Planning to upgrade your home in Barrie or Newmarket, and trying to determine how much material you actually need? When you know how to measure house floor area accurately, you’ll have precise numbers, which helps avoid overspending on excess flooring and prevents costly delays from shortages during installation.

Let’s talk about how to properly measure a floor plan in Ontario Canada, tips for dealing with complicated spaces, and how to get the most accurate results.

Whether you’re starting into a big project, or if you simply want peace of mind before ordering materials, reach out to our team at Floor Coverings International® of Barrie-Newmarket for expert measurements and professional consultation.

What Is Livable Floor Space?

How do you measure square footage for flooring? First, we identify the livable floor space. These are the parts of the home that are heated, finished, and comfortable to use all year round. This is different than what you would find in a real estate listing, which often includes everything within the exterior walls, from unheated garage and basement spaces to the thickness of the walls and built-in fixtures.

Measuring for Flooring vs. Real Estate Footage: What’s the Difference?

How do you measure a room for laminate flooring, hardwood, or carpet? Can you use the number in the real estate listing to calculate how much flooring you’ll need? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. A real estate listing area measures the space wall-to-wall and gives a broad sense of the home’s size, but it doesn’t directly translate into how much flooring you’ll need.

For accurate flooring measurements, you’ll want to ignore wall thickness and built-in fixtures, focusing only on the usable floor space and surfaces under permeant fixtures, like kitchen islands, bathtubs, and appliances.

How to Measure Your Floors

To figure out how much flooring you’ll need for your renovation, you can start by measuring the real walkable floor space in each room. With detailed measurements, you can plan confidently and avoid surprises when you order material.

If you’re wondering, “how do I measure square feet for flooring?” Here’s how to measure flooring for your next project:

First, draw a rough floor plan. Sketch each room and note walls, closets, and cutouts.
Measure each room individually. Measure the length and width in feet. And round up to the nearest inch to ensure a comfortable fit.
Multiply to find the square footage. Use the formula: Length x Width = Area. For example, a room that’s 12 ft. by 14 ft. is 168 square feet.
Add all room totals together. Create a running total of all measured areas.
Add waste allowances. For square rooms and simple layouts, you’ll want to increase the square footage by 5% and include 10 to 12% for complicated spaces or patterned materials. For example, the total room area may be 500 square feet. To add 10% for a waste allowance, you would want 550 square feet in flooring material.

Why is waste allowance necessary? Rooms aren’t perfectly shaped, so planning for a certain amount of waste ensures you aren’t left a few planks or tiles short as installers cut the flooring into shape.

Measuring Complicated Spaces

Measuring square spaces may seem straightforward, but how do you measure a floor that has different angles or curves? Complicated spaces can seem intimidating at first, but once you break down the process, it becomes manageable.

Here are some tips for how to work with unique spaces:

Rooms with angles or curves: Divide the area into rectangles and triangles and measure each section instead of the room as one shape.
Open concept living spaces: Decide whether it makes sense to measure as one large zone or break into logical segments.

Keys to Get the Most Accurate Measurements

There are various common pitfalls homeowners in Barrie and Newmarket face when measuring their flooring. Here are some helpful pointers to get the most accurate flooring estimate:

Measure each space individually rather than going by the footage on the listing or assuming the room is perfectly rectangular.
Add an appropriate waste allowance. Be careful not to be too generous rounding up and end up overspending on too much flooring.
Include closets or small connecting areas. Even though they’re not walkable spaces, they are areas that will need flooring.
Measuring under the trim. For seamless edges, you’ll want flooring that fully covers the floor and tucks neatly under the trim.
Account for transitions between rooms or stair nosing. These spaces also need material coverage.

When to Call a Flooring Professional

When you choose to work with flooring professionals, you'll get accurate measurements, so you can order only the amount of material you need. For many homeowners in Newmarket and Barrie, this means spending less on excess materials.

These are a few areas when it’s especially helpful to work with professionals:

You're planning a large flooring project
Your home has a complex layout
When you're unsure about waste calculations

Ready to Enjoy Beautifully Fitted Floors?

When you understand how to measure room square footage for flooring, you focus on true walkable areas rather than relying on broad listing sizes, which can be misleading.

If you’re still unsure home much flooring your home really needs, our team at Floor Coverings International® of Barrie-Newmarket, Ontario, offers convenient in-home consultations, where we’ll take accurate measurements and offer a clear quote that includes both the material cost and installation fee.

Call us at (249) 888-6688 or schedule your free consultation today.