By Alastair Hazell|Last update: 30 April 2024
Whether you're shopping for carpet or planning a landscaping or home improvement project, square footage is a key metric to understand. So, let's go through the steps involved in calculating it. Further down, we'll also include a handy calculator to help you with your calculation.
- Square Footage Calc
- Price Per Square Foot
- How to Calculate Sq.ft
How to calculate the sq.ft of a room - summary
Measure the length and width of the room in feet. Next, multiply the length and width together to get the square footage. Example: For a room measuring 10 feet wide by 14 feet long, your calculation is 10 × 14 = 140 square feet.
Calculation steps
- Measure your room/space
- Use the square footage formula
- Calculate any irregular shapes
- Use the square ft calculator
- Add a surplus
Having to work out a square footage calculation might give you panicky flashbacks of being late for school. But, don't worry, our guide will show you to calculate square footage accurately. We also explain the formula for square footage, so you'll be able to ace any calculations that come up in your future projects. Let's begin with step 1...
1 Measure your room/space
To calculate the square feet of a rectangular area, you first need to measure two dimensions: the length and the width (note that we discuss irregular shaped areas further down).
- First, measure the longest side to find the length. Take a tape measure and fix one end of it to one end of the longest side. Note the measurement.
- Next, measure the width - the shortest side of the area to be calculated. Repeat the process above and note down that measurement.
2 Use the square footage formula
For step 2, you're going to use the square footage formula:
Length × Width = Area (in square feet)
Note that the same formula applies if you measure in metric. In this case, the area will be expressed in square metres.
Insert your measurements into the formula. You're going to multiply the length measurement (in feet) by the width measurement. This gives you the area of the space in square feet.
You can also use this formula to calculate smaller areas when the area will be expressed in square inches and larger areas in square yards.
As an example, suppose you want to know how much flooring you might need to renovate a room that's 15 feet long × 10 feet wide. Multiply these dimensions:
15 ft × 10 ft = 150 sq. ft
3 Calculate any irregular shapes
Sometimes, you might need to calculate a space that's an addition to the main area or a room that isn't evenly shaped. In these situations, think of the space as separate areas. You may find it helpful to sketch out a quick floor-plan to divide the space into more regular shapes.
- Measure the length and width of each separate area and calculate the area of each in square feet.
- Add your calculations to give you the total area in square feet.
Let's look at an example
Suppose you have a rectangular living room with a narrower dining area attached. Think of the space as being made up of a larger rectangle and a smaller rectangle.
First measure the length and width of the larger section labelled A, then do the same for the smaller section labelled B.
A: 14ft × 10 ft = 140 sq. ft
B: 6 ft × 5 ft = 30 sq. ft.
Now, add both values to calculate the square footage of the room:
140 sq.ft. + 30 sq.ft = 170 sq. ft
So you'll need 170 sq. ft. of flooring materials for this room.
Triangular and circular shapes
It may be that the area you're measuring isn't square or rectangular, but triangular or circular. If this is the case we have a calculator for square footage that includes multiple room and area shapes. We also have instructions for calculating the square footage of a triangle and a circle. These include details of the measurements you will need to take.
Measuring the area of a property
If you're selling a property yourself, you can measure the floor space of an entire home in the same way. Take the measurements of each room in turn, calculate the square footage of each, and then add all the values together to give the total square footage.
4 Use the square ft calculator
Check your calculations using our square footage calculator below.
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5 Add 10% surplus
Once you've calculated the square footage of the area, and know how much material you need to order for your project, adjust it to allow for waste. It's best to order 10% more than you think you'll need rather than the exact square footage.
Mistakes can happen, and if you only have the exact amount you need, you might not be able to source matching materials. If you find that you don't need the extra materials, suppliers are usually happy to refund unused tins of paint or unopened packs of tiles. And if you have space, it can be handy to store the surplus materials for any touch-up repairs that are needed in the future.
If you need to calculate the cost of materials for your project, simply multiply your total square feet figure by the price per square foot of the materials you're going to be using.
Once you've learned how to calculate the square footage of an area, you have a skill that will assist you in all your future renovation, landscaping and construction projects. And if time's short, you can use our handy online square footage calculator.
