Flooring & tile calculators

Estimating tile and flooring

The tile calculator counts tiles and boxes for a floor or wall by tile size, grout joint and layout, then adds thinset and grout. The flooring calculator does the same for laminate, vinyl plank, hardwood and carpet, working out square footage, cartons and underlayment for one room or several.

Waste depends mostly on the layout. Straight-lay tile or plank typically needs about 10% extra; diagonal layouts about 15%; herringbone and other patterns more. Small rooms waste proportionally more than large ones because every row ends in a cut. Keep a box or two of leftovers, since matching a dye lot or a discontinued product years later is difficult.

The substrate matters as much as the quantity. Tile needs a stiff, flat base, and large-format tile has tighter flatness tolerances, so check the tile and underlayment manufacturer’s deflection and flatness requirements. Plywood subfloor sheets are counted by the sheathing calculator in the framing section.

Floating floors and carpet are popular DIY jobs. Showers and other wet areas need waterproofing details that are easy to get wrong and expensive to fix, and heated floors involve electrical work, so those are worth handing to a tile setter or flooring installer.

How each calculator is specified, tested and corrected is described on our methodology page.