Estimate How Much Tile You Need For A Room

Accurately estimate how many tiles are needed for a job. There is nothing worse than running out of tiles before the mission is complete.   If you’re a procrastinator and you purchased your tiles in the spring and did not begin installing until late summer there is  a chance that that tile is sold out or worse no longer manufactured. Don’t be a victim of underestimating.  Measure your area twice and then estimate the amount of material needed to cover the job and your butt. Calculate how grout, setting material, and tile you need before you get started.

1

Measure the floor or wall area to be tiled. For each flat surface, measure the width and length of the area in feet, and then multiply the numbers to get the square footage. Measure an L-shaped room in two rectangles, finding the square footage of each, and then add the results. If you are measuring a shower, measure the floor and each of the walls separately, and then add the results.

2

Determine the area of each tile. This will tell you how many tiles you need to cover. A 12-inch-by-12-inch tile will cover 1 square foot. Likewise four 6-inch-by-6-inch tiles will cover 1 square foot.

3

Calculate how many tiles you will need to cover the total area. If your area to be tiled is 100 square feet, you will need 100 12-inch-by-12-inch tiles. If your tiles are 6 inches by 6 inches, you will need 400 tiles to cover the same area.

4

Purchase 10 percent more tiles than the number you expect to use. If you will tile the room yourself, but lack experience, purchase 15-20 percent more tiles. This will cut down on return trips to the store to buy extra tile. Excess Tile and grout can be saved for emergency repair in the future.