Area To Tile1 AREA
Enter an area to begin.
Floors and walls both work: for a wall, length is the wall width and width is the wall height. Add a shower surround as three separate walls.
Areas in this job
Tile Size & BoxINCHES
Nominal tile size in inches. A tile sold as 12x12 usually measures a hair under, which is what the grout joint absorbs.
Tiles per box is not standardized. The presets load a common count so you can play with the numbers, but read the carton before you buy: two 12x24 lines can be 6 and 8 tiles per box.
Grout & Thinset InputsRANGES
Layout PreviewSTRAIGHT
Real tiles at real scale in your real room, so you can see how many cuts you are signing up for. Pattern guide: tile layout patterns.
ResultsLIVE
Boxes to buy
0 boxes
Enter an area to begin
Grout needed
0 lb
Thinset mortar
0 bags
Enter an area and the full working shows here, with your own numbers in it.
Pattern waste allowance
Materials Ticket#TILE
Enter an area to build your ticket.
The BOXES TO BUY line is the one to hand over at the counter. Grout and thinset are given as ranges on purpose: read the coverage chart on the bag you are actually buying.
How This Is Calculated
Tiles and boxes
- Tile area = tile width x tile length / 144. A 12x24 tile is 288 / 144 = 2.00 sq ft.
- Base area = length x width of every area you added.
- Waste added = base area x pattern waste. Shown on its own line, never folded into the base.
- Tiles to buy = (base + waste) / tile area, rounded up to a whole tile.
- Boxes to buy = tiles to buy / tiles per box, rounded up. Leftover is the tiles in those boxes that you do not need.
Grout, and why it is a range
Grout fills the space between tiles, so the volume is pure geometry. For a tile W by L inches with a joint J inches wide and a tile T inches thick, each square foot of floor needs
144 x T x [ 1 - (W x L) / ((W + J) x (L + J)) ] cubic inches of grout
That part is exact. Turning cubic inches into pounds is not, because mixed grout density varies with the product and how much water you use. We assume 105 to 135 lb per cubic foot and show the resulting weight as a range. Manufacturer coverage charts differ from each other by 30% or more for the same tile size, and none of them account for how much you leave in the bucket, so treat the top of the range as your buying figure.
Thinset, and why that is a range too
Thinset coverage depends on the trowel notch, how flat the substrate is and how hard you press. Published coverage per 50 lb bag is typically:
- 3/16 in V-notch: about 95 to 115 sq ft
- 1/4 x 1/4 in square notch: about 85 to 100 sq ft
- 1/4 x 3/8 in square notch: about 60 to 75 sq ft
- 1/2 x 1/2 in square notch: about 40 to 50 sq ft
Large format tile usually needs back-buttering as well, which can cut coverage by another quarter. If you are setting anything over 15 in on a side, buy to the high end of the bag count.
Quick ReferenceSCREENSHOT ME
Tiles per 100 square feet, before waste
| Tile size | Sq ft each | Per 100 sq ft | Typical joint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3x6 subway | 0.125 | 800 | 1/16 in |
| 6x6 | 0.250 | 400 | 1/8 in |
| 6x24 plank | 1.000 | 100 | 1/8 in |
| 12x12 | 1.000 | 100 | 1/8 in |
| 12x24 | 2.000 | 50 | 1/8 to 3/16 in |
| 18x18 | 2.250 | 45 | 1/8 to 3/16 in |
| 24x24 | 4.000 | 25 | 3/16 in |
Counts are the raw geometry with no waste. Add your pattern waste on top, then round up to whole boxes.
Waste by layout pattern
| Pattern | Waste | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Straight grid | 10% | Cuts happen only at the walls, and many offcuts start the next row. |
| Brick or offset (running bond) | 10 - 12% | Every other row starts with a half tile, which is usually a cut. |
| Diagonal, 45 degrees | 15 - 20% | Every perimeter tile is cut on the bias and both halves rarely get used. |
| Herringbone | 15 - 20% | Angled cuts at every wall, and the pattern eats short offcuts. |
| Chevron | 20% and up | Mitered ends plus left and right tiles. Some installers ask for 25%. |
Full walkthrough of each layout with photos and where the cuts land: tile layout patterns.
