ᐅ Parquet Living Area vs. Floor Area – What Counts?

Hello house building forum members,

If I have 120 m² (1292 ft²) of living space, do I also need 120 m² (1292 ft²) of parquet flooring, including waste, or am I mistaken? The floor area is the decisive factor, right?

Thank you for your advice!

It depends on which standard or regulation your "living area" was calculated according to. You will hardly want to cover 50% of your terrace area with hardwood flooring, for example. However, the space under your staircase, which is less than 100 cm (39 inches) high and therefore often not counted as living area, should not be left out, as such a "gap" looks quite odd...

Hello Peter,
If I respond with "You are right," it should still be taken with caution. Not because I am writing this without any knowledge, but because it depends on whether deduction areas (such as walls, etc.) have already been subtracted or smaller heating recesses (which are also covered) have been taken into account. Furthermore, the room geometry matters, specifically whether the doors (including the door frame) open inward or outward.
And finally, to fully confuse you, the size of the parquet flooring must be considered. Due to the necessary waste allowance, it is important and decisive whether you want to install long planks or a mosaic parquet with a cube pattern.
Solution:
Each room must be measured individually to create an accurate measurement report. This is not always necessary, but it can save you a trip to the flooring supplier to either reorder material or return excess. Both situations are inconvenient and can be avoided by measuring the area of every room!
Good luck: KlaRa

KlaRa schrieb:

Hello Peter.
If I reply with "You are right," it still needs to be taken with caution. Not because I’m writing it (and might have no idea), but it depends on whether deduction areas (such as walls, etc.) have already been subtracted or if smaller radiator niches (which are also counted) have been taken into account. Furthermore, it depends on the room geometry, whether the doors (including the door frame) open inward or outward.
And finally, to confuse you completely, the parquet measurements must be considered. Because of the required waste allowance, it is important and decisive whether you want to install long planks or a mosaic parquet with a cube pattern.
Solution:
Each room must be measured individually to create an accurate measurement. This is not always necessary, but it can save you a trip to the flooring dealer to either order additional material or return excess. Both options are inconvenient and can be prevented by measuring the exact floor area of every room!
Good luck: KlaRa

Too late.

But thanks for the information. We have 70 m² (750 ft²) downstairs and 50 m² (540 ft²) upstairs, so I assume that all sloped ceilings and niches upstairs have been deducted. Let’s see what happens.

Peter Silie schrieb:

If I have 120 sqm (1292 sq ft) of living space, do I also need 120 sqm (1292 sq ft) of parquet flooring plus waste, or am I mistaken?

You might be right or not. Calculate the floor area of the rooms plus waste—that’s easier.

The room dimensions play a major role... we have a very complicated older building with slanted walls, and before placing the order, similar to tiling, we created a detailed installation plan showing how to best arrange the 190cm (75 inch) long planks to minimize waste and achieve a pleasing overall appearance (continuous layout, etc.). It was like real Tetris.

This was also very helpful during installation; every cut end was labeled with a number, so we knew exactly where to use it again. It involved a lot of effort, but resulted in minimal waste and a smooth installation despite very challenging room conditions.