How to Calculate Tile
What is Tile?
A tile calculator determines how many tiles are needed to cover a floor or wall area, including a waste allowance for cuts, breakage, and pattern matching. Always order more tiles than the calculated minimum — getting an exact match later can be difficult.
Step-by-Step Guide
- 1Calculate room area: length × width (in square feet)
- 2Calculate tile area: tile length × tile width (convert inches to feet)
- 3Divide room area by tile area to get base tile count
- 4Add waste factor: 10% for straight lay, 15% for diagonal, 20% for complex patterns
Worked Examples
Input
10×12 ft room with 12"×12" tiles, 10% waste
Result
132 tiles
120 sq ft × 1.10 / 1 sq ft each
Input
8×10 ft room with 18"×18" tiles, 15% waste
Result
47 tiles
80 / 2.25 sq ft × 1.15 = 40.9 → 47
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