Related Calculators
- Square FootageL-shapes & odd rooms
- FlooringBoxes of plank
- SidingSquares & boxes
- Tile LayoutsPattern guide
- DrywallSheets, mud, tape
- PaintGallons per coat
- ConcreteBags & yards
- PaversPavers, sand, base
- InsulationBatts & R-value
- DeckBoards & joists
- RoofingSquares & bundles
- GravelTons & yards
- Cubic YardAny depth of fill
- FencePosts, rails, pickets
Tile Calculator FAQ
How many tiles do I need per square foot?
How many tiles do I need per square foot?
Divide 144 by the tile area in square inches. A 12x12 tile is 144 square inches, so one tile per square foot. A 12x24 is 288 square inches, so half a tile per square foot. A 3x6 subway tile is 18 square inches, so eight tiles per square foot.
Then add waste and round up. For 100 sq ft of 12x24 at 10% waste: 110 / 2.00 = 55 tiles.
How many boxes of tile should I buy?
How many boxes of tile should I buy?
Take your tile count including waste and divide by the tiles per box printed on the carton, then round up. 100 sq ft of 12x12 at 10% waste is 110 tiles; at 15 tiles per box that is 7.33 boxes, so you buy 8 boxes and have 10 tiles spare.
Buy all of it in one trip. Tile is made in production runs and shade varies between them, which is why the box carries a shade or caliber code. Mixing two runs on the same floor is visible from the doorway.
How much waste should I add for a tile pattern?
How much waste should I add for a tile pattern?
Straight grid is about 10%. Brick or offset is 10 to 12% because every other row starts with a cut tile. Diagonal and herringbone are 15 to 20% because every perimeter tile is cut on an angle and the offcut is usually unusable. Chevron starts at 20% and some installers ask for 25% because the tiles are mitered and handed.
Add another 5% on top for any room with lots of jogs, a curbed shower, or a floor going in around a pedestal sink. See tile layout patterns for where the cuts actually land in each layout.
How much grout do I need?
How much grout do I need?
It depends on three things at once: tile size, joint width and tile thickness. Small tiles have far more joint per square foot than large ones, a 1/4 in joint holds twice the grout of a 1/8 in joint, and a thicker tile means a deeper joint to fill.
This calculator works out the exact joint volume from your numbers, then converts it to weight using an assumed mixed density of 105 to 135 lb per cubic foot, which is why the answer is a range. Buy to the top of the range. Grout is cheap, running out mid floor with a bucket going off is not, and a partly used bag will not match if you have to mix a second batch later.
How much thinset does a bag cover?
How much thinset does a bag cover?
A 50 lb bag covers roughly 85 to 100 sq ft with a 1/4 x 1/4 in square notch trowel, 60 to 75 sq ft with a 1/4 x 3/8 in notch, and 40 to 50 sq ft with a 1/2 x 1/2 in notch. Small mosaic work with a 3/16 in V-notch can reach 95 to 115 sq ft.
Those ranges assume a flat substrate. A wavy floor swallows mortar, and large format tile normally gets back-buttered as well, which can cut coverage by another quarter. Buy an extra bag: unopened thinset keeps if it stays dry, and stopping halfway through a floor is the worst outcome.
Do I subtract the shower niche, the tub or the vanity?
Do I subtract the shower niche, the tub or the vanity?
Subtract anything genuinely large and permanent: a tub footprint on a bathroom floor, a full vanity run, a built-in bench. Do not bother subtracting a niche or a small fixture. The tile you save is less than the tile you will waste cutting around it, and a niche needs its own cut tiles anyway.
The simplest approach with this tool is to add each surface as its own area, and just leave the tub footprint out of the floor measurement.
Should I buy extra tile for repairs?
Should I buy extra tile for repairs?
Yes, and the waste allowance is not it. Waste gets cut up during the install. Repair stock is separate: keep four to six whole tiles, in the box, with the shade code visible.
Tile lines are discontinued constantly, and a cracked tile three years from now is either an invisible repair or a very visible one depending on whether you kept a few spares in the garage.
Is tile calculated the same way for a wall?
Is tile calculated the same way for a wall?
Yes. Wall area is width times height, so enter the wall width as the length and the wall height as the width. Add each wall of a shower surround separately so the cut waste is counted per wall rather than averaged across a single lumped number.
Walls usually take a tighter joint, often 1/16 in on rectified tile, which changes the grout figure noticeably. Set the joint width before you read the grout range.