How to Determine How Many Laminates You Need for the Stairs

Laminate Stair Trim

• When installing laminate on stairs, you should use stair trim pieces to line the front edges of the stairs. Laminate stair trims have a curved front ledge, which creates a nice finish to the stair and prevents loose edges on the laminate planks, which can snag your feet as you walk up the stairs. Trims can be found to match any type and color of laminate that you plan to use to cover the stairs.

Measuring Stair Trim

• Before you can determine how many laminates you need for the stairs, you must determine how much space the trim will occupy on the stair. Some laminate stair trims list this information on the packaging. If not, measure the trim from the back of the front lip on the trim, designed to go over the edge of the stair, to the back edge of the laminate plank to figure the space it will take up on the front edge of the step. In addition, measure the height of the lip on the trim that goes over the stair edge.

Measuring Stairs

• Once you know the amount of space the trim takes up, you can determine the number of laminates you need to cover the remaining section of stairs. Measure the depth of the stair from the back to the front and the length of the stair from the side next to the wall to the railing on the opposite side, or from railing to railing. Don’t include the parts of the stair on the other side of the railing, which can also be covered by trim. In addition, measure the height of the stair from the bottom corner to the top.

Getting Total Laminate Area

• Take the measurements that you took from the stairs and subtract the amount of the space the laminate trim takes up. For the top of the stair, subtract the width of the laminate trim from the stair depth measurement. For the front of the stair, subtract the lip of the laminate trim from the height measurement. Use the remaining space to determine the number of laminates needed. For example, if the stair measures 10 inches in depth and 24 inches in width and the laminate takes up 4 inches of that depth, you need enough laminates to cover 6-by-24 inches of stair.

Determining Number of Laminates

• The number of laminates needed to cover the space left on the stair once you account for the trim depends on a number of factors. If the stair is longer in width than the laminates you have to install, you will need more than one laminate to go across the stair. The main factor that determines the number of laminates needed for stairs is the width of the laminate planks, which can vary. To figure the number of laminates needed, divide the length of the stair by the laminate length, and the remaining depth of the stair by the width of the laminates.