Tile Calculator
How many tiles and boxes you need for a floor or wall.
Input sheet
DIY at your own risk. Calcora's calculators and guides are general estimates and information only — not professional, engineering, legal, or safety advice. Always verify local building codes and permit requirements, and hire a licensed pro for electrical, gas, plumbing, structural, or any work you're not fully comfortable doing yourself.
Tile is bought by the box, but the math people get wrong is converting a 12×12 or 4×4 tile size into how many tiles cover the floor. This calculator handles the per-tile coverage and the waste in one step.
How it works
Area divided by the square footage of one tile, plus waste. A 12×12 in tile covers 1 sq ft.
The calculator finds the area of one tile in square feet (tile width × height ÷ 144, since there are 144 square inches in a square foot), then divides your padded room area by that to get a tile count. A 12×12 inch tile conveniently covers exactly 1 square foot.
Waste matters more with tile than almost any other material because every edge tile gets cut, and breakage during cutting is common. The 5% default is a floor; bump it for diagonal sets or rooms with many edges.
Tile area (sq ft) = (tile width × tile height) ÷ 144; tiles = (room area × (1 + waste)) ÷ tile area, rounded up.
Worked examples
An 8 ft × 6 ft bathroom floor with 12×12 inch tiles and 5% waste. → 51 tiles.
Area = 48 sq ft. Each tile = 144 ÷ 144 = 1 sq ft. 48 × 1.05 = 50.4 ÷ 1 = 51 tiles after rounding up.
A 10 ft × 2 ft backsplash with 4×4 inch tiles and 5% waste. → 189 tiles.
Area = 20 sq ft. Each tile = 16 ÷ 144 ≈ 0.111 sq ft. 20 × 1.05 = 21 ÷ 0.111 ≈ 189 tiles.
Tips & gotchas
- Buy a full extra box from the same lot and store it — replacing a single cracked tile years later with a matching one is nearly impossible.
- Diagonal layouts and mosaics generate far more cut waste; start those at 10–15% instead of 5%.
- Account for grout lines on tight patterns — they don't change the tile count much, but they affect how the pattern lands at the edges.
- Dry-lay a row before mortaring to see where cuts fall, and shift the layout so you avoid skinny slivers against the most visible wall.
FAQ
How do I figure tiles for an odd-shaped room?
Break the space into rectangles, calculate each separately, and add the tile counts. Round the total up to whole boxes and keep the standard waste factor on each piece.
How much extra tile should I keep?
Beyond the waste allowance for the install, set aside a few loose tiles or a full box for future repairs. Tile lines get discontinued and dye lots vary.
Does tile size change how much I need?
It changes the count, not the coverage — larger tiles mean fewer pieces but more wasted area on edge cuts. The calculator adjusts the count to the tile size you enter.
Related calculators
Concrete Calculator · Paint Calculator · Flooring Calculator · Mulch Calculator · Gravel & Driveway Calculator