Reviewed for Flex Version 3.0
Estimated Read Time: 8 minutes
In This Article You’ll Learn
What Flooring Areas are
How Flooring Areas differ from Rooms
How to generate Flooring Areas from rooms
How to create Flooring Areas manually
How to review and edit Flooring Areas
How Flooring responds to wall changes
How to troubleshoot common flooring issues
Overview
Flooring Areas represent how flooring materials will actually be installed, not simply how a building is divided into rooms.
Although every enclosed room can become a Flooring Area, many real projects require flooring layouts that differ from the room layout.
For example:
One hardwood floor may continue through several rooms.
A single room may contain multiple flooring materials.
A porch or deck may require flooring without being part of the conditioned interior.
Because of this, Flex treats Rooms and Flooring Areas as separate parts of the project.
RENDR Principle
Rooms describe spaces. Flooring Areas describe materials.
Rooms organize the building.
Flooring Areas organize the flooring installation.
Rooms vs. Flooring Areas
Rooms | Flooring Areas |
Created from enclosed wall geometry | Generated from rooms or created manually |
Represent physical spaces | Represent flooring installations |
Used for room organization | Used for flooring calculations |
One room typically represents one space | One Flooring Area may span multiple rooms |
One room may contain multiple Flooring Areas | Supports multiple flooring materials within the same room |
Understanding this distinction is essential before editing flooring.
Before You Begin
Before creating or generating Flooring Areas:
✔ Finish editing the walls.
✔ Confirm every room has been detected.
✔ Add any required Room Dividers.
✔ Review the floor plan for missing or disconnected walls.
Because Flooring Areas are generated from room geometry, problems with the walls usually become flooring problems later.
Entering Flooring Mode
To begin working with flooring:
Open the floor plan editor.
Switch to Flooring Mode.
Review the available flooring tools for your platform.
While in Flooring Mode, you can:
Select Flooring Areas
Generate Flooring Areas from rooms
Create Flooring Areas manually
Edit flooring boundaries
Review flooring calculations
Available tools vary slightly by platform.
Generating Flooring Areas
If your project already contains enclosed rooms, Flex can generate Flooring Areas automatically.
To generate Flooring Areas:
Enter Flooring Mode.
Choose the option to generate or regenerate Flooring Areas from the detected rooms.
Confirm the action if prompted.
Review the generated Flooring Areas.
Each enclosed room initially becomes its own Flooring Area.
Important
Regenerating Flooring Areas replaces the existing generated flooring layout with a new layout based on the current room geometry.
Review your existing flooring before confirming regeneration.
Creating a Flooring Area Manually
Not every flooring installation follows room boundaries.
Use the manual Floor tool whenever the installation area differs from the room layout.
To create a Flooring Area manually:
Enter Flooring Mode.
Select Add Floor.
Click or tap each corner of the flooring boundary.
Continue placing vertices around the area.
Close the polygon to complete the Flooring Area.
After the area is created, review its shape and information before continuing.
Common Uses for Manual Flooring Areas
Manual Flooring Areas are useful for:
Continuous flooring spanning multiple rooms
Partial flooring replacements
Decorative inlays
Multiple flooring materials within one room
Porches and decks
Other flooring installations that don’t match room boundaries
Selecting a Flooring Area
To review or edit a Flooring Area:
Enter Flooring Mode.
Select the desired Flooring Area.
Review the highlighted boundary.
Edit the Flooring Area using the available tools for your platform.
When selected, Flex displays information about the Flooring Area and makes its editable geometry available.
Available editing tools vary by platform.
Reviewing Flooring Information
Selecting a Flooring Area provides information such as:
Flooring name
Gross area
Excluded area
Net install area
Available properties may differ depending on the platform.
These values update automatically as the Flooring Area changes.
How Flooring Responds to Wall Changes
Many Flooring Areas remain linked to nearby wall geometry.
When surrounding walls move, Flex attempts to keep linked flooring boundaries aligned automatically.
After making significant wall edits:
Review the Flooring Areas.
Confirm the boundaries still represent the intended installation.
Regenerate Flooring Areas if the room layout has changed substantially.
Always review flooring before estimating or exporting after major wall edits.
Understanding Flooring Exclusions
Not every object should be included in flooring calculations.
Depending on your platform and workflow, Flex supports excluding portions of a Flooring Area from quantity calculations.
