Tile Layout, Grout and Box Order Calculator

Compare tile counts and edge cuts across three starting positions.
Include openings, joints and reserve, then save your box order and layout.

Combine surfaces using the same product, color and lot. Dimensions are in mm, to one decimal place. Offcuts are not reused in other positions.

1. Measured surfaces and openings

Opening coordinates start at the original top-left corner, before perimeter gaps. Openings must stay inside the surface and cannot overlap.

Surface 1

2. Actual tile dimensions and pattern

Pitch = tile width + joint. The first visible row is unshifted; even rows move right. Three starting positions are compared automatically. A 50% stagger is not permitted for every product.

3. Reserve and box quote

Complete the inputs to compare tile counts, boxes and three layouts.

Check the layout before ordering tile boxes

This calculator counts tile positions on rectangular walls and floors, including joints, edge cuts and openings.
Dividing the surface area by the area of one tile can miss the extra blanks needed when small pieces at the edges cannot be recovered from other cuts.
Material with enough total area may still have the wrong shape or direction for the remaining positions.

Compare three starting positions under the same measured conditions, then round the required tiles to complete boxes.
This is a purchasing worksheet for discussion with your supplier and installer, not a site survey or an installation approval.
All calculations use geometric measurements rather than country-specific building rules.

Your next step

Save the layout and order report, then confirm actual tile dimensions, matching shade and production lot, tiles per box and delivery availability with the supplier.
A matching product name alone does not establish that a later order will match your existing tiles.

Measurements and product information to collect

Surface and perimeter gap

Enter width and height in mm, looking straight at the wall or down at the floor.
The perimeter gap is removed from each of the four sides and is separate from the joints between tiles.
Use the gap specified for your installation; reducing a gap to reduce the order is not a sound basis for choosing it.

Actual tile size and packaging

Check actual face dimensions instead of assuming that the product’s nominal size is exact.
Confirm the number of tiles per box rather than inferring it from a stated coverage area.
To compare a rotated rectangular tile, swap width and height and calculate again, checking the pattern direction separately.

Windows, doors and excluded areas

Each rectangular opening needs its top-left coordinates and its width and height.
Coordinates are measured from the original surface corner before perimeter gaps are removed.
Equal opening areas can remove different tile counts depending on their position in the grid.

Price and product notes

Enter the confirmed price of a box, using consistent tax treatment.
Record the specification revision, quote date, product and lot in the optional note.
KRW and USD are labels, with no exchange conversion.
An unknown price should not be entered as zero; zero is only for a confirmed free box.

Three starts and a two-row stagger

Corner start

The first tile starts at the top-left corner of the usable surface after perimeter gaps.
Cuts tend to collect at the right and bottom edges.
Check the visible edges and any narrow last pieces before choosing this arrangement.

Tile centered and joint centered

Tile centered places a tile’s center at the usable surface center.
Joint centered places the crossing joint centerlines there instead.
Straight grids are symmetric at opposite edges but can require different numbers of blanks.
Each comparison applies the same start type to all surfaces; it does not optimize a mixture of different starts across surfaces.

Alternating rows

The first visible row stays at the base position and even rows shift right.
The shift is a percentage of pitch: tile width plus joint width.
Row three repeats row one, so this is not a progressively advancing three-row pattern.
The input limit of 50% is an application limit, not a manufacturer recommendation or permission.

How tiles become a box order

Pitch = tile dimension + joint width
Base tiles N = sum of occupied tile cells across surfaces
Reserve R = ceil(N × reserve percent ÷ 100)
Boxes B = ceil((N + R) ÷ tiles per box)
Order cost = B × confirmed box price

ceil means rounding upward to an integer.
Base tiles are combined first, then reserve and box rounding are applied once for the matching product.
Rounding boxes separately for each surface can produce a different total.

A tile merely touching a boundary without any remaining area is not counted.
A tile fully covered by an opening is removed; a cell with any remaining tile area needs one source tile.
Edge trimming or an internal opening makes that source tile a cut blank, but does not indicate saw-cut count or fragment count.

No offcut is reused in another cell or surface, in any direction.
Several remaining fragments within the same original cell still count as one source tile.
Saw kerf, fragile internal cuts and practical fabrication are not simulated.
A confirmed cutting plan may change the actual quantity, so the result is a conservative no-reuse purchasing model rather than a cutting guarantee.

Step-by-step use

  1. Group surfaces using the same product and enter their dimensions. Measure at several positions and check squareness before choosing the dimensions for the model.
  2. Add windows, doors and excluded rectangles by position. Tile-covered window reveals or returns need their own surfaces.
  3. Enter actual tile size, confirmed joint width and perimeter gaps. If using a stagger, verify permission and express the shift as a percentage of pitch.
  4. Enter an additional breakage or repair reserve, tiles per box and price. Confirm the product conditions and calculate.
  5. Compare the three result cards, select a layout and inspect its surfaces. Editing any input hides previous results until you calculate again.

Worked example: the start changes the order

Use a fictional 1,000 × 600 mm surface, 300 × 300 mm tiles, zero joints and perimeter gaps, a straight pattern, 10% reserve, 6 tiles per box and 30,000 KRW per box.
Zero joint width only simplifies this arithmetic example; it is not installation advice.

