Two fundamentally different ways flooring materials are sold
Tiles and pavers are discrete, fixed-size pieces — you order a specific number of them, and the calculation is room area ÷ tile face area (plus wastage), producing a whole-number piece count. Laminate, vinyl sheet, and carpet are instead sold and ordered by area (m² or a sheet/roll size) — there's no individual "piece" to count, so the calculation is simply the room's area plus a wastage allowance, producing an area figure rather than a unit count.
A worked example on the identical room
For a 4m × 3m room (12 m² net area) with 10% wastage: tiled with 60×60cm tiles, the order is 37 discrete tiles (a piece count). The same room floored with laminate or vinyl instead, same 10% wastage: the order is 13.2 m² of material (an area figure) — there's no equivalent "piece count" concept for area-sold flooring at all.
Why mixing up the two estimation methods produces nonsense
Applying tile-style piece-count math to laminate (which has no discrete "unit face area" the way a tile does) or applying area-based math to tile ordering (which would tell a supplier "12.6 m² of tiles" rather than a purchasable quantity of actual pieces) produces a quantity that doesn't match how either material is actually sold or installed. Getting the estimation method right for the specific material — piece count for discrete units, area for continuous/sheet materials — isn't optional, it's what makes the resulting number actually usable for ordering.
Why wastage percentages can differ between the two approaches
Tile wastage accounts for cut pieces at edges and breakage of discrete units. Laminate and vinyl wastage accounts for cut waste at room edges and pattern-matching requirements (some laminate/vinyl patterns need to align across seams, increasing offcut waste) — conceptually similar in purpose (accounting for material lost to cuts and installation), but the actual percentage that's appropriate can differ by material and installation pattern, so it's worth checking your specific product's recommended wastage rather than assuming a single universal percentage applies to every flooring material equally.
Deciding which formula applies to your project
Check whether your chosen material is sold as discrete pieces (tile, paver, individual plank flooring sold per-piece) or as continuous area (laminate/vinyl sheet, broadloom carpet, roll goods) — this single distinction determines which of the two calculation approaches gives you a usable, purchasable quantity, independent of which specific material or room size you're working with.