Please note: For your convenience, this calculation has been rounded up slightly.

Important reminder: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this calculation. But before purchasing materials for any project, please check amounts with your suppliers or contractors.

Also called strip flooring, tongue-and-groove flooring is commonly made of solid oak, fir, or maple. It is also available in pine, cherry, and other "species." Some companies offer veneer tongue-and-groove flooring, with a 1/4-inch-thick hardwood surface laminated on top of pressed wood or plywood.

Classic hardwood flooring is 3/4-inch thick, but 3/8-inch-thick versions have been around for many years. Once laid, solid hardwood requires a good deal of work before it is ready to walk on: It must be sanded smooth with a flooring sander (three sandings are usually needed), then stained, then covered with a coat of protective sealer, such as polyurethane. Some hardwood flooring - both veneer and solid -- comes pre-finished, so it is ready to walk on as soon as it is laid.

A few tips: Strip flooring usually comes in random lengths. To ensure a pleasing appearance, make sure that no adjacent joints -- or joints that are separated by only one board -- are less than 1-1/2 inches apart. Nail the flooring down using a rented pneumatic flooring nailer, which drives nails at an angle through the tongue, so that nail heads are hidden.

Standard oak flooring is 2-1/4 inches wide; maple flooring is 1-1/2 inches wide. Softwood flooring -- commonly, pine or fir -- is often wider.