How to calculate the required number of tiles?

The correct calculation of the number of ceramic tiles will allow you to complete the repair on time and at an optimal cost. How many elements to stick on a local area, for example, near a washbasin, is easy to determine without calculations. Incorrect calculation for large cladding areas is fraught with two extremes: work stoppage due to the inability to purchase specific materials or unreasonable costs.

To minimize errors, take into account:

• Material parameters. The sizes of the tiles, the number of colors depend on the design and offers on the market. Only after choosing the necessary samples in the store, they begin to calculate.
• Styling option. For rooms with a predominance of right angles, the arrangement of rows parallel to the walls is suitable. There will be less clipping and easier calculation. Diagonal placement will improve the visual perception of irregular floor and ceiling shapes, but will complicate the calculation.
• Fit to pattern. A complex ornament will require an additional 5% purchase to the calculated amount of finishing material.

• The presence of decorative inserts. For each type of such elements, a separate count is required.
• The thickness of the joint between the tiles. The importance of the parameter increases as the size of the tile decreases: the seams become larger, and 4 millimeters of the seam will become 2 centimeters after 5 tiles. The seam sizes range from 2 to 10 millimeters.
• Stock for fight and pruning. A standard stock is considered to be 10% of the calculated amount of tiles, diagonal and other non-standard types of laying increase it by 5-10%.

Calculation using specialized programs gives a more accurate result. The virtual three-dimensional model allows you to lay out on all surfaces, change the types of tiles and decorative elements, calculate the main consumption and trimming, the number of finishing elements and glue. Only expensive commercial products have such capabilities; it is impractical to buy them for one-time use.

Free apps and online calculators are suitable for standard ceramics and rooms with simple geometries. Calculations with their help do not differ in accuracy, since they do not take into account the variety of parameters of a specific repair.

There are three methods to calculate the need for tiles yourself: by the piece, by area, according to the scheme. Each method, individually or in combination, will provide the required computational accuracy.

Tiles of rectangular and square shapes are called standard. Trade enterprises sell it with an indication of the size of one product. The required amount is calculated in square meters or by the piece.

The first stage in both versions is the calculation of the area for finishing:

• Measure the dimensions of the room, the dimensions of the door, window, bath. The height of the room is taken into account up to the level of the cladding.
• Calculate separately the area of ​​the walls, floor, ceiling, apron (if any).
• For each surface, it is required to exclude areas on which there will be no installation: doors, window openings. If you decide to do without facing the surface behind the bathroom, subtract it too.
• Sum all values.

When finishing with one type of tile on all surfaces, the amount is rounded up to the nearest whole - this will be the desired value in square meters. If the floor and ceiling tiles are of a different size, calculations are made for each surface separately.

Piecewise counting has a smaller error. And for rooms with complex geometry, it is he who gives the best result. The number of pieces is obtained by dividing the total surface area by the area of ​​the material unit. Round it up and add 10% for fit.

Calculating the area of ​​a rectangle is easy. It is necessary to increase the width and length of the tile by the thickness of the seam and multiply. But the tiled design allows for many other shapes with varying numbers of angles, from three to eight. In this case, it is not always possible to calculate the area, since the required dimensions may not be indicated on the package. For such cases, a different approach to calculation is required.

Geometric shapes that are difficult to calculate include not only the listed polyhedrons, but also those figures for which there is no definite name: they have many different angles and smooth lines. The surface with such a coating looks impressive, but the first time it is not always possible to understand how to calculate their area and number.

They implement the tile in square meters, and if the budget allows, you can calculate the tile in meters, based on the square of the room. In this case, the calculation will be the same as for standard tiles, but the percentage of trimming will increase to 30. A more accurate result will be given by the piece calculation.

For non-standard products, manufacturers indicate not sizes, but the number of pieces in one square meter. This will help with piece counting, but you can't do without creating a drawing. The dimensions of the surface are marked on graph paper to scale.

A tile pattern is cut out of thick paper according to the dimensions that were obtained in the store when sampling. With its help, "laying" is done along two adjacent walls. Multiplying the obtained values, the main consumption is found in pieces. Laying cardboard "tiles" in the drawing in places of irregular shape (indentations, protrusions), you can calculate more accurately and trim.

If the design requires the use of several colors of the same type of tile, they need to be painted over in the drawing with different colors. Count the number of solid color items in one row. The obtained values ​​are multiplied by the number of rows. This approach is used for all colors.

All surfaces are finished with mirror tiles. Samples are produced with and without a facet, with edges sharpened at an angle. When calculating the number of differences between tiles and mirror material, there are no differences. But due to fragility, you need to increase the supply for a battle by 5%.

Even when using two standard sizes, the calculation method depends on their relative position. If the styling is standard (the seams are lined up), then you can calculate both in meters and in pieces.

