There are two questions we are asked more than others: "How do I measure my walls and/or floor?” and “How many tiles will I need?”
Once you have decided on the type and size of the tile, you will need to calculate how many square metres you will need by measuring the area to be tiled. Remember though, some tiling designs will need more, especially in the herringbone layout. If you are unsure always ask your tiler to review your measurements.
Walls
Measure the height and width in cm and multiply together to give you the area of that wall, do this for each full wall/part wall that is to be tiled and then add them all together to give you the total area. Dividing this by 10000 will give you the total area in square metres that is to be tiled. E.g.,250cm x 180cm = 45000 ÷ 10000 = 4.5sq meters.
Alternatively, you can
1 Sketch out the wall you are looking to tile
2 Measure the length of the wall area in meters
3 Measure the height of the wall area in meters
4 Calculate the area of the wall by multiplying the length by the height, for example, 2.85m x 2.45m = 6.98 sq metres, do the same for all the walls you are tiling and then add them together to get the total area in sq metres.
5 Add on the additional 10% to allow for wastage.
Floors
Measure the length of the area to be tiled in cm and multiply by the width. Divide this by 10000 will result in the square metre measurement of the area to be tiled.
E.g.,483cm x 137cm = 66170 ÷10000 = 6.61sq metres.
Alternatively, you can
1 Sketch out the floor area you want to tile
2 Measure the length of the area in meters
3 Measure the width of the area in meters
4 Calculate the area by multiplying the length by the width, for example, 4.86m x 5.25m = 25.52 sq metres, if there are any other areas do the same and then add them together to get the total area.
5 Add on the additional 10% to allow for wastage.
It can be a false economy to only order the exact quantity of tiles. You may break some when cutting or you may end up with difficult shapes that take more tiles than expected. It can be annoying to get near the end of the job only to find that you are short of one or two tiles, especially as the shade can vary between different batches. To allow for this, we recommend that you allow for part tiles and wastage by adding 10 per cent to your order.
Having spare tiles left over is useful in case of any issues in the future such as room alterations or accidental damage.