Measuring guide

How to Measure a Room for Flooring in Riyadh — A Step-by-Step Guide

A tape measure, paper and your phone are all it takes to work out a floor area and allow for waste. Here is how, with worked examples — and we re-check it free at a site visit in Riyadh.

Worked examplesWaste table Area calculator What to send us

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Fitter laying wood-look planks in a living room once the floor area has been measured

Striped carpet sample book in grey and brown, chosen after measuring the room

We measure for freesite visit anywhere in Riyadh

3 toolstape, paper and your phone

Square metresthe unit for every floor

5–15%typical waste, by material

Free re-measureat the site visit

TL;DR

The short version, before you unroll the tape

Measure twice

Walls are rarely parallel: measure at several points, keep the largest.

Break it up

Split odd shapes into rectangles and add them up.

Add waste

Never order the net area; each material needs its own allowance.

Send photos

A sketch and corner photos get a first quote; we verify on site.

1. Tools, and measuring a rectangular room

You need a steel tape of five metres or more (or a laser measure), paper and your phone; a helper stops the tape sagging. Write everything in metres to two decimals — 4.35 m — never mixing centimetres in.

Measure wall to wall at floor level, then again near the opposite wall and through the middle; repeat for the width. If readings differ, use the largest. A little extra can be trimmed; a shortfall cannot be stretched.

Worked example: a 4.20 × 3.60 m bedroom is 15.12 m². With 10% waste, 15.12 × 1.10 = 16.63 m², so you would order about 17 m² of parquet or vinyl planks.

2. L-shaped rooms and a majlis with wings

Sketch the room from above and split it into two or three rectangles, measuring each separately without counting any strip twice.

Example: a majlis — the formal guest room in most Saudi homes — with a 6.00 × 4.00 m main area (24 m²) and a 3.00 × 2.50 m extension (7.5 m²) totals 31.5 m² before waste. Treat a curved wall as the smallest rectangle that encloses it.

3. Doorways, alcoves and built-in units

Measure to the centre of the threshold; the floor usually ends under the closed door with a transition strip.
Alcoves, the space behind doors and window bays are added as separate rectangles.
Fixed kitchen units and built-in wardrobes can be deducted; movable furniture never is.
Total wall length minus door openings gives the skirting run: a 4.20 × 3.60 m room has a 15.6 m perimeter, so 14.7 m after one 0.90 m door.

4. Why roll products are calculated differently

Carpet, sheet vinyl and artificial grass come off a roll of fixed width. You buy a length of that width, not the exact floor area, so lay direction and the number of pieces matter more than a percentage.

Example: a 6.00 × 5.00 m lounge (30 m²) and a 4 m roll. Laid along the 6 m wall you need two 6.20 m drops = 49.6 m²; along the 5 m wall, two 5.20 m drops = 41.6 m². Same room, about 8 m² less material — which is why we plan seams at the site visit.

Waste and roll widths

5. How much to add on top of the net area

Rules of thumb only — room shape and pattern move them. We confirm after the visit.

Material	Sold as	Typical waste	What pushes it up
Roll carpet	Linear metres, usually a 4 m roll	Set by number of drops	Rooms wider than the roll; one pile direction
Carpet tiles	Boxes of tiles	Usually 5–10%	Columns, many corners
Sheet vinyl	Linear metres, 2 m or 4 m roll	Set by number of drops	Pattern matching
Vinyl planks and SPC	Square metres, by the box	Usually 5–10%	Diagonal lay, small rooms
Straight-lay parquet	Square metres, by the box	Usually 8–10%	Narrow corridors, stairs
Herringbone parquet	Square metres, by the box	Often 12–15% or more	Angled cuts at every wall
Artificial grass	Linear metres, mostly 2 m or 4 m rolls	Set by number of drops	Planters, trees, curves

For a made-to-measure rug you need no waste figure — just send the finished size. See custom-size rugs.

Stairs and landings

6. Measuring a staircase step by step

For each step, add tread depth, riser height and a few centimetres to wrap the nosing: say 28 + 17 + 5 = 50 cm. On a 1.10 m wide stair that is 0.55 m² a step, so 18 steps need roughly 9.9 m² for full cover.

For a runner, use the runner width; measure landings as small rooms and curved treads at their widest. Fixing and nosing details are on our stair carpet page.

Carpeted staircase with crisp straight edges, showing why every tread and nosing is measured

Tread + riser + nosingthe formula for one step

Estimate how much you need

Try it with your own room

Enter length and width and choose a waste allowance. For L-shaped rooms, run each rectangle separately, add them up and send us the result.

Length (m)

Width (m)

Waste allowance

0Area (m²)

0Suggested order (m²)

Send these sizes and ask for a price

Worksheet

7. A measuring sheet for every kind of space

One line per room.

Space	What to measure	How to calculate	What to tell us
Rectangular room	Length and width at 3 points	Length × width	Sizes and current floor
L-shaped majlis	Each section	Sum of rectangles	A sketch with sizes
Corridor	Length, width, doorways	Length × width + alcoves	Number of doors
Staircase	Tread, riser, width, step count	One step × count	Full cover or runner
Garden or roof	Sides, planters, drains	Rectangles + triangles (½ × base × height)	Photos of ground and outlets
Round area	Radius	3.14 × radius²	1.5 m radius ≈ 7.07 m²

From paper to quote

8. What to send us on WhatsApp

Sketch and sizes
A photo of your sheet, each room named and sized.
Corner photos
Two shots per room from opposite corners.
Thresholds
Doorways and any change in floor level between rooms.
Material and use
What you have in mind and who uses the room.
District and time
Your Riyadh district and a good slot for the free visit.

Avoid these

9. Measuring mistakes that cost material or cause a shortfall

One reading only

A single reading hides drifting walls.

Rounding down

3.48 m is not 3.4 m. Round up to the nearest 5 cm.

Forgotten spaces

En-suites, walk-in closets and alcoves are often left off.

Ordering net area

Without waste you may need a second batch.

Ignoring pattern

Large motifs and stripes must line up across seams.

Mixed pile direction

Carpet and grass must all face one way.

Measuring questions we hear a lot

Are my own measurements enough for a final quote?

They give a realistic first quote for comparing options. We confirm the figures at the free site visit, where a fitter checks what photos miss — walls out of square, the subfloor, the best seam direction.

How do I measure a room for flooring if the walls are not straight?

Measure every wall, split the room on paper into rectangles (length × width) and triangles (half base × height), and add them up. For a big curve, use the smallest enclosing rectangle — a little extra beats a shortfall.

Should I subtract the space under furniture?

Not for anything movable: floors run under sofas and beds so you can rearrange later. Deduct only permanent fixtures such as kitchen cabinets or built-in wardrobes, and mention them with your sizes.

Why does herringbone need more waste than straight parquet?

In a straight lay, the offcut from one row usually starts the next. Herringbone and chevron end at walls in angled cuts that rarely get reused, so the allowance is higher, especially in small rooms.

How should I measure for a made-to-measure majlis rug?

Measure the area the rug should cover, not the room. Many leave a margin between rug and floor seating, so measure front-of-seating to front-of-seating and subtract your preferred margin each side. Send that size with a photo.

Is measuring a garden for artificial grass any different?

Yes. Mark planters, trees, drains and level changes, as they affect the pieces and groundwork; on roofs, photograph outlets and parapet edges. See our artificial grass page.