How to Figure Out How Much Carpet Is Needed for a Room?

Carpeting is priced per the square yard, so before you purchase any for a room, you must calculate its dimensions in square yards. Beyond the amount needed to cover a room, you must purchase additional carpeting to cover waste, especially if you are installing carpet with a pattern, which requires matching at the seams. Once you complete all your measurements and calculations, you are ready to purchase the carpet.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Calculator

Instructions

1. Use a tape measure to measure the width of the room from the farthest point on one side to the farthest point on the other. If there is a doorway, measure to the outer part of the door frame. If there is a closet, measure into the closet as the farthest point.

2. Measure the length of the room from the farthest point on one side to the farthest point on the other. If there are doorways or closets, measure through the doorway to the outer part of the door frame or into the farthest wall of the closet.

3. Multiply the length by the width to find the square feet. For instance, if the room's length is 12 and the width is 15, you would multiply 12 by 15, for a total of 180 square feet.

4. Divide the square footage by 9 (there are 9 feet to a square yard) to find the square yards needed to carpet the room. For example, if you have 180 square feet, the calculation is 180 ÷ 9 = 20 square yards.

5. Multiply 20 square yards by 10 percent to determine how much additional carpet you need to account for waste. For example, if your room is 20 square yards, you would multiply 20 by .10, meaning you need an extra 2 square yards. The total square yards needed for a 12-by-15 room would be 22 square yards.

References

• Colorado State University: Selecting Carpeting for Your Home
• Bankrate: How Much Carpet Will You Need?