When the materials are delivered to site, it's important that they're put in a safe place so they won't get damaged.

They should also be stored under conditions that will let them acclimatise to the temperature and humidity of the room they're going to be installed in.

We'll talk more about 'acclimatisation' in the next lesson.

Rolls that are 3 metres wide or more need to be laid down flat on a smooth level surface that supports the entire length of the roll.

Make sure there are no objects under the roll that might damage the material or cause pressure marks.

Rolls that are 2 metres wide or less should be stood on end and secured so they won't fall over.

Check that the labels are turned forward so you can read the pattern numbers and dye lots easily.

Cartons of tiles should also be handled carefully. Use a trolley to move them around the floor.

Only stack them as high as recommended by the manufacturer, and stack the boxes squarely one on top of another.

This will help to protect the edges of the tiles underneath from damage or curling.

Like rolls, tiles should be stored on a flat, level surface - otherwise they can distort and end up with a permanent change in their shape.

Opening a roll

To open a roll, insert a hook knife through the paper packing between the first lap of material and the next layer.

The hook knife will avoid damage to the surface of the material.

Clean the area thoroughly where you plan to roll out the sheet. Even a small stone or metal shaving can embed into the material.

Estimating the length of a roll

If you're handling an unopened roll of flooring, the length should be printed on a tag on the packaging.

But if the packaging has been removed, or you're using an opened roll, there may not be an indication of the length marked on it.

Here's a little trick for estimating the length of a roll without having to lay out the flooring:

1. Measure the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the roll.
   
   
2. Add the two measurements together.
   
   
3. Divide by 2.
   
   
4. Multiply the answer by the number of laps in the roll.

The circumference of a circle is the distance around the outside. To measure it, you can simply wrap your tape measure around it.

Below is an example of how the formula works. Note that at the end of the calculation we've converted the answer from millimetres to metres.

If you've forgotten how to do this with the decimal point, go to the unit Making measurements and revise the lesson: The metric system.