Examples may include:
Fireplaces
Stair openings
Built-in cabinets
Bathtubs
Other permanent features
Advanced exclusion workflows are covered in Editing, Dividing & Excluding Flooring Areas.
Reviewing Flooring Before Estimating
Before estimating or exporting your project, verify:
Review Item | Why It Matters |
Every required space has flooring | Prevents missing quantities. |
Flooring boundaries match the planned installation | Ensures accurate material calculations. |
Flooring labels are readable | Improves plan clarity. |
Exclusions appear correct | Prevents incorrect quantities. |
Multiple flooring materials are represented accurately | Reflects the intended installation. |
A quick review now can prevent estimating mistakes later.
Troubleshooting: Flooring Areas Didn’t Generate
Check | Recommended Action |
Are all rooms detected? | Fix missing room geometry first. |
Are wall endpoints connected? | Close any wall gaps. |
Are Room Dividers needed? | Add them before generating flooring. |
Did generation complete successfully? | Review the generated Flooring Areas. |
Troubleshooting: My Flooring Doesn’t Match the Room
Question | Explanation |
Does one flooring material continue through multiple rooms? | This is expected. Flooring Areas are independent from Rooms. |
Does one room contain multiple materials? | Multiple Flooring Areas can exist within one room. |
Was the Flooring Area created manually? | Manual Flooring Areas don’t have to match room boundaries. |
Were walls recently edited? | Review the Flooring Areas after wall changes. |
Troubleshooting: I Can’t Select a Flooring Area
Check | Recommended Action |
Are you in Flooring Mode? | Switch to Flooring Mode first. |
Is another flooring tool active? | Return to the normal selection workflow. |
Are you selecting the Flooring Area? | Click or tap the flooring polygon itself. |
Troubleshooting: My Flooring Changed After Regenerating
What Happened? | Explanation |
Existing Flooring Areas were replaced | Regeneration rebuilds flooring from the current room geometry. |
Manual flooring changes disappeared | Regeneration replaces the existing flooring layout. |
Want to preserve manual edits? | Avoid regenerating unless you’re ready to replace the current Flooring Areas. |
Platform Notes
Web
The Web editor supports Flooring generation, manual Flooring Areas, dividing Flooring Areas, editing vertices, deleting Flooring Areas, renaming Flooring Areas, reviewing flooring calculations, and linked flooring geometry where applicable.
iPad & iPhone
The iOS editor supports generating Flooring Areas from rooms, creating Flooring Areas, selecting and editing Flooring Areas, cutting and merging Flooring Areas, working with exclusion areas, reviewing flooring information, and additional touch-optimized editing tools. Available workflows may differ slightly between iPhone and iPad.
Best Practices
💡 Finish editing walls before generating Flooring Areas.
💡 Review every generated Flooring Area before estimating.
💡 Use manual Flooring Areas whenever the installation differs from the room layout.
💡 Review Flooring Areas after significant wall edits.
💡 Complete one final flooring review before exporting.
Common Mistakes
Confusing Rooms with Flooring Areas
Rooms organize the building.
Flooring Areas organize flooring materials.
These are related but independent parts of the project.
Generating Flooring Too Early
Major wall edits often require Flooring Areas to be regenerated.
Finish the wall layout before generating flooring whenever possible.
Regenerating Without Reviewing Existing Flooring
Regeneration replaces the current Flooring Areas.
Review your existing flooring before confirming the operation.
Using Flooring to Correct Room Geometry
If generated flooring looks incorrect, inspect the wall geometry first.
Most flooring issues originate with the surrounding walls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one Flooring Area span multiple rooms?
Yes.
Flooring Areas represent the flooring installation and aren’t required to match room boundaries.
Can one room contain multiple Flooring Areas?
Yes.
This is common when multiple flooring materials are installed within the same room.
Can I create a Flooring Area manually?
Yes.
Use the Add Floor tool whenever the flooring installation doesn’t match the room layout.
Will Flooring Areas update automatically when walls move?
Some Flooring geometry may remain linked to nearby walls, but after significant wall edits you should always review the Flooring Areas and regenerate them if necessary.
When should I regenerate Flooring Areas?
Regenerate Flooring Areas after significant room layout changes, and only when you’re ready to replace the existing generated flooring layout.
Related Articles
Editing, Dividing & Excluding Flooring Areas
Merging Flooring Areas
Working with Rooms
Measurements & Dimensions
Editing Walls
Exporting Your Floor Plan