Your comments
FAQs
To calculate feet squared (or sq. ft. for short), determine the length and width of the area you are working with, measured in feet. Multiply the length by the width and you'll have the square feet. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. ft.
How do I calculate sq ft? ›
To calculate feet squared (or sq. ft. for short), determine the length and width of the area you are working with, measured in feet. Multiply the length by the width and you'll have the square feet. Here's a basic formula you can follow: Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. ft.
How many square feet is a 12x12 room? ›
To measure square footage, multiply the length and width of the room in feet. In the case of a 12x12 room, simply multiply 12 by 12, resulting in 144 square feet.
How do you calculate area in square feet? ›
How do you convert area size? You can apply this basic formula to convert area size. Length (in feet) x width (in feet) = area in sq. ft. Multiply the length by the width to have the square feet.
What is 10 ft in square feet? ›
To get this answer, compute the area in sq ft as 10 × 10 = 100 sq ft and recall that 1 sq ft = 0.0929 sq m .
What is the formula for calculating area? ›
The basic formula for calculating area is Length times Width (LxW). If you are estimating the area for a rectangle you'll always use LxW. If you are calculating the area for a square you can multiply the length of one Side times itself, or (S2). The illustration above shows a room 12′ wide by 20′ long.
How do you convert ft to sq ft? ›
Assume you have a rectangular area such as a room and, for example, you want to calculate the square footage area for flooring or carpet. The way to calculate a rectangular area is by measuring the length and width of your area then multiplying those two numbers together to get the area in feet squared (ft2).
How big is a 250 sq ft room? ›
The room would likely be a mid-sized master bedroom (not including the bath) or a mid-sized living room. It could also be a portion of a finished basem*nt in a split-level home built in the 70s. Question : How big is a room that is 250 square feet ? (c) length 20 feet; width 12.5 feet.
What size is a 200 sq ft room? ›
." Measure the length and width of your space, then sum up all together to find the total square footage of the entire area. Furthermore, the basic measurements of a 200-square-foot area can be 20 feet long by 10 feet wide, or 25 feet long by 8 feet wide.
How many square feet is 8x8? ›
Square footage: 64 sq. ft.
In math, the square formula calculates the square of any number, square of a = a2 = a × a, such as the square of 5 is 5 × 5 = 25.
What is the formula for calculating area square? ›
A square is a 2D figure in which all the sides are of equal measure. Since all the sides are equal, the area would be length times width, which is equal to side × side.
How do I figure out how much is per square foot? ›
Price per square foot is typically calculated by dividing the purchase or list price of a home by the overall total square footage of the home. For example, if a 1,000 square feet home is priced at $200,000, the price per square foot is $200. Price per square foot is a metric frequently used in real estate.
How do you calculate square footage? ›
Measure the length and width, in feet, of each room. Then, multiply the length by the width to calculate that room's square footage. For example: If a bedroom is 12 feet by 20 feet, it is 240 square feet (12 x 20 = 240). For each room, write the total square footage in the corresponding space on your sketch.
How many sq ft is 12x12? ›
So if a bedroom is 12 feet wide and 12 feet long, it is 144 square feet total (12 x 12 = 144 sqft). Basically, the square footage of the room is the total area or size of the space.
What is the formula for square feet to feet? ›
Apply the Square Footage Formula
The next step in how to calculate square footage is to plug your measurements into the square footage formula: L x W = A (in square feet). How to find square feet: multiply the length measurement in feet by the width measurement (in feet).
How many square feet is 10x10? ›
Dining room: 10 feet by 10 ft = 100 square feet.
What is 5 feet by 5 feet in square feet? ›
5'x5' This size unit yields 25 square feet of space. Although these 5x5 units are small, they are an excellent size to store all of your extra items, like garden tools, seasonal items, office supplies, or your miscellaneous boxes.
How many sq ft is 4x8? ›
if it's 4 ft x 8 ft, then it's 32 square feet. if it's 4 yds x 8 yds, then it's 32 square yards or it's 288 square feet.
How do you figure out how much per square foot? ›
Price per square foot is typically calculated by dividing the purchase or list price of a home by the overall total square footage of the home. For example, if a 1,000 square feet home is priced at $200,000, the price per square foot is $200. Price per square foot is a metric frequently used in real estate.
