- 1). Stand in the doorway of the room and visually assess the shape of the floor. Determine whether it's a simple square or rectangle, or if it has different sections to it. (Note: This isn't as obvious as it sounds; a kitchen may look square while you're using it, but the floor may actually be an L-shape when you take into account the floor space that's covered by built-in floor cabinets.)
- 2). With your chalk snapline, divide the room into separate squares or rectangles (if the floor isn't already a single square or rectangular area). For example, if it's an L-shaped floor, run the chalk snapline across the width of one of the legs of the L, from wall to wall, dividing one part of the L from the other, so you're left with two rectangles that abut one another.
- 3). Measure the width and length of each square or rectangular area of the floor. Round each measurement up to the next foot, and multiply the two numbers. Example: If one section of the floor is 8 feet, 6 inches in one direction, and the other is 9 feet, 8 inches, your final figure for that section would be 90 square feet (9 feet times 10 feet).
- 4). Repeat the calculation for each section of the floor, then add the two sections together. Example: If it's an L-shaped room, and your 8-foot-6 by 9-foot-8 section (90 square feet) abuts a section that's 4 feet, 5 inches by 9 feet, 10 inches (50 square feet, because the numbers are rounded up to 5 feet times 10 feet), then your total square footage for the room would be 140 square feet (90 plus 50).
- 5). Add 10 percent to the total square footage that you come up with when ordering your flooring. Example: For a 140-square-foot room, your flooring ordering figure would be 154 square feet (140 plus 14). Order whatever number of bundles will surpass that amount (so if the flooring comes in bundles of 20 square feet, you'd need to order eight of them, or 160 square feet).
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