SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
Net area of floor or wall.
Deduct any large permanent fixture — a bath, a kitchen island — but do not deduct doorways, which usually need a cut tile anyway.
Long side of the tile.
The tile as MANUFACTURED. A rectified tile is cut after firing and is very close to its stated size; a pressed tile is not, and varies enough between batches to be visible in a long run. That variation is what the joint absorbs — which is why a joint narrowed for looks stops being able to do its job, and why tiles from two batches should be mixed across the floor rather than laid in sequence.
Short side of the tile.
The ratio between this and the long side decides which PATTERNS are available. A tile whose length is not a whole multiple of its width cannot be set in a true herringbone or basketweave without cutting every piece. The proportion also governs lippage risk on a half-bond offset: on a long thin tile the middle of one piece meets the end of its neighbour, which is where a bowed tile is furthest out of plane.
How the tiles are laid.
Pattern drives waste far more than tile size does. A diagonal lay cuts every perimeter tile at 45°, and the offcut from one edge rarely fits another — which is why the allowance nearly doubles.
From the supplier's data.
Order full boxes from one batch — dye lots vary visibly between batches of the same product.
Tiles required
36 tiles
Keep the spare tiles. A batch-matched replacement in five years is worth more than the box it came in.
- Boxes to order
- 6 boxes
- Tiles before waste
- 32.5 tiles
- Waste applied
- 10 %
- Area covered by the boxes
- 144 sq ft
- Spare after the job
- 0 tiles
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Floor & Wall Tile Calculator: 36 tiles — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- TCNA Handbook and BS 5385 both recommend 5-10% waste for a straight lay and 15-20% for a diagonal or herringbone pattern
- Tile is sold by the box; box coverage varies by format and must come from the supplier
Inputs used
- Area to tile
- 130 sq ft
- Tile length
- 24 in
- Tile width
- 24 in
- Lay pattern
- Straight / stack bond — 10% waste
- Tiles per box
- 6
Intermediate steps
- Boxes to order
- 6 boxes
- Tiles before waste
- 32.5 tiles
- Waste applied
- 10 %
- Area covered by the boxes
- 144 sq ft
- Spare after the job
- 0 tiles
Confidence note: Keep the spare tiles. A batch-matched replacement in five years is worth more than the box it came in.
What this calculation does not cover
- Nothing checks that the tile and the pattern belong together. A tile with any edge of 15 in (about 380 mm) or more falls under a tighter substrate flatness rule — TCNA asks for 1/8 in in 10 ft — and the offset on a long plank is held to roughly a third of its length, because a half-bond sets the neighbouring tile's high point against your tile's crown and produces lippage. This will happily return a herringbone count for a 1200 mm plank over a floor that cannot take it.
- Movement joints sit outside the count. The same TCNA and BS 5385 documents cited above for the waste figures also call for a soft joint at every perimeter and wall abutment, around columns and fixed penetrations, and across the field at intervals — roughly 8 to 10 m indoors, and much closer over a heated screed or outside. Those joints take sealant and a profile rather than grout, and a floor tiled hard into its walls tents at the first hot spell.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Part of bigger jobs
This trade is one line of several job takeoffs. Run the whole job and every other trade comes back with it, off the same measurements.
Or plan the space itself: measure it once, doors and windows included, and this figure comes back worked out on that space, with what goes with it.
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Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-17 · v1.0.2
Regulatory standards & verification citations2
- TCNA Handbook and BS 5385 both recommend 5-10% waste for a straight lay and 15-20% for a diagonal or herringbone pattern
- Tile is sold by the box; box coverage varies by format and must come from the supplier
Cite this page
Your workspace
Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.
Tools and safety for this job
To lay floor tile, tile a wall, cut ceramic and porcelain tile, grout and seal tiling and mix adhesive or mortar. Generic types, no brands, no prices.
Protection this work requires
- Cutting or grinding concrete, masonry, screed, tile or fibre-cement board releases respirable silica: cut wet or extract at the tool, and wear a P2/N95 respirator at minimum — a nuisance dust mask does not filter it.
- Wet cement and lime burn skin and eyes painlessly until the damage is done: waterproof gloves to EN 374, safety glasses whenever the mix can splash, and never kneel in wet mix in permeable trousers.
- Saws, grinders and breakers run above 85 dB, where hearing damage accumulates and does not recover: defenders or plugs for every cut, not just the long ones.
- Boards, blocks and bagged material cause most lasting back injuries on small sites: two people or a lifter for full sheets, and never a bag on one shoulder up a ladder.
Show the 15 tools this job needsHide tools
Essential
Chalk line
Grout float and sponge
Manual tile cutter
Mixing bucket or tub
Notched trowel
Paddle mixer
Spirit level
Tape measure
Recommended
Caulking gun
Rubber mallet
Tile nippers
Wet tile saw
Optional
Hole saw set
Laser level
Shovel and spade
Also needed as materials: caulk and sealant cartridges, chalk refill, diamond tile blades, grout sponges.
what each tiling tool is for, and the spec that decides which to buy where one does.