Paint · Tile · Flooring · Concrete · Mulch
How much material does your project need?
A gallon of paint covers about 350 square feet — on smooth, primed drywall, with that brand, in that finish. Change the surface, the colour or the brand and the answer changes. BuildCalc estimates paint, tile, flooring, concrete, mulch, drywall, wallpaper and decking from your measurements, using manufacturer coverage data and standard trade formulas — and says clearly that every result is an estimate.
Browse All 32 Calculators Paint Guides Tile Guides
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Every calculator, grouped
Paint calculators
How much paint and primer, and what it costs — as ranges, by brand, finish, surface and region. Never a single guessed number.
Paint Calculator
How much paint for a room
Paint Cost Calculator
What will the paint cost
Ceiling Paint Calculator
Paint for a ceiling
Trim and Door Paint Calculator
Paint for trim and doors
Exterior Paint Calculator
Paint for a house exterior
Fence and Deck Paint Calculator
Paint or stain for fence and deck
Paint Primer Calculator
How much primer
Paint Coverage Calculator
How far will this paint go
Tile, flooring & wallpaper
Tiles, planks, carpet, wallpaper, grout and adhesive — counted with the waste allowance each layout actually needs.
Tile Calculator
How many tiles and boxes
Flooring Calculator
Square feet to buy, any material
Laminate Flooring Calculator
Laminate planks and boxes
Vinyl Plank Flooring Calculator
LVP planks and boxes
Hardwood Flooring Calculator
Hardwood boxes and linear feet
Carpet Calculator
Square yards, seams and cost
Wallpaper Calculator
How many rolls
Grout Calculator
How much grout
Tile Adhesive Calculator
Thinset bags by trowel size
Underlayment Calculator
Rolls or sheets of underlayment
Concrete & masonry
Cubic yards of concrete, bags of mix and mortar, bricks, pavers and retaining-wall blocks — with the base materials included.
Bulk materials
Mulch, gravel, topsoil and sand by the cubic yard and the ton — plus the bag counts for small jobs.
Structure
Drywall, insulation, decking and fencing — the framing materials, counted with the fixings they need.
Guides by material
Paint Coverage & Quantity Guides
How much paint does a room actually need? Coverage varies by brand, finish, colour and surface — a gallon that covers 400 square feet on smooth primed drywall may cover far less on rough or unprimed walls. These guides work through real rooms, coats and waste so you buy the right amount the first time.
Tile Quantity & Layout Guides
Tile is bought by the box, cut to fit, and always partly wasted — corners, cuts and breakage eat 10% or more of every order. These guides show how to measure a room, allow for the tile size and pattern, and add the right waste factor so you do not run short mid-job.
Flooring Quantity Guides
Flooring is sold by the square foot or the box, and every room has waste — cuts around doorways, stair noses and odd angles. These guides show how to measure each room, allow for the flooring type and layout, and order enough without over-ordering.
Concrete Volume & Bag Guides
Concrete is ordered by the cubic yard or bought by the bag, and the two do not convert cleanly without knowing the bag yield. These guides work through slabs, footings and posts — volume first, then bags — so you know what to order before the truck or the store run.
Mulch & Landscaping Material Guides
Mulch is sold by the cubic yard or the bag, and the depth you spread changes the amount by a lot — 2 inches and 4 inches over the same bed are very different orders. These guides show how to measure beds, pick a depth, and convert between yards, bags and cubic feet.
Drywall Sheet & Compound Guides
Drywall is bought by the sheet, and a roomful of walls and ceilings does not divide neatly into 4×8 sheets. These guides show how to measure wall and ceiling area, allow for doors and windows, and work out sheets, screws and joint compound.
Wallpaper Roll Guides
Wallpaper is bought by the roll, and the pattern repeat decides how much of each roll you can actually use. These guides show how to measure walls, allow for the repeat and matching, and work out rolls without guessing.
