Home improvement planning
Tile Calculator
Plan a tile floor or wall with confidence. Enter the surface size, one tile's dimensions, and the box details to estimate whole tiles, full boxes, and material cost.
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Your project summary
Results
Enter your measurements to see an estimate.
A little planning goes a long way
How It Works
Measure the surface
Enter the length and width of one rectangular floor or wall section in feet or meters.
Measure one tile
Use the nominal tile length and width from the product listing, in inches or centimeters.
Plan full boxes
We add your waste allowance, round to whole tiles, then round again to the full boxes the store sells.
Formula
- Surface Area
- Surface length × surface width
- Area per Tile
- Tile length × tile width, converted to the surface area unit
- Tiles Needed
- Round up ((surface area ÷ tile area) × (1 + waste ÷ 100))
- Boxes Needed
- Round up (tiles needed ÷ tiles per box)
- Estimated Cost
- Boxes needed × price per box
Example Calculation
A 14 × 12 ft room using 12 × 12 in tile, with 10% waste, 12 tiles per box, and a $35 box price.
- 14 × 12 = 168 sq ft of surface.
- Each 12 × 12 in tile covers 1 sq ft, so the base layout uses 168 tiles by area.
- After waste, round the tile estimate up to 185 tiles.
- Round the tile purchase to 16 boxes, containing 192 tiles.
- 16 × $35 = $560.00 in tile boxes.
Buy 16 boxes. The tile estimate is $560.00 before tax and installation supplies.
FAQ
How much tile waste should I add?
The editable default is 10%. Simple straight layouts may need less, while diagonal, herringbone, complex rooms, fragile tile, or strong pattern matching may need more. Follow your installer or product guidance.
Does grout spacing reduce the number of tiles?
This planner uses nominal tile area and does not subtract grout joints. That produces a practical material estimate without assuming a layout. Use a layout plan when exact row counts and edge cuts matter.
Why are tiles and boxes rounded separately?
Cuts and waste are counted in whole tiles first. Because stores usually sell sealed boxes, the tile total is then rounded up to the next full box.
Can I calculate an irregular room or several walls?
Split the project into rectangles and add their areas. For one combined order, use the total area so box rounding happens once; plan extra waste when sections have many corners or cutouts.
What does the estimated cost include?
Only full boxes of tile at the price you enter. Adhesive, mortar, grout, membranes, trim, tools, delivery, labor, and tax are excluded.