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Home renovations are always exciting when you have the final picture in your head. However, the process could turn out to be more challenging than expected. There are a ton of things that you need to handle in advance before you can start the actual work. You need to choose the furniture and fittings, select the colour schemes, and most importantly, buy the tiles that will add that extra finishing look to your interior, especially when it comes to the bathroom or kitchen.

Once you’ve chosen the perfect tiles for the renovated space, one big question lies ahead – how many tiles do I need? Even if you’ve measured the room and know how many square meters it is, how many 60cmx60cm tiles is 1 square meter?

In this article, we’ll help you get a better understanding of how to calculate how many tiles you need to buy in order to successfully finish your renovation and enjoy a brilliant and visually aesthetic result.

How many floor tiles do I need?

Let’s start with floor measurements for any floor projects that you may undertake. Every floor is different but there are a few standard tips and tricks you can use.

If the flooring in the room is standard or square, the calculations won’t be anything too complex. All you need to do is measure the width and length of the space. The standard tile dimensions are provided in square meters. Therefore, it’s best to measure using centimeters or millimeters. Once you have the necessary numbers, multiply the width by the length and you’ll get the area in square meters. However, you can also measure in feet and translate the result to meters later on.

If the results aren’t whole numbers and there are feet and inches included, you can divide the number of inches by 12 to turn it into feet. Add the decimal to the number of feet and continue to get the result in square feet. It’s important to round up the total if you’re working with decimals.

Let’s look at an example, measuring in centimetres. If you have a width of 400 and a length of 300, you’ll need to do the following:

400 cm x 300 cm = 120,000 cm

In order to convert the result to square meters, all you have to do is divide the total by 10,000 as one square meter equals 100cm x 100cm.

120,000 cm / 10,000 cm = 12 ㎡

When buying the tiles, it’s advisable to lean an extra 10% to make up for any damaged tiles or cuts that are necessary to create the perfect fit. For this purpose, multiply the ㎡ by 1.1 or in our example:

12 x 1.1 = 13.2 ㎡ (the number of tiles you’ll need in square meters)

Now that you know the area of the floor, the next question comes to mind – how many tiles do I need per square meter?

The answer will depend on whether you’re looking to buy tile boxes with multiple tiles or individual tiles, which are better suited or smaller areas, as in a half bath, for example. If you’re going for tile boxes, check the box to find out the square meters that tile tiles are designed to cover. For example, if your area is 12 ㎡ and the box is designed to cover an area of 6 ㎡, you’ll need to to the following:

12 ㎡ / 6 ㎡ = 2 or you’ll need two boxes of tiles

If you’re buying individual tiples, you’ll need to find out the measurements that each tile is designed to cover. When you are purchasing individual tiles, you’ll be provided with that information on the packaging. All you have to do is multiply the tile length by the width to establish what area one tile will cover. Divide to convert the result to square meters and divide again the area you want to renovate by the square meters of one tile. This will give you the number of tiles that you’ll need.

How many wall tiles do I need?

Measuring walls is to determine how many wall tiles you’ll need is not all that different. Most walls have rectangular shapes but also have windows and doors. Start by calculating the wall’s full size and subtract any windows and doors. Multiply the height by the length and convert to ㎡ by dividing by 10,000 cm.

Next, take the height and width of the doors and windows. Multiply them and again convert to ㎡ by dividing by 10,000 cm. Add the results together if there are both windows and doors or several windows on the wall. Remove the result from the initial wall size and you’ll get the number of tiles that you’ll need for the area. Don’t forget to add in an extra 10% for any broken tiles or flawed cuts.

How many tiles do I need for an L-shaped room?

Although to work out how many tiles you need is a generally simple arithmetical calculation, it can become more complicated when it comes to an L-shaped room when compared to rectangular rooms. To work out the area size and get the total, you will need to either use a tile calculator or perform the manual equation.

This manual equation will take the width and length of the vertical and horizontal part of the “L”, which will be multiplied by one another to give you the total area of the metres squared you will need to cover.

For the purpose of laying your tiles, you will need to look at the “L” and find the centre going from the top to the bottom all the way down the length of the vertical part of the “L’”. You will need to find the centre and work your way from left to right when you are going from left to right of the horizontal part of the “L”.

This will leave you with four separate areas of which you’ve found the centre line for each part of the L-shape and your starting point will be where the two lines cross. This means that either the centre or the edge of your tile will start on this line.

Ideally, to determine exactly how many tiles you need for your tiling project, this is the best way to begin. This is particularly the case if you are using rectangular tiles. Of course, it’s always advisable to have some spare tiles in order to address potential accidents such as accidental damage. This is why having a few extra tiles on hand is such a good idea.

How many tiles do I need for my bathroom wall?

A tile calculator is an especially handy tool when you want to calculate how many tiles you need for your bathroom walls. However, since these tile calculators are not always available, it’s worth doing the arithmetic yourself.

With bathroom walls though, the calculation can be somewhat more difficult than with other rooms in your home simply because working out the square metres in terms of how many tiles you need is made complicated by the fact that you have so many obstructions to the tiles in a space such as a bathroom.

This is why careful planning is essential at the beginning. This can also help you avoid leaks later on due to placing small tiles or tile corners incorrectly.

As such, here is our advice for working out the total number of tiles you need after you have determined which accessories will go where in your bathroom.

Work out where to start vertically
Draw a level line of all the obstacles in the room (e.g. a door frame, window sill, window, height of a bath, the height of a shower tray, etc.)
Draw a level line from all of these points to meet one vertical line that you can work from

Each of these elements is essential to get right the first time around so that you avoid more wastage of tiles and even damage to your bathroom accessories.

After this, it’s time to calculate the tiles required similarly to the floor area method mentioned earlier. Here is the calculation:

Measure the height of the wall and divide by the height of the tile: round this up to the next whole tile.
Measure the width of the wall and divide by the width of the tile: round up to a whole tile again.
Simply enter the two numbers and multiply them together to determine how many tiles you will need for the wall.
Do the same individually for each wall (or floor) and add them together at the end to determine how many boxes or what the total area will be for your tiling project. Of course, this will vary depending on the size of your tiles and the size of your walls but generally, it should give you a more or less accurate total of how many tiles you’ll need.

For a wall with a door in it, it’s important to break down the space to separate parts. Calculate the area or metres squared to the left, right and above the door. The same principle applies to windows or other “obstructions” to the bathroom walls.

As for the tiling tools you’ll need for cutting tiles to the correct tile size, a handy hint is to use a tape measure and to have a calculator on hand to carry out your calculations before you start tiling.

Your chosen tiles, your unique style

One of the first questions when planning your bathroom or kitchen remodelling project is how many tiles you’ll need. The calculation is generally straightforward and requires you to multiply the length by the width and then simply divide the total square metres by the size of your tiles in the same batch. After this, you’re ready to proceed in a smooth and hassle-free way.

We hope that you’ll enjoy a quick and stress-free tile purchasing process now that you know this valuable and essential information. We’re here to offer excellent, high-quality, and durable tiles in Leicester and turn any renovation into a dream come true.

How many tiles do i need? Here are our top tips for calculating the correct number

How many floor tiles do I need?

How many wall tiles do I need?

How many tiles do I need for an L-shaped room?

How many tiles do I need for my bathroom wall?

Your chosen tiles, your unique style

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