Decking Board & Fastener Guides
Decking is bought by the board, and board width, gap and layout decide how many boards a deck needs. These guides show how to measure a deck, allow for the board size and fastening method, and work out boards, joists and screws.
Measure twice, buy once
Every material on this site is sold in a unit that does not match the job: paint by the gallon, tile by the box, flooring by the square foot, concrete by the bag or the yard, mulch by the yard or the bag. The gap between the unit and the job is where money is wasted — a room measured in square feet, a wall with doors and windows in it, a pattern repeat that eats a third of every wallpaper roll.
That is why BuildCalc never gives a single national number. There is no one coverage rate for paint and no one yield for a bag of concrete: coverage varies by brand, finish, colour and surface, and bag yields differ by product. Each calculator asks for the product figures that matter — the coverage on the label, the waste factor for the layout, the depth for the mulch — and each guide works through a real job, step by step, so you can see where the number came from.
The same honesty applies to cost. Prices vary by store and region, so no page on this site states a price as a fact. Where a guide talks about cost, it tells you to check the price at the store you will buy from. And where the work is structural or safety-critical — a load-bearing slab, a retaining wall, anything involving gas or electricity — the answer is to ask a professional, not a calculator. Read how we work in our Editorial Policy, and see the full Disclaimer for what these estimates can and cannot do.
From the guides
10x10 Concrete Slab Calculator
A 10×10 ft slab needs about 1.23 cubic yards (order 1.36) of concrete — worked example with bags and the 10% waste allowance.
12x12 Concrete Slab Calculator
A 12×12 ft slab needs about 1.78 cubic yards (order 1.96) of concrete — worked example with bags and the 10% waste allowance.
12x12 Tile Calculator for Backsplash
A 10 ft run, 2 ft high backsplash needs about 3–4 boxes of 12x12 tile — worked example with waste, grout and adhesive ranges.
12x12 Tile Calculator for Bathroom
A 8×10 ft an 8×10 ft bathroom needs about 8–9 boxes of 12x12 tile — worked example with waste, grout and adhesive ranges.
12x12 Tile Calculator for Floor
A 12×16 ft a 12×16 ft floor needs about 21–22 boxes of 12x12 tile — worked example with waste, grout and adhesive ranges.
12x12 Tile Calculator for Kitchen
A 10×12 ft a 10×12 ft kitchen needs about 13–14 boxes of 12x12 tile — worked example with waste, grout and adhesive ranges.
Frequently asked questions
How much paint do I need for a room?
It depends on the room size, the number of coats, and the paint itself. As a rough starting point, one gallon of interior paint typically covers around 350 square feet per coat on smooth, primed drywall — but coverage varies by brand, finish, colour and surface, so always check the coverage stated on the label of the paint you buy and use the Paint Calculator for your exact room.
How much extra tile should I order?
Most tilers allow 10% extra for straight-lay floors and 15% or more for diagonal layouts, large-format tile or rooms with many cuts. The exact waste depends on the tile size, the pattern and the shape of the room. Order the extra up front — a second batch can come from a different dye lot and not match.
How many bags of concrete do I need for a slab?
Work out the volume first — length × width × depth in feet, divided by 27 to get cubic yards — then convert to bags using the yield printed on the bag you buy, because bag yields differ by product and bag size. The Concrete Calculator does the volume and the bag count for the product you choose.
How deep should mulch be?
Most garden beds are mulched 2 to 4 inches deep: 2 inches to suppress weeds, 3 to 4 inches to hold moisture. The same bed needs twice as much mulch at 4 inches as at 2 inches, so measure the bed and pick the depth before you order. The Mulch Calculator converts between cubic yards, cubic feet and bags.
Are the results on BuildCalc exact?
No — every result is an estimate. Coverage, yield and quantities vary by brand, region, surface condition and waste, and prices vary by store and region. Check the label on the product you buy, measure twice, and ask a professional for structural or safety-critical work. See our Disclaimer for the full picture.