1) Begin by figuring out the square footage of the room you want to cover with hardwood flooring. Measure the length of the longest distance of the room into the doorways. Then measure the width of the room, also from the longest point and round up to the nearest foot. To determine the square footage of the room, multiply the length x width. For example, if your room is 10' wide x 20' long, multiply 10x20 to equal 200 square feet.

2) If there are areas in the room that won't be covered with flooring, for example, a fireplace or other permanent structure, multiply the length and width of these areas and subtract from the total square footage. For example, in the sample room a 4' x 5' entry way will not need hardwood flooring. So multiply the width of the entry way by the length of the entry way (4x5) equals 20 square feet.

3) The next step is to subtract the areas that are not going to receive new flooring (number 2 above) from the total square footage of the room (number 1). In this example, subtract 20 square feet (the entry way) from the total room area of 200 square feet. The square footage of this room is equal to 180.

4) All hardwood flooring requires a percent of waste to be added for installation. As a general rule, add 10%. Using the above example, multiply 180 x 10% to equal a grand total of 198 square feet (180 x .10 = 18. Add 18 to 180).