How Many Tiles Do I Need? Comprehensive Guide to Tile Calculation

Tile is a great addition to any home. Whether you’re looking to add a splash of color to your bathroom, a nice accent to your kitchen backsplash or even a sturdy floor to a mudroom, tile can serve many purposes.
With so many different shapes, sizes, colors and styles of tile today, you also won’t be at a loss for choices when it comes to tile. And while shopping for tile can be fun, it can also be a little nerve-wracking.
After you’ve settled on the perfect tile for your project, the next step is figuring out how much tile you will need. But, how can you calculate the number of tiles needed for your project?
Ensuring that you purchase the right amount of material is essential if you want to keep costs low and ensure that the installation process is smooth by reducing waste and avoiding shortage.
Below, we provide in-depth information about how you can calculate number of tiles needed for your project.
How to Figure Out How Many Tiles to Buy
Whether you’re undertaking a tile installation process on your own, or hiring a professional to do it for you, it’s very important to accurately calculate number of tiles needed.
There are many reasons for this. One, it will help you determine how much the main material will cost, which will play a heavy factor in how much the overall project will cost you.
In addition, by knowing how many tiles you’ll need, you can ensure that you’re purchasing a sufficient amount of tile — also accounting for some extra just in case — without purchasing too much. This will allow you to reduce waste and cut down on how much time you spend purchasing, re-purchasing and potentially returning tile from the store.
All in all, knowing how many tiles you need will help you reduce the amount of time it takes for your project to be completed, while also limiting the headaches for you and your contractor.
How to Calculate How Many Floor Tiles You Need
Whether you’ve decided to go with porcelain floor tiles, ceramic floor tiles, granite floor tiles or any other type, the process for determining how much material you need will be the same.
The first step is to calculate the total area of the room. This is simply done by multiplying its length by width. If the floor measures 4.5 meters (14.76 feet) by 4.5 meters (14.76 feet), the area will be 20.25 square meters (217.86 square feet).
Once you have this number in hand, you can figure out how many floor tiles you’ll need for your project, which will be based on the specific tile that you’ve chosen.
Now measure the total area of an individual tile, multiplying its length by width. In most cases, this will be measured in centimeters (or inches), not meters (or feet). So, if it’s 12 centimeters (4.72 inches) by 12 centimeters (4.72 inches), the total area of one tile will be 144 square centimeters (22.28 square inches).
Next, convert the number into meters by dividing it by 10,000 (or dividing by 144 to convert to feet). In this case, that would give you 0.0144 square meters. Finally, take the square meters of your space and divide it by the square meters of an individual tile.
In our example, 20.25/0.0144 would mean you would need 1,406 tiles to cover your floor.
How to Calculate How Many Wall Tiles You Need
The wall tile calculation formula is very similar, with some few minor adjustments. This is because the walls that you are covering in tile will most likely not be uniform.
In other words, you might have one long and tall wall right next to a much shorter wall. Situations like this are common, for example, in kitchens where you want to install a tile backsplash.
For this, you want to measure each wall individually, and then add the square footage of them all together. So, for instance, if you have one wall at 10 square meters (35 square feet), one wall at 5 square meters (16 square feet) and a third wall at 7 square meters (23 square feet), your total square footage would be 22 square meters (74 square feet).
Then, figuring out how many wall tiles you need is the same as for the floor. Take the area of your walls and divide it by the area of an individual tile to find out how many tiles you need.
If your individual tiles are 0.0762 square meters (0.25 square feet), for example, you would need 289 wall tiles for this project (22/0.0762).
How to Calculate How Many Mosaic Tiles You Need
The process to calculate number of tiles needed for a project doesn’t differ depending on the type of tile you have selected. So, for instance, whether you’ve selected mosaic tiles or simple subway tiles, the process and calculation will remain the same.
You will measure the complete surface area that needs to be covered and divide that number by the area of an individual mosaic tile. With mosaic tiles, though, you might want to purchase as much as 20% more than you need, since they often don’t fit perfectly into a space.
How to Calculate How Many Tiles You Need for an L-Shaped Room
An L-shaped room and any other oddly shaped room provides similar challenges to walls. The best thing to do in this situation is to divide the room into smaller rectangles or squares, and then calculate the area of each — just like you did for the wall tiles.
Then, add the area of each separate section together and divide by the square footage of an individual tile to calculate how many tiles you need for the project.
Get an Accurate Calculation of Tiles Needed
By following the advice above, you can ensure that you are purchasing the right number of tiles for your project so you can keep costs low and make sure the project stays on track.
For any tile project, it’s important to also order more than you actually need. In most cases, it’s best to order at least 10% more than the calculations say you need, just in case some of the tiles are broken, cracked or don’t work for your project.