How to interpret the result
After calculation, the box count shows the minimum quantity for the measurements entered. The adjusted area already includes waste; tiles and boxes are rounded up so the installation is less likely to run short.
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Flooring Tile Calculator
Calculate tile area, waste, pieces, boxes, and spare material with US customary or metric units.
Inputs
- Room length
- 12 ft
- Room width
- 10 ft
- Tile length
- 24 in
- Tile width
- 24 in
- Waste margin
- 10%
- Tiles per box
- 10
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to add a waste margin for cuts and broken tiles.
- Mixing room units and tile units after switching systems.
- Buying by exact tile count instead of complete boxes.
Method
Formula: room area = length x width. Adjusted area = room area x (1 + waste margin / 100). Tiles = adjusted area / tile area, rounded up. Boxes = tiles / tiles per box, rounded up.
Example
Reference examples: with the default US fields, a 12 ft x 10 ft room with 24 x 24 in tiles, 10% waste, and 10 tiles per box gives 120 sq ft, 132 adjusted sq ft, and a rounded result of 33 tiles or 4 boxes. If you switch to Metric, compare against a 4 m x 3 m room with 60 x 60 cm tiles, 10% waste, and 8 tiles per box, which gives 12 m², 13.2 m² adjusted, and 37 tiles or 5 boxes.
Assumptions
Measure the real surface to be covered and use the tile size from the product. Diagonal layouts, many cuts, large-format tiles, breakage, and keeping spare replacement pieces can require a higher waste margin.
Sources
References were used for the area-measurement method and installation planning context, including cuts, layout, breakage, and material waste.
More tools
Use these related calculators before buying materials for the same room.
Review
Last reviewed: 6/23/2026