The Roll Size of Vinyl Flooring

The 4-Footer

The minimum width of a hallway is 36 inches, so use the 4-foot-wide rolls available in home improvement stores down the length of a hallway. They are also useful for walk-in bathrooms and powder-baths, such as what are traditionally located off a hallway, and are just wide enough to accommodate a person walking in and using the toilet and sink.

The 6-Footer

Six-foot-wide rolls of vinyl work for wider hallways, such as the 60-inch-wide hallways found in larger homes, which accommodate two people passing at a single time. Many guest bathrooms also use the 6-foot-wide roll, as it easily fits into a room that is the width of the bathtub and has a cabinet base and toilet set into the floor. (The traditional bathroom has a width is 5 feet and a length of 8 feet.)

The 12-Footer

One of the largest rolls of vinyl available -- at 12 feet wide -- is used in open areas such as bedroom floors, master bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms or anywhere there is more than 6 feet of space to be covered. If you are working with a room that is wider than 12 feet, match up an additional roll with the first to give the appearance of a single roll used in the room. The resulting seam is best made in the least visible area of a room, such as where you know the sofa sits, or under where the cabinets will be installed.

Lengths

The average length of a roll varies widely based upon the manufacturer. As a general rule, manufactured rolls are sold around 50 feet in length, but the average home improvement store has commercial rolls available that are longer. These are cut down to length based upon the needs of the homeowner. For example, if you have a kitchen floor that is 20 feet long, have the home improvement store cut you a length at 21 feet, so you have a little extra to spare when installing, but short enough so you don’t have 30 feet of leftover material.