Tile calculator

Enter the area and the tile size, and this returns how many tiles to order including waste. The waste factor does most of the work here: the same floor needs 10 percent extra in a straight lay and closer to 20 percent in herringbone.

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The formula

Area divided by the coverage of one tile, multiplied by one plus the waste factor, rounded up. A 10-by-4-foot backsplash is 40 square feet; with 12-by-12-inch tiles covering a square foot each, that is 40 tiles before waste and 44 at ten percent.

Tile is sold by the box, not the piece, so the last step is always rounding up to whole boxes. Boxes typically hold 10 to 15 square feet depending on tile size, and the box count is what actually determines what you carry home.

Why the pattern decides the waste

In a grid layout the piece cut off at the wall usually starts the next row, so waste is mostly breakage and the occasional chipped tile — around ten percent. In herringbone every cut is angled, and an angled offcut almost never fits another position, which is why the same floor area can need twice the overage.

HomeAdvisor's published guidance is 10 to 15 percent, covering installation damage and future repairs. The twenty percent figure for herringbone and chevron above is a working rule extending that logic to patterns that source does not price separately, and it is labeled as such rather than presented as a published number.

What the installation costs

HomeAdvisor puts tile labor at $3 to $15 per square foot, which is $60 to $120 per hour, against material at $2 to $15 for porcelain and $4 to $15 for glazed ceramic. A backsplash installation runs $480 to $1,500, a bathroom floor $300 to $1,300, and a kitchen floor $800 to $3,000.

Labor exceeding material is normal here and it is not a markup. Substrate preparation, waterproofing behind a shower, leveling an uneven floor and setting out the layout consume most of the hours, and HomeAdvisor prices demolition and prep separately at $2 to $7 per square foot. Choosing a cheaper tile changes the small half of the bill.

Where tile fits in the room

Tile is usually a line inside a larger renovation rather than a project on its own. In a bathroom it competes with fixtures and plumbing for the budget — what a bathroom remodel costs lays out that split. If the tile is going on a floor, the flooring calculator compares it against the alternatives, and the remodel cost calculator gives the whole-room figure.