What is Overage in My Flooring Quote?

Overage is the flooring purchased in excess of your actual square footage of the room you’re installing new flooring in. Once you decide the type of flooring you want for your home and how you want it installed, your flooring company will provide you with a quote. Your flooring installation company may talk to you about overage and explain how it can vary based on how you want your floors installed. Overage is important to consider when your initial batch of hardwood flooring or other flooring is ordered. It is both necessary and unavoidable.

Why is Overage Necessary?

There are a few reasons why overage is necessary for your new flooring. First is that most flooring is pre-packaged into a certain number of square feet, especially engineered wood flooring and tile. If you have a room that is 195 square feet and each package of the flooring covers 31 square feet, you’ll have to purchase at least seven boxes to cover the entire floor.

Damage and breakage happen in shipping. Sometimes a few pieces of tile are broken and other times the last inch or two of hardwood flooring is dented, cracked, or split. Your flooring installation company accounts for a small amount of this no matter what type of flooring they are installing.

The space the flooring is being installed in also creates the need for overage. Although you may think the math works out perfectly because your room is 12 feet wide and the boards are 4” each, it doesn’t quite work that way. There is a small amount of space between each board and you need to plan for the floors to go underneath the baseboard for that finished look. Angular walls, cabinets, and floor to ceiling columns require odd cuts in the wood. When the installer needs to cut the board, sometimes they make a mistake and end up using a second piece to get the fit just right.

How Much is Too Much?

Any good flooring installation company knows the right amount of overage for your space. Ideally you will have a few pieces of tile or some wood flooring left at the end of the project in case an area is damaged in the future. You’ve paid for it and you get to keep it, ask where the best place to store the leftover is. However, if you end up with more than one unopened box or a significant amount of overage, talk to the flooring company about a credit.

Seer Flooring, your local flooring installation company, knows how to properly measure and install your flooring. We specialize in hardwood flooring and engineered wood flooring but offer many other options for your home or business. Call us today for a no obligation consultation at 727-785-1930.