How to use
- Measure the room in feet, the same unit as the tile.
- Enter the tile size. A 2 by 2 tile is 2 and 2. A 2 by 4 tile is 2 and 4, and the count changes if you swap which way the 4-foot side runs.
- Press Calculate. The hero is the tile count. The other lines are the count along each wall.
- Grid runners and wire are not included. Order those from the grid layout, not from this tile count.
How it's calculated
Tiles along the length = room length ÷ tile length, rounded up. Tiles along the width = room width ÷ tile width, rounded up.
Total tiles = those two counts multiplied. Dividing the room area by the tile area and rounding once will under-count when both directions have a partial tile, because those partials are not in the same row.
Worked example
A 12 by 10 foot room with 2 by 2 tiles needs 6 along the length and 5 along the width, which is 30 tiles. The room is 120 square feet and each tile is 4 square feet, so an area method also says 30. The methods part company when a side is not an even multiple: a 13-foot side with a 2-foot tile needs 7 tiles, not 6.5.
Assumptions
A rectangular room and tiles that stay in a grid. Angled ceilings, borders, and a tile you rotate in only part of the room are not handled. No waste percent is added on top of the round-up.
FAQ
Why not divide area by tile area?
That works when both sides divide evenly. When both sides have a remainder, each remainder is a separate strip of tiles, and one strip cannot fill the other.
Does this include the grid?
No. Main runners, cross tees, and hanger wire are a different takeoff. This page is the tile count.
Can I enter inches?
Convert to feet first. A 24-inch tile is 2 feet. Mixing inches and feet will look precise and be wrong.
How is this different from the floor tile page?
Floor tile on this site uses tile size plus a grout joint and a waste percent on the area. A ceiling grid rounds each direction up and has no grout joint in this form.