimming of the slats then ordering another handful could be beneficial in case of a mistake in the cuts. Getting that perfect curve could be difficult and mistakes happen so it’s best to have more slats on hand to make up for the loss. Additionally, do not forget about instances where the total area of a room might be affected by stationary furniture or cutouts. An island in a kitchen, for example, would subtract from the total area of the kitchen, requiring less wood to cover the floor.
Measuring your home for wood flooring as precisely as you can is crucial to ensure that you do not spend more money or time than you need to, and that your home will be looking as wonderful as it possibly can. These tips can help you accurately measure every room of your house, whether you are installing hardwood flooring, laminate wood flooring or engineered wood flooring. Order with confidence and enjoy beautiful new flooring in your home.
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FAQ
How should rooms be measured for solid wood flooring?
Each room planned for solid wood flooring installation should be measured separately and independently of one another. The measurements should take into account the entire length and breadth of the room, from wall to wall where the floor meets the wall. An outline of the room can help in visualising the area for calculation.
What common mistakes should be avoided when measuring rooms for flooring?
A common mistake is not measuring from the correct place. It’s essential to measure from wall to wall, where the floor meets the wall, not from any protruding features like baseboards. Even a small discrepancy in measurement can significantly affect the total flooring area needed, leading to insufficient coverage.
What should be considered when measuring for non-rectangular rooms?
For non-rectangular rooms or spaces requiring additional cuts and trims, it is advisable to order extra slats to compensate for any potential cutting errors. Rooms with stationary furniture or cutouts, such as an island in a kitchen, would subtract from the total area requiring less wood to cover the floor.
How do baseboards impact the measurement for flooring?
Baseboards often sit above the floor with the flooring running underneath them to meet the wall. Therefore, when measuring, the measurement should be taken from wall to wall, not from the edge of the baseboard. Baseboards provide a buffer for any imperfections where the flooring meets the wall.
What types of flooring can these measurement tips apply to?
These measurement tips are applicable to all types of flooring installation, including hardwood flooring, laminate wood flooring, and engineered wood flooring. Precise measurements can help avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure a perfectly installed floor.