how to find square feet of a room

When you move into a new home, wondering how to estimate square feet of a room might not be your main concern. However, when you begin to decorate you may realize how important square footage is. Understanding what size floor space you have to work with will help you be more economical when purchasing materials.

Why do I need to know how to measure square footage of a room?

There are lots of reasons why you might need to calculate the square feet of your home. Some homeowners may need this information when listing a property for sale. Others may want to know the square footage of their home to dispute a tax assessment. The most popular reason, however, is to renovate the floor of a building.

It is essential to know how to work out the square footage of a room when planning on buying new flooring. Thankfully, figuring out your square footage is incredibly easy! To measure the square footage of a room, you must first find the square footage of all areas of the room you intend on installing new flooring on. This includes all nooks and crannies. Once you've done that, simply add each measurement together.

What's a square foot?

A square foot is a unit of measurement measuring 1 foot x 1 foot. If an area is 200 square feet, it means the area can be divided into 200 squares which have sides of 1 foot in equilateral length.

Check and check again

Planning a floor renovation takes time and lots of measurements. You should always double-check then triple-check your measurements – especially if you're ordering flooring online. Once you know the exact amount of flooring you will need, you should order approximately 5-10% more. This will prevent you from paying double shipping costs should you need to order additional materials.

Prior to ordering, you will also need to check out how many square feet of flooring comes in each box. This will depend on the material you are using as well as the manufacturer. Some manufacturers offer online calculators to help you figure out what you need. Simply enter the amount of materials that you need, and the calculator will tell you how many boxes you'll require.

How do I calculate the square footage of a room?

Many people think the square feet equation involves multiplying the width of a room by its length. While this is true, things can get complicated if your room isn't a perfect rectangle. There are several methods for working out square footage. The best one to use will depend on the layout of your space. Let's take a look at some easy steps to work out square footage:

How to measure square footage of a room

It is very easy to compute square footage of a room of standard widths/lengths. All you need to do is multiply the length of the room by the width of the room. From example, if a room is 10 feet wide and 15 feet long, you would multiply 10 x 15. This would mean you would require 150 square feet of flooring to renovate the room.

Calculate the square footage of a room with closets

Some closets are built into the shape of the room. If there are closets in a room which can't be moved, you will have to install flooring around them. To do this you should split the room into separate areas.

Consider closets and other fixtures which cannot be moved as separate from the floor and measure them individually. Keep a note of the individual measurements of each closet. Next, measure the area of the overall room (width x length). Subtract the measurements of your closets from the overall measurement of the room – this is how to convert room measurements to square feet.

Calculate the square footage of an oddly-shaped room

Rooms with complex shapes can be difficult to figure out. Some people try to figure out the square footage with a single calculation. This is where problems begin! The easiest way to calculate the square footage of an odd-shaped room is to divide it into even shapes, like squares or rectangles. You should then measure each of these shapes and multiply their lengths by their widths. Each of these multiplications can then be added together to give you the overall square footage of your room.

Consider waste

When installing a new floor, you should always consider the waste factor. When ordering flooring materials, you should add around 10% to your total square footage. This is because some materials will become damaged due to errors, accidents and additional cuts. There's nothing more frustrating than running out of materials during installation. Avoid this by adding an additional 10% for waste onto your flooring order.

Consider asking a professional

If you are not confident with your calculation skills, you may want to hire an expert. A construction expert skilled in floor installations should be able to help work out square footage easily. It can also be worthwhile hiring a flooring installation worker if you have an odd-shaped room. If you are uncertain of how to correctly calculate, you may want to contact us. We can help you understand how to work out square footage of a house.

How do I figure out square feet from inches?

It might be the case that your room is not built to exact feet. In this case, you may want to calculate in inches instead. This can help you to be more accurate with your measurements. There are 12 inches in a foot. To convert your square footage measurement to inches, simply multiply your measurements by 12. To convert your square inches measurement to feet, divide by 12.

calculating the square footage — Calculating the sq ft

How do I figure our square feet from meters?

One square meter equals 10.76 square feet. To calculate square feet from meters, you should multiply the number of meters by 10.76.

Choosing materials

If you are on a budget, the square footage of your room may influence your choice of flooring material. Large rooms require more materials, so you might want to consider lighter woods or composites in this case. If you would like more information on types of flooring, why not get in touch with Rhodium Floors today? Our friendly and experienced team will be happy to discuss your requirements.