How to Calculate Carpet Area

You're hoping to get new carpet, but you're not sure how much it will cost. Because carpet is typically sold by the square foot, the key to figuring this out is to determine the square footage of the room you wish to carpet. This is a fairly basic math problem, and with a few measurements you can calculate carpet area in just a few minutes.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tape measure

1. Measure the width and length of the room you wish to carpet. If the room is an "L" or other odd shape or has a closet, break the room up into imaginary squares or rectangles and figure each section separately.

2. Multiply the length times the width of the room. For example, if the room is 17 feet wide by 21 feet long, 17 x 21 = 357 square feet of floor space.

3. Add the square feet of any extra sections, such as an "L" corner or closet. For our example, there is a 10 foot area on the 17 foot side of the room; 10 x 17 = 170, and 170 + 357 (main room area) = a total carpet area of 527 square feet.

Tips & Warnings

• Adjust for waste that will occur during the cutting and installation process by adding 10 percent to the total area. Here, 10 percent of 527 equals 52.7; 527 plus 53 equals 580 square feet of carpet needed to purchase.

References

• Carpet buyer's handbook