Carpet measuring guide: rooms, stairs & landings

Measure your rooms with confidence, understand the carpet estimate, and send us the details for a supply and fitting quote.

1. Bedrooms, lounges & rectangular rooms

You will need a tape measure, paper and a pen. Record actual measurements in metres: 350 cm = 3.50 m. Measure twice.

1. Draw the room, marking doors, bays, recesses and fitted cupboards.
2. Measure the greatest length and width of the floor that needs carpet. Check both ends; walls may not be square.
3. Include doorway recesses up to where the carpet will finish beneath the closed door.
4. Write down the actual sizes before any fitting allowance. Mark any area you could not measure.

2. L-shaped rooms, bays & alcoves

Sketch the outline and label every side. For an L-shaped room, divide the floor into rectangles to work out its approximate area. Also record the overall longest and widest dimensions. For a bay or alcove, record its width, depth and position.

Do not deduct fireplaces or other cut-outs from your carpet order without checking with us. A single piece may need to cover the full outline, even where some carpet is cut away.

3. Straight stairs, winders & runners

Measure each different step type. Count the straight steps and note any curved steps, winders, bullnose steps or half landings separately.

• Width: measure across the step at its widest point.
• Tread and riser: record the depth of the part you stand on and the height of the vertical face, including the nose profile.
• Runners: tell us the desired runner width and send photos of open sides, posts and turns.

A simple (tread + riser) × number of identical steps gives a rough strip length. It does not tell you how much to buy from a carpet roll. Stair shapes, fitting allowance, pile direction, pattern matching and the cutting layout need checking. Book a measure for winders or an exact stair order.

4. Hallways & landings

Draw the whole shape. Measure the maximum length and width, each doorway recess, and any return or passage. Mark the stair opening, top step and where the landing carpet should finish. Send a photo of the top step so we can confirm how the landing and stairs meet.

Measure the landing separately from the stairs. Replace any pre-filled landing sizes in the estimator with your actual measurements.

5. Room area versus carpet supplied

A room measuring 3.00 × 4.00 m has a floor area of 12 m². With a 4 m roll and a 10 cm total allowance added to each room dimension, a suitable orientation uses a 4.10 m cut × 4 m roll = 16.40 m² supplied. At £9.99/m², that example is £163.84 for carpet, before any separately charged extras.

Our carpet product estimators use the selected roll width and fitting allowance. Enter your actual room sizes; do not add the same allowance again. Check the allowance shown. Available widths and free fitting eligibility vary by carpet and colour.

We check the final cutting plan, joins, pile direction, pattern repeats, underlay, grippers, door bars and fitting requirements before confirming your order. For several rooms, send all the measurements together so we can look for efficient cuts.

6. Send us your measuring checklist

• Postcode and which rooms need carpet.
• A labelled sketch with actual dimensions and units.
• Photos of rooms, doorways, bays, stairs and landings as relevant.
• Preferred carpet range and colour, if chosen.
• Step count, stair width and any turns or unusual steps.
• Whether you need underlay, removal of old flooring, furniture moving or floor preparation.

Use these measurements for an initial estimate. Let us confirm the final sizes and fitting plan before carpet is cut.

Send your measurements or book a free measure · Call 07817 301666 · Browse carpets

Visit Singh Carpet Fitters at 21–22 Upper High Street, Wednesbury, WS10 7HQ.

Further measuring advice: Cormar Carpets and Brintons. Diagrams are illustrative and are not cutting plans.