Whether it is flooring, backsplashes, or cladding, tiles have become a mainstay of construction. The materials are rugged, rigid, easy to maintain, and have an unending range of applications across all surfaces with a variety of patterns, designs, colors, and finishes. However, since tiles come in numerous sizes and you may tend to be more confounded in precisely assessing how many tiles you will require for a surface.
It can be challenging to calculate how many tiles you will need for a project. When tiling a wall, bathroom tile, or floor tile, a sufficient amount of tiles must be on hand before the project begins. While tiling a room, the last thing you want is to discover halfway through that you didn’t order enough tiles. Measuring appropriately is by far the best way to avoid wasting time and money. You can simply acquire the appropriate measurements for the tile you need with a few calculations and a little assistance-don’t worry, a math degree isn’t necessary!
In this tile calculation guide, we’ll explain how to calculate the tiles needed for a floor.
STEPS TO CALCULATE TILES
1. MEASURING TOOLS:
Whether you’re measuring to purchase floor tiles for your living room or marble kitchen backsplash ideas, your supply list is straightforward. You’ll need the following items:
• Measuring Tape
• A Notepad and a Pencil
• The Calculator
The procedures for estimating how many tiles you need are the same whether you’re tiling your entryway floor or kitchen walls.
2. MEASUREMENTS:
Before taking your measures, make sure the area is clear & nothing is in the way of a straight line with your measuring tape. If it is not possible, check that the measuring tape can travel in a straight line without bending or folding over an object.
Square & Rectangle Rooms: The length and width of the space are measured in inches.
Round Room: Stretch a tape measure across the circle center. Start measuring on one wall and proceed across the middle of the room to the opposite wall. The diameter is the entire length by the center of a circle. Floor tile calculations will need you to know the radius, which is equal to half of the space diameter from the center to each wall.
3. CALCULATING SQUARE FEET:
To figure out how many room tiles you’ll need, calculate the entire size of the space you just measured. Using this method, you can determine how much square footage you intend to tile per area.
To get the square feet, therefore multiply the length by the width in feet. Sq. Ft. = L * W.
For Rectangle Room: Multiply the length by the width of the room and then divide the result by 144, so you can calculate the total in square feet.
Here’s an example:
• Let’s assume we have a rectangle room with dimensions: 101-inch x 63-inch
• First, apply the square feet formula, i.e., length x width: 101 in x 63 in = 6363 inch
• Finally, divide it by 144 to get your total square feet: 6363/144 = 44.19 sq. ft.
For Square Room: It is easy to calculate a square room because a square-shaped space has the same length and width.
Here’s an example:
• Let’s say we have a square room with dimensions: of 120-inch x 120-inch
• Length x Width: 14400 inch
• Now, divide it by 144: 14400/144 = 100 sq. ft.
For Round Room: It can be a little challenging to measure round rooms. For calculating the radius, divide the entire length in inches by two. To simplify your calculations, round up to the nearest whole number and multiply the radius by pi – or 3.14.
Here’s an example:
• Let’s assume you want to tile a circular area with a diameter of 240-inch
• To calculate the radius, divide the diameter by 2: 240-inch/2 = 120-inch
• To get your total square feet, multiply the radius by 3.14: 120-inch x 3.14 = 376.8 sq. ft.
4. TILE CALCULATION:
Along with calculating the total square footage, you may also be interested in the approximate number of tiles required to cover an area. Calculate the tile square footage by multiplying the tile length and width by inches. To calculate the number of tiles needed, divide the calculated space size by the area of one tile.
• Let’s assume you have tiles that are 11.8 x 11.8 and you want to tile a small bathroom with an area of 48 lengths x 24 widths.
• Now, calculate the total area of each tile: 11.8-inch by 11.8-inch = 140-inch (rounded up)
• Secondly, calculate the total area of the bathroom: 48-inch x 24-inch = 1,152-inch
• Lastly, divide the area of the bathroom by the area of the tile: 1,152/140 = 9 tiles needed (rounded up)
How to calculate the tiles needed for the floor or wall?
Calculate Area:
Measuring tape to measure to find out the area of the wall or floor on which you want to install the tiles. Make sure you measure the area in a common unit such as foot, meter, inches, yards, millimeters, or centimeters.
The formula of the area = Length x Width.
CALCULATE THE MEASUREMENTS:
Multiply the length and width measurements to obtain the result, which will give you the total square feet of the wall or floor areas, e.g. Multiply 14 by 10 if the length of the floor is 14 feetand the width is 10 feet, so your calculation will be 140 square feet. Repeat the process for each wall or floor area where you want to install the tiles and then add all of the sums together.