Corner start

8 base = 6 whole + 2 cut.
1 reserve gives a target of 9.
2 boxes buy 12 tiles, with 3 pack extra.
Cost: 60,000 KRW

Tile centered

15 base = 3 whole + 12 cut.
2 reserve gives a target of 17.
3 boxes buy 18 tiles, with 1 pack extra.
Cost: 90,000 KRW

Joint centered

8 base = 4 whole + 4 cut.
1 reserve gives a target of 9.
2 boxes buy 12 tiles, with 3 pack extra.
Cost: 60,000 KRW

The lowest cost among these starts does not identify the best installation.
Fixtures, visible surfaces, narrow edge pieces and pattern direction may change your choice.
Use the box difference for purchasing discussions alongside an installer’s review of the layout.

Joint boundaries and opening positions

An exact fit including joints

Three 300 mm tiles with two 1 mm internal joints span 902 mm.
A 902 × 601 mm surface therefore takes six whole tiles from a corner.
At width 902.1 mm, the added strip lies in the next joint and does not add a tile.
At 903.1 mm, a very narrow part of the next tile enters the surface.
The real edge treatment may require changing this layout.

Why area deduction is insufficient

A 600 × 300 mm surface takes two 300 mm square tiles with zero joints.
A 300 × 300 mm opening covering the entire left cell removes one tile.
A 150 × 300 mm opening there leaves both source tiles necessary, with one cut blank.
The diagram and row counts explain why less area may still mean the same order.

Pack extra and repair reserve are different

Pack rounding extra is purchased tiles minus the target, including reserve.
Unused versus the base layout subtracts only the base count, so it includes reserve.
In the corner example, 12 purchased minus 9 target gives 3 pack extra, while 12 minus 8 base gives 4 unused versus base.
Neither figure includes scraps from cut tiles.

Plan how you will store spare tiles

Keep the lot label with any intact tiles saved for repairs and record the actual quantity remaining.
Breakage may consume the reserve during installation, so the estimated unused count is not a guaranteed repair stock.
Check unopened-box return terms with the supplier and retain consistent lot and size information.

Use cases, limits and exclusions

  • Combine bathroom walls using matching tiles, including each door or window. Calculate a different floor product separately.
  • Compare tile or joint centering on a kitchen wall against your fixture positions. The calculator does not automatically align to fixtures.
  • Swap rectangular tile dimensions to compare orientation. Mixed orientations within a pattern are not supported.
  • Surfaces are independent planes. Pattern continuation around corners, diagonal patterns, herringbone, curves, polygons and slope layout optimization are excluded.

Enter up to 6 surfaces and 4 nonoverlapping openings per surface.
Surface dimensions are 10–30,000 mm; tile dimensions are 10–3,000 mm.
Joint width is 0–20 mm and must be smaller than each tile dimension and usable surface dimension; perimeter gaps are 0–100 mm per side.
Dimensions and percentages allow one decimal place, prices two; reserve is 0–100%, pack count is an integer from 1–1,000, and price is at most 10,000,000 currency units.
A layout exceeding 20,000 candidate cells is withheld.
Previews above 2,000 tiles per surface are omitted, but complete SVG downloads remain available.
These are application limits, not building or product standards.

Frequently asked questions

Why is this higher than an area calculation?

Each partly used edge tile can require a whole source tile.
This model excludes offcut reuse, so it differs from an area-based minimum.

What joint width should I enter?

Use your product specification and installer’s confirmed value.
Actual dimensions, warping and intended use vary, so no universal default is supplied.

Does it calculate grout or adhesive quantity?

No.
Joint width positions the tile grid only; grout volume, adhesive demand and labor are separate.

Can offcuts reduce the order?

Possibly, after checking direction, dimensions and kerf on site.
Reuse in all directions is excluded here, so do not deduct tiles without a separate cutting plan.

What if openings overlap?

Calculation is withheld to avoid double deduction.
Divide the actual excluded area into nonoverlapping rectangles and enter their positions.

Are cut blanks the number of cuts?

No.
They count source tiles needing fabrication.
Multiple trimmed edges or an internal hole still count as one blank; complexity and saw operations require separate review.

Can an opening cover an entire surface?

Yes.
If the whole usable surface is excluded, its base count is zero.
If all surfaces have zero base tiles, reserve and box order are also zero.

What do the downloads contain?

TXT includes the note, all inputs, opening coordinates and totals and row counts for all three starts.
SVG contains the complete selected surface layout as a planning sketch, not a fabrication drawing.

Manufacturer sources and review date

Sources checked on 2026-09-23.
Daltile’s wall installation guide supports checking a trial layout with centerlines, consistent joints and edge cuts.
Its large-format joint guidance explains why permitted stagger depends on the product.
Marazzi’s FAQ explains shade, dye lot, caliber and their box markings.
No product dimensions, prices or universal joint recommendation were adopted as calculator constants.

No statutory rates or building-compliance tests apply in this calculator.
Recheck joint width, layout restrictions, actual size and pack count when product information changes.
Cost is the arithmetic total of your box quote; current retail prices are not retrieved.

Take the layout and order list to your supplier

Select a result card, inspect each surface and save the TXT and relevant SVG files.
Calculate different products or colors separately and name the files accordingly.
Confirm matching lot and pack count with the supplier, then ask the installer to review narrow edge pieces and internal opening cuts before ordering.

For other project decisions, use the interior cost calculator or the paint coverage and can combination calculator.

Related calculators