A popular option is alternating horizontal rows of rectangular tiles of different heights, allows you to calculate the need for square meters:

• On the vertical side of the wall, segments are marked out equal to the sum of both heights with seams.
• The number of rows is multiplied by the total area of ​​the two samples.
• The square of the cladding, minus the openings, is divided by the result obtained.
• The area of ​​each type of tile is found by dividing by two.

This method can be used for other options with a basic layout, if the widths of the larger and smaller tiles are multiples: 45 and 15, 30 and 10. Using several frieze strips will reduce the number of the main tile: their total area is conventionally considered not to be finished and subtracted.

Ceramics with a pattern makes their own adjustments to the calculation.The ornament connects several cladding elements into one composition, it can be in the form of a border, be located in the center, cover the surface completely or in a mosaic way.

In this case, the calculation is done in a combined way - by footage and by the piece. A cladding scheme is preliminarily developed for each surface. Work on the drawing starts from the central elements or panels.

After calculating the number of pieces with an ornament, find their total area. Then subtract it from the facing surface. The consumption of the main tile is counted in meters.

In some cases, one composition can be located on two rectangles or four squares that cover the entire surface. This fact does not complicate the calculations: the parts are considered as one element and a standard calculation is made.

The number of one type of tile per square meter with different laying options will differ. The calculation can only be performed according to the exact scheme. After marking the dimensions of the surface on paper in a cage (graph paper), they begin to draw the tiles, depending on the type of masonry.

• Herringbone called a layout when narrow rectangular strips are placed at right angles to each other. To begin with, draw a line through the center of the room and from it begin to draw individual elements along the entire length, then width. Multiply the numbers obtained. It will be impossible to accurately calculate the trimming, therefore another 15% is added to the number of pieces obtained.
• In option "Christmas trees with attachment" additional tiles of a smaller size are drawn on the diagram. They are counted by hand.

• For masonry in the form of a carpet use a large number of tiles of different shapes and colors. Before laying them out, lines are drawn through the centers of opposite sides. From the point of their intersection, they begin to form a carpet pattern. First, the number of tiles for the inner plane is calculated, then along the perimeter.
• Spreading masonry has several variations. "Brick" requires the beginning of each tile to coincide with the middle of the adjacent one, "deck" - a third shift. A good choice for this type of masonry is a voluminous hog tile. Its peculiarity is the presence of beveled edges at an angle of 45 ° - facets.

• Diagonal - difficult to calculate type of installation with a waste amount of 15%.

The diagram is drawn as follows:

1. diagonals are drawn from the corners of the room;
2. on one pair of rays, tile squares of the required size are drawn;
3. lay out the rest and count whole tiles;
4. count the halves around the perimeter.

It is important to mark the first diagonal correctly. For narrow spaces, it can pass through the center of the short side. For rooms with irregular shapes - next to one of the walls so that the corners of the tiles touch it. In this case, you can use it for cutting halves and reduce consumption.

After finishing laying the tiles, the seams are rubbed with a jointing agent. Fugue consumption per 1 square meter of tiles is calculated by the product of the joint length (in m2) and the grout consumption coefficient in grams.

The length of the seam is calculated by the formula: Lsh = (W + D) x (1 / (WxL)), where W is the width of the tile, D is the length.

Consumption coefficient Кр = Joint depth х Joint width х 1.5.

• When buying a tile, you need to ask about the possibility of purchasing a few pieces. Not all sellers are willing to offer this.
• The tiles are sold in packs indicating the number of square meters in each. When calculating the required number of packs, the quotient from dividing the need for a tile by the square of one package is always rounded up to whole numbers.
• The presence of tiles behind and under the bathroom is optional. Often these surfaces are hidden by an apron. But even in this case, the waterproofing will be weakened, which will lead to the appearance of mold in the wettest and most adjacent room.
• Do not lay tiles close to uneven walls.First, a line is drawn at a distance and work begins from it. For uneven places, pieces of different sizes are used - they also need to be calculated.

• If there is no skill in calculating a carpet or diagonal cladding scheme, then it is better to entrust it to a professional: in some stores a special computer program may be installed.
• For cases of finishing with an expensive coating, piece-by-piece calculation can be made more accurate if we take into account the nuances:

1. Door and window openings are rarely "laid out" with a whole number of tiles: trimming must be done along the entire perimeter of the hole. Replacing the total area of ​​a door or window with one that only whole elements will occupy will make the calculation more accurate. This will reduce the number of spare tiles by 5%.
2. If the last tile in the row has more than half of the cut piece, then it can be used for the next row. As a result, the number of whole tiles will be significantly reduced.

You can learn how to lay tiles on the floor with your own hands from the video below.