Home & Cooking
Tile Calculator
Calculate how many tiles, boxes, and grout you need for any room. Includes waste percentage and grout joint adjustment.
Project details
Area to tile
Tile size
Tiles to buy
130 tiles
Includes 10% waste. You need 118 tiles to cover the area exactly.
Project estimate:
Total area
120 sq ft (11.15 m^2)
Boxes
13 (at 10 tiles/box)
Grout (estimate)
49.5 fl oz
Tiles without waste
118
Frequently Asked Questions about the Tile Calculator
How much waste should I add for tile?
Use 10% for straight (square or grid) layouts, 15% for diagonal patterns, and 20% for herringbone, chevron, or complex mosaics. Larger rooms generate more cut tiles at the perimeter, so rounding up is always the safer call.
Do tile patterns really need more waste?
Yes. Diagonal layouts force angled cuts along every wall, and herringbone or chevron patterns require angled cuts on nearly every edge tile. Modular or pinwheel designs compound the problem because off-cut pieces rarely fit elsewhere in the pattern.
How is grout width included in the calculation?
The calculator adds one grout joint to each tile's length and one to its width before computing the effective tile area. For example, a 12 x 12 in tile with a 1/8 in grout joint occupies 12.125 x 12.125 in of floor space. That effective area is what divides into your total room area to produce the tile count.
What grout joint width should I use?
A good starting point is 1/16 in for rectified porcelain, 1/8 in for standard ceramic, and 1/4 in for natural stone or a rustic look. Always check your tile manufacturer's specs, since unusually large or small tiles may require different joint sizes.
Why buy whole boxes instead of loose tiles?
Tile color and texture vary between production batches (called dye lots). Buying complete boxes from the same lot keeps your floor or wall visually consistent and leaves you with spares for repairs years down the road without hunting for a matching batch.