Tile Flooring Quantity Calculator
Why tile orders always include extra
Very few rooms are perfectly divisible by whole tiles - corners, doorways, and layout patterns all create cut pieces that use up more material than the raw floor area alone would suggest.
Worked example
For a 150 sq ft room using 12x12 inch tiles with a 10% waste allowance:
Tile Area = (12 x 12) / 144 = 1 sq ft per tile
Adjusted Area = 150 x 1.10 = 165 sq ft
Tiles Needed = ceil(165 / 1) = 165 tiles
Frequently asked questions
Should I round up my waste allowance for complex layouts? Yes - diagonal tile layouts, herringbone patterns, and rooms with many corners or built-in cutouts typically need 15-20% instead of the standard 10%, since angled cuts waste more of each tile.
Should I buy extra beyond this calculation for future repairs? Many installers recommend keeping a few extra boxes of the same dye lot on hand after installation, since matching a discontinued tile years later for a repair can be difficult or impossible.