Tile calculator
Work out how many floor tiles and boxes to buy for one room or a whole floor, from the tile size, the grout joint and the way the tile is laid.
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Your rooms
How the number of tiles is worked out
Each room's floor area is its length times its width, and the rooms are added together. A waste allowance is added for the cuts at walls and doorways and for breakage.
The allowance depends on the pattern: 7% for tile laid straight, 15% on a diagonal, and 20% for herringbone or chevron. These are the same allowances vPlan AR uses for flooring in a plan's material takeoff. You can type your own instead, for example for natural stone or tiles with a lot of shade variation.
Each tile covers its own face plus one grout joint in each direction, so a 12" × 24" tile with a 1/8" joint covers 12 1/8" × 24 1/8". The area with waste is divided by that and rounded up to whole tiles, and by the tiles per box (printed on the box) to whole boxes.
Walls are left out: this is for floors. For a tiled shower or backsplash, enter each wall as a "room" with its width and height.
Tips
- Large-format tile (24" and up) shows lippage on uneven floors: check the subfloor is flat before you order.
- Buy every box from the same lot (the code on the box) so the shade matches, and keep a few spare tiles for repairs.
- For grout, use the coverage chart on the bag: it lists the area a bag covers for your tile size and joint width.
- Order the trim pieces (bullnose, Schluter or transition strips) separately, by the length of the edges they finish.
Do this from a scan instead
Scan the rooms with a LiDAR iPhone or iPad, or draw them in the web editor, and vPlan AR measures the real floor outlines, takes off stair openings, and lists the tile for each room with the pattern waste and boxes in its material takeoff, alongside the other finishes.
Frequently asked questions
How many 12×24 tiles do I need for a 12×10 room?
The floor is 120 sq ft. Laid straight with 7% waste that is 128.4 sq ft, and each tile with a 1/8" joint covers about 2.03 sq ft, so 64 tiles: 8 boxes of 8.
How much extra tile should I buy?
About 7% for tile laid straight, 15% on a diagonal and 20% for herringbone. Small rooms with many corners, and tile that breaks easily, can need more.
Do I include the grout joint when counting tiles?
Yes. Each tile takes up its own size plus one joint each way. With small tiles or wide joints that adds up: a 3" × 6" subway tile with a 1/8" joint covers about 6% more than its face.
How do I calculate tile for an L-shaped room?
Split it into two rectangles and enter each as its own room. The calculator adds the areas before adding the waste.
Guides
- How to Work Out Flooring, Paint and Baseboard Quantities from a Floor PlanFlooring needs waste for its pattern, paint needs the doors and windows taken off each wall, and baseboard stops at every doorway. Here is how to work out all three from a floor plan, by hand and in vPlan AR.
- How to Generate a Repair Cost Estimate from a Floor Plan ScanTurn a LiDAR scan into a material takeoff and a line-item cost estimate. Tag the affected materials, apply your own unit prices, and export to PDF or CSV.