5 Steps to Calculate How Much Tile You Need

5 Steps to Calculate How Much Tile You Need

How Much Tile Do I Need?

Whether you’re planning on installing your own tile floor or simply calculating the materials you need to budget for, you can determine how much tile you need. If it is a wall project instead of a floor, the steps are the same.

With a measuring tape and some simple math, you can estimate how much tile you need and how much the project is going to cost you.

What You'll Need:
• Paper
• Pen or pencil
• Measuring tape
• Calculator

Measure the length of one side of the room. If it is a wall project, then measure the length of the wall running up and down.

Measure the length of the other side of the room. If it is wall project, then measure the length of the wall running from left to right.

Multiply the two measurements. Multiplying the length by the width provides you with the square footage of the project area. For example, if the room measures 10 feet wide by 12 feet long, multiply 10 by 12. The square footage of this room is 120 square feet.

Translate the square footage to the amount of tile you need. Tile typically comes in boxes, and you have to buy the whole box. Divide the total square footage of the room by the total square footage of the tile in the box. In our example, let's say each box contains 10 square feet of tile. So if you need 120 square feet, 10 goes into 120 12 times, so you'll need to buy at least 12 boxes.

Calculate the overage you'll need. You should never buy just the amount of tile you need since you also need a bit extra for cuts, waste, breaks, and mistakes. Multiply the square footage of the room by 10%, then add this amount to the total square of the room. This is the total amount of square footage you should buy. To continue with the example we started above, .10 x 120 = 12, and 120 + 12 = 132. We'll need 132 square feet of tile.

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What if I need to measure in inches? What if I want an estimate that's more exact?

You'll need to convert inches to feet in order to figure out how much tile you'll need. Let's say your room is 15 feet and 8 inches long (188 inches; divide by 12 to get 15.66 feet) and 10 and a half feet wide (126 inches or 10.5 feet), then you multiply these two decimals and get 164.45 feet. You'll need 165 square feet of tile.
How many square feet of tile comes in a box?

Most boxes hold 10 square feet, but check your box to make sure.

How many boxes of tile will I need?

Divide the total square footage you need by the amount included in the box of tile. If you need 165 square feet, and each box holds 10, then divide 10 into 165: You'll need 16.5 boxes. So buy 17! Or 18, just to be sure.


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