Square Footage Calculator
A square footage calculator finds the area of a space by multiplying its length by its width, giving the result in square feet. For a rectangular room or surface, that is all it takes. Enter your length and width below to get the square footage, the starting number for paint, flooring, tile and many other materials.
Supports multiple rectangles added together for L-shaped rooms.
- Square feet
- 0 sq ft
- Square yards
- 0 sq yd
Enter your dimensions to see the area.
Estimate only. Densities, yields and prices vary by supplier, moisture and region; confirm before ordering.
How Do You Calculate Square Footage?
To calculate square footage, multiply the length by the width of the space in feet. A room 12 feet long and 10 feet wide is 120 square feet. For L-shaped or irregular rooms, split the space into rectangles, calculate each, and add them together. The calculator lets you add multiple areas for exactly this. Square footage is the base figure for estimating paint, flooring, tile, drywall and more.
How Do You Find Square Footage of an Irregular Room?
For an irregular or L-shaped room, divide it into simple rectangles, find the square footage of each by multiplying length by width, then add the results. A room shaped like an L becomes two rectangles. This method works for almost any floor plan, and the calculator supports adding multiple sections so you get one total square footage for ordering materials.
What Do You Use Square Footage For?
Square footage is the starting point for any surface-based material: paint coverage, flooring boxes, tile counts, drywall sheets, wallpaper and more. Most product coverage is quoted per square foot, so once you have an accurate square footage you can size any of these. That is why this calculator links directly to the paint, flooring, tile and drywall calculators that build on the number.
Used by these material calculators
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How Do You Calculate Square Footage?
Formula
Square Footage = Length (ft) x Width (ft)
- Measure the length of the space in feet, wall to wall.
- Measure the width of the space in feet, wall to wall.
- If any measurement is in inches, divide it by 12 to convert to feet (for example, 6 in / 12 = 0.5 ft).
- Multiply length by width to get the area in square feet.
- For an L-shaped or irregular room, split it into rectangles, calculate each, and add the results.
Worked example
A room 12 feet long and 10 feet wide is 12 x 10 = 120 square feet. For an L-shaped room made of a 12 x 10 section and a 6 x 4 section: (12 x 10) + (6 x 4) = 120 + 24 = 144 square feet.
- Measure wall to wall, not including baseboards, which can throw off the result.
- For triangular areas, multiply base by height and divide by 2. For circles, multiply the radius squared by 3.14.
- When buying materials like flooring or tile, order about 10 percent extra for cuts and waste.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate square footage?
- Multiply length by width in feet. A 12 by 10 foot room is 120 square feet. For irregular rooms, split into rectangles and add their areas.
- How do I find the square footage of a room?
- Measure the length and width in feet and multiply them. For L-shaped rooms, divide into rectangles, calculate each, and sum the results.
- What is square footage used for?
- It is the base figure for surface materials like paint, flooring, tile and drywall, whose coverage is quoted per square foot.
- How do you calculate the square footage of a house?
- Divide the house into measurable rectangular sections, calculate the square footage of each (length times width in feet), and add them together. Exclude unfinished or unheated spaces that do not count as living area.
- Why do you divide by 144 to get square footage?
- You divide by 144 only when your measurements are in inches, because there are 144 square inches in a square foot (12 x 12). If you measure in feet, you multiply length by width directly.