Enrichment · Passion Projects · Home and garden

Lay out the tile
before you buy it.

Type the surface and the tile. The estimator lays out the grid with the grout joints, shows where the cuts fall and how wide they are, and counts the tiles and boxes with breakage and the waste that leaves.

Lay out the tileWhat you get

The tile layout estimator

The worked example is a made-up laundry room floor in 12-inch tile. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

Loading the calculator. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
Tiles across and down, full and cut tiles, the narrowest cut, tiles and boxes to buy and the waste share. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Families planning a tiling project, construction trades students, and students practising measurement and remainders.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Measure the surface in inches, wall to wall.
  2. Type the real tile size and the grout joint.
  3. Choose centred, corner or diagonal.
  4. Check the narrowest cut for slivers.
  5. Buy the boxes, plus one for future repairs.

Lay out the tile

How the layout is worked out

Divide, look at the remainder, decide where the cuts go.

The worked example: a laundry room floor, 96 by 70 inchesTile + joint12.125 in12 in + ⅛ in groutAcross9 tiles96 in, cuts centredDown7 tiles70 in, cuts centredTo buy67 tiles63 + 5% breakageThe worked example: a laundry room floor, 96 by 70 inchesTile + joint12.125 in12 in + ⅛ in groutAcross9 tiles96 in, cuts centredDown7 tiles70 in, cuts centredTo buy67 tiles63 + 5% breakage
Lay the grid first; the tile count, the cuts and the waste all follow from it.

Remainders become cuts

Dividing the surface by the tile plus its joint gives whole tiles and a remainder. Starting from one corner puts the whole remainder on the far wall, sometimes as a thin sliver. Centring splits it between opposite walls, and if each half would be under a third of a tile, setters drop one full tile so the cuts are wider and look intentional.

Waste and spares

Each cut tile is paid for in full, the offcut is usually scrap, and some tiles crack while cutting. Rounding up to whole boxes adds more. In a large room 10 to 15 percent left over is normal for a straight lay; in a small one most tiles are cut and the share can pass 30 percent. Keep a few tiles from the same lot, because a later batch may not match.

Sources

  1. Tile Council of North America. TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation (tcnatile.com).
  2. ANSI A108/A118/A136. American National Standard Specifications for the Installation of Ceramic Tile (via tcnatile.com).
  3. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Division with remainders in measurement contexts (nctm.org).
  4. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Silica dust when cutting tile and stone (osha.gov).

The worked example is made up. Follow the tile maker’s joint and installation guidance. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.