How to Calculate Tile Quantity
Working out how many tiles you need sounds trivial: area divided by tile size, plus a bit for waste – usually around 10% on a straight layout. And mostly it is. Where people slip up is the rounding at the end. You round up to whole tiles and then to whole boxes, because shops rarely sell tiles one at a time.
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How to calculate the number of tiles
- Measure the room area: length × width (in m²).
- Work out one tile's area: tile width × tile height.
- Divide room area by tile area = tiles without waste.
- Add waste (typically 10%) and round up to whole tiles.
- Divide by pieces per box and round up to whole boxes.
Formula: Tiles = (room area ÷ tile area) × (1 + waste)
Example: room 4 × 3 m = 12 m². Tile 60 × 30 cm = 0.18 m². 12 ÷ 0.18 = 66.7 × 1.10 = 73.3 → 74 tiles. At 12 per box: 74 ÷ 12 = 7 boxes.
Practical tips
- Keep one full box spare for later repairs.
- Patterned tiles can increase the waste factor.
- Measure the room in several spots – walls are rarely perfectly square.
Automatic with TileWright
Live calculation as you type, multiple sub-areas, a waste assistant and a visual room designer – fully offline.
Download on the App StoreCommon questions
How much waste should I add?
About 5–10% for straight layouts, 10–12% for a bond, and 15–20% for diagonal layouts.
How do I handle L- or U-shaped rooms?
Split the area into rectangles, calculate each and add them up. TileWright sums sub-areas automatically.