Whatever type of flooring you are choosing for your home renovation or next project, you will always need to know the size of your space to ensure that you purchase the correct amount of material! Here, we have put together a handy guide, letting you know the best way to measure your space to ensure there are no hiccups when it comes to laying your new flooring.

Where to start 

A great place to start is to ensure that you have the correct tools to help you measure your floor space, making the whole process more efficient and most importantly, as accurate as possible. If it is possible, we also always recommend having someone to help you measure up too! You will need:

• Something to note down your measurements on (e.g a notepad or mobile phone)
• A calculator
• A tape measure 

Top tip: At Whitehall, we sell our stone by the metre so if you are buying from us, we would recommend measuring in meters, to ensure complete accuracy. You can see our prices per m2 by looking at the individual stone pages. For interior stone, click here.

Get measuring

Once you have all the tools you need, it's time to start measuring! 

Rectangular or square are the easiest to measure, merely because of their simple shape. 

1. Start by measuring the length the room, making sure to note down this measurement 
2. Go on to measure the width of the room, also ensuring to make a note of the measurement
3. Multiply the length and width measurements to get the floor space in square units. For example, if the length measured 5m and the width measured 3m metres, you would have a figure of 15m2 (3 x 5 = 15).
4. Dont forget to add in wastage! We recommend 10% extra as being enough to cover wastage, which could be due to cuts, breaks and human error. Add 10% to your total area by multiplying your metre squared figure by 1.1. E.g 15 x 1.1 = 16.5m2.

For other shaped rooms:

If your room is not square or rectangular in shape, you will need to take a few more measurements. If you have floor plans of the room you are measuring, it may be useful to have to hand, or you could make a rough sketch yourself, as looking at a room from a birds eye view can really help. Start by sectioning the room into rectangles - you can then calculate the floor space for multiple sections of the room before adding all figures together to get your overall measurement.

Top tip: When using your measuring tape, ensure that it is always flat against the surface! 

Things to consider

As mentioned above, always remember to allow for wastage (also known as overage)! At Whitehall, we recommend 10% of your total floor space. 

Exterior Stone

If you are wanting to purchase exterior stone, the same method applies when it comes to measuring your space. In most cases, our stone is used for patio areas which are generally a simple rectangular shape, making them quite straightforward. However, if you need to account for steps, pathways or any other outdoors areas, it can become a little more complicated! If you stick to the method of sectioning areas, this will make measuring for these additional areas easier. Take a look at our exterior range of stone here.

If you are having difficulty measuring your room for floor tiles and would like some more detailed advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of our flooring experts who will be more than happy to help. Give us a call on 01432 870 855 or email shop@white-hall.co.uk.