Tile Calculator - How Much Tile Do You Need? (UK)
Pop in the area you're tiling, the type of tile and the layout, and this works out how much tile to order including wastage.
Interested? Then → Quotato for Tilers · More advice on the Blog & Chips guides.
How to use this calculator
Measure the area to tile in square metres - length times height for a wall, length times width for a floor. Choose ceramic for walls or porcelain for floors, then your layout. A diagonal layout needs a bit more tile for the extra edge cuts.
How we calculate this
- Tile to order = area × wastage factor, sold and priced by the m².
- Straight (brick/stack bond) layouts use a 10% wastage factor (×1.10).
- Diagonal layouts use 15% (×1.15) because of the extra corner cuts.
- We round up to the nearest 0.1 m², as tiles come in boxes covering a fixed area.
Worked example
A 10 m² floor laid diagonally in porcelain: 10 × 1.15 = 11.5 m² to order, which rounds up to whole boxes when you buy. Laid straight it would only need 11 m².
UK notes & gotchas
- UK tiles are sold by the box, each covering a set m² - round your order up to whole boxes.
- Buy all tile from the same batch (shade) number, as colours and sizes vary between runs.
- Keep a few spares after the job - matching a discontinued tile later is often impossible.
FAQ
Why does diagonal need more tile?
Laying at 45 degrees means lots of triangular offcuts around the edges that can't be reused, so we bump wastage from 10% to 15%.
Does this include adhesive and grout?
No - just the tile. Use the tile adhesive and grout calculators for the same area.
How much wastage should I allow?
10% for a simple straight layout, 15% for diagonal or patterned work, more for awkward rooms with lots of cuts.
Ceramic or porcelain?
Ceramic is lighter and ideal for walls; porcelain is denser and tougher for floors and wet areas.
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