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Calculators / Materials

How much tile for your backsplash?

Measure each stretch of wall from the counter to the upper cabinets. Pick your tile. You'll get square feet with waste, the tile count and the boxes.

These are example numbers. Put in yours.

Your wall

How many wall sections?

Split it where the height changes, like behind the range.

in

Along the counter, end to end.

in

Counter to the upper cabinets. 18 in is typical.

in
in
sq ft

A window in the wall. Skip outlets, they're too small to matter.

The tile

Tile size
Pattern
sq ft

On the box label. Leave blank for a typical box.

Order this much

20.1 sq ft of tile

That's 161 tiles (3 × 6 subway), or 2 boxes at 12.5 sq ft. It includes 10% for cuts and breakage.

Wall
18.3 sq ft
With waste
20.1 sq ft
Tiles
161
Boxes
212.5 sq ft a box
See 3 × 6 subway tile on Amazon

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section 1 = 96 in × 18 in ÷ 144 = 12 sq ft

section 2 = 30 in × 30 in ÷ 144 = 6.3 sq ft

with waste = 18.3 × 1.1 = 20.1 sq ft (10% for a straight lay)

one tile = 3 × 6 in ÷ 144 = 0.125 sq ft

tiles = 20.1 ÷ 0.125 = 161, rounded up

boxes = 20.1 ÷ 12.5 sq ft a box = 2, rounded up

Mastic or thinset

Premixed mastic is fine for small ceramic on a dry backsplash wall. Glass and stone go in white thinset.

Grout

Joints 1/8 in or tighter take unsanded grout. Wider joints take sanded. Subway usually goes 1/16 in.

See tile spacers on Amazon
Outlets

Tile pushes the wall out past your outlet boxes. Box extenders bring the devices back flush.

See outlet box extenders on Amazon
Box size

We used 12.5 sq ft a box, which is typical. Check the label and put in the real number.

Spares

Keep a few spare tiles after the job. Dye lots change, and a match is hard to find later.

How we work it out

We add up the wall area, take out any window, add waste, and divide by the tile and box size.

sq ft = length in × height in ÷ 144

order = sq ft × 1.10, or × 1.15 for diagonal and herringbone

tiles = order ÷ (tile width × tile length ÷ 144), rounded up

Boxes get rounded up too. Box sizes vary by brand, so put in the number on the label if you have it. The standard gap between counter and uppers is 18 in. Behind a range it's often taller, so give that its own section.

Tile 15 in or longer on a side is large format. Set it in thinset, not premixed mastic.

Where the numbers come from

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