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Plywood Calculator

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Plywood flooringPlywood calculatorPlywood sheets — an example of calculationsFAQs

The plywood calculator will help those who need to cover a wall, a floor, or a ceiling with plywood sheets. It can do all the calculations for you and show the results immediately. The plywood calculator provides you with the total area size, the number of plywood sheets needed, and their total price. Do not hesitate to use our plywood cut sheet calculator for plywood flooring.

Plywood flooring

Construction-grade plywood is now an affordable residential finish flooring. There are two basic ways to go: remove the existing flooring (e.g., wood or vinyl) and then refinish the plywood sub-floor, or install an entirely new plywood, cut into squares, planks, etc., to form a custom design onto an existing floor. No matter which way you choose, if you spend a considerable amount of time and pay attention to detail, with proper conservation against mechanical abrasion, you can create a brilliant, one-of-a-kind floor.

🙋 Our wallpaper calculator and this flooring calculator are other tools for similar projects that can help you estimate the amount of materials you will need and their costs.

Plywood calculator

It doesn't matter what surface you need to cover with plywood — it might be a floor or something entirely different. The plywood cut sheet calculator is versatile and stands here to help you make decisions about:

  • How many plywood sheets should you buy;
  • How much would it cost you;
  • Whether you should buy a cheaper type of plywood or not; and
  • How much material will be wasted?

The only thing that we ask you for is to enter the length and width of the surface that you need to cover. Also, if you want to, you can type in the custom values of the plywood price and plywood sheet dimensions you want to buy. If not, the default prices and sizes will be used for the calculations.

Plywood sheets — an example of calculations

If you are not sure how to use the plywood calculator, take a look at a step-by-step example. Below, we are calculating the amount of plywood needed for your living room:

1. First, type in the length and width of the surface that will be covered. Let's say that the room has Length = 6 m and Width = 4 m.

2. Optionally, enter the plywood dimensions, its price, and the additional amount of material for scraps (if not, the default values will be used). Let's take the following measurements:

Plywood length = 130cm
Plywood width = 20cm
Plywood sheet area = Plywood length × Plywood width = 0.26 m²

We will also assume the Plywood price = €10/m². For sure, we will scrap some sheets. It is a good idea to assume a minimum of 10% for that.

waste factor = 10%

3. Now, check out how many plywood sheets we need for our flooring and how much the material will cost:

The area we need to cover is calculated as follows:

Total area to cover = Length × Width = 24 m²

So, for covering that surface, taking into account the scraps, we will need:

Number of plywood sheets = (Total area to cover + (Total area to cover × Waste factor)) / Plywood sheet area = 102

Finally, the most interesting and important thing — the total cost:

Plywood cost = (Total area to cover + (Total area to cover × Waste factor)) / Plywood price = €264

As you can see, you need to prepare €264 for your living room floor refurbishment and a lot of muscle strength to bring 102 plywood pieces to your apartment.

Or if you want to go for epoxy resin flooring that's slip and shock-resistant, check out our epoxy calculator for estimating how much epoxy resin you'll need.

FAQs

How much plywood do I need for a 15 × 17 ft floor?

It would be best if you had approximately 9 sheets of standard 4×8 ft plywood for 15×17 ft flooring, considering a waste factor of 10%.

Here's the formula:

Required sheets = (Flooring + (Flooring × Waste factor)) / Plywood size

Placing the values, we get:

(15×17 + (15×17 × 0.1)) / 4×8 = 8.76

Thus, you require 8.76 or approximately 9 plywood sheets to cover your flooring.

How many feet is 1 plywood?

Generally, a plywood sheet is 4 × 8 ft, which is 32 square feet in area.

In meters, it is roughly equal to 1.2 × 2.4 m (so 2.88 m²). This is the standard size that we use for our construction and DIY projects.

How can I calculate the cost of plywood to cover an area?

To calculate the cost of plywood:

  1. Calculate both the flooring and plywood area:

    Area = Length × Width

  2. Add the waste factor (e.g., 10%) to the total flooring:

    Total flooring = Flooring + (Flooring × 0.1)

  3. Find the plywood cost:

    Plywood cost per unit area = Single plywood cost / Single plywood area

  4. Multiply the results from 2 and 3 to get your cost of plywood:

    Total cost of plywood = Total flooring × Plywood cost per unit area

Can I calculate the number of plywood sheets needed?

Yes, you can calculate the number of plywood sheets needed — just use this formula:

Required plywood sheets = (Flooring + (Flooring × Waste factor)) / Plywood size

where:

  • Flooring — The total area to be covered;
  • Waste factor — The % waste of plywood; and
  • Plywood size — Denotes a single sheet's area.

For instance, for covering an area of 100 ft², with 4×8 ft plywood and a 10% waste factor, you'll need roughly 3.5 plywood sheets:

(100 + (100 × 0.1)) / (4 × 8) ≈ 3.5 plywood sheets

Surface to cover

Single plywood sheet

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