Tile Count
Count the tiles needed for a floor or wall with waste.
About Tile Count
Each tile covers its length times its width, converted from inches to square feet. Dividing the total area including a waste allowance by this coverage rounds up to whole tiles. Tiles are sold as whole pieces and must be cut around edges, so a waste allowance of around ten percent is needed for a realistic order.
Formula
Tile Count
Tiles = area x (1 + waste) / (tile length x width / 144)
- waste
- Allowance for cutting and breakage
Worked example
With the default values below, Tile Count returns Tiles Needed of 132. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Area to cover
- 120 sq ft
- Tile length
- 12 in
- Tile width
- 12 in
- Waste allowanceaccepts 0–50 %
- 10 %
Results
- Tile Coverage
- 1.0000 sq ft
- Area With Waste
- 132.0 sq ft
- Tiles Needed
- 132
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Tile Count
- 3Tiles Needed= 132
- 4Tile Coverage= 1.0000 sq ft
- 5Area With Waste= 132.0 sq ft
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Tile Count calculated?
Tiles = area x (1 + waste) / (tile length x width / 144) Each tile covers its length times its width, converted from inches to square feet. Dividing the total area including a waste allowance by this coverage rounds up to whole tiles.
Why does Tile Count matter?
Tiles are sold as whole pieces and must be cut around edges, so a waste allowance of around ten percent is needed for a realistic order.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Area to cover, Tile length, Tile width, Waste allowance. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.