How to figure out the square footage of a room » Rhodium Floors

Why do I need to know how to measure square footage of a room?

There are lots of reasons why you might need to calculate the square feet of your home. Some homeowners may need this information when listing a property for sale. Others may want to know the square footage of their home to dispute a tax assessment. The most popular reason, however, is to renovate the floor of a building.

It is essential to know how to work out the square footage of a room when planning on buying new flooring. Thankfully, figuring out your square footage is incredibly easy! To measure the square footage of a room, you must first find the square footage of all areas of the room you intend on installing new flooring on. This includes all nooks and crannies. Once you’ve done that, simply add each measurement together.

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How do I figure out square feet from inches?

It might be the case that your room is not built to exact feet. In this case, you may want to calculate in inches instead. This can help you to be more accurate with your measurements. There are 12 inches in a foot. To convert your square footage measurement to inches, simply multiply your measurements by 12. To convert your square inches measurement to feet, divide by 12.

How to calculate square footage pricing

Once again, we tackle a widespread issue that, despite the complications which might arise in real life, has some rather simple maths beneath it. The calculations of square footage pricing are, mathematically, the simple division of the price of a specific property by its total square footage. In everyday life, this value changes significantly depending on such factors as a location of the property, intended or potential use, and so on. It is nonetheless a useful quantity to evaluate the value of a particular house or property.

  Before we talk a bit more about the usefulness of this measurement, let’s take a look at how we can use this calculator when square footage pricing comes into play. First, make sure that the “One room/area” option is selected at the top of the calculator. The area can be calculated in the previous steps or can also be inputted by the user. Then either the price per sq ft or the total cost should be provided to obtain the other value. Let’s look at a complete example:

1. Input the size of the property’s (or property chunk’s) width and length in your desired units,
2. Input the number of properties/chunks of the property with the size input above,
3. [only if you didn’t follow the first two steps] Input the total area in your desired units,
4. Input the total pricing of the property,
5. Obtain the square footage pricing as dollars (or your local currency) per sq ft.

This is an example of one of the most straightforward scenarios, but it is very representative of the typical uses of this square footage calculator. We think that it is essential not only to know how to calculate square footage or how to measure square footage but also to know what you can do with those values once you get them.

When it comes to square footage pricing, its usefulness relies on the fact that it allows comparing properties (mostly houses) of different sizes and prices. It’s the equivalent of performance per dollar charts of computer parts, for example. In this manner, one could compare a 1500 sq ft with a 500 sq ft and know which one represents a better real state option, looking beyond just the price or the size of them. In fact, this can be used with any other area unit with or without converting from square meters to square feet or acres to square feet – every time we want to make a fair comparison.

What is Usable Square Footage?

If you’re involved in commercial real estate in any way, you may have heard the term “usable square footage”. This term describes the total amount of square footage that a tenant is able to use, which excludes areas like hallways, stairwells, and lobbies. When it comes to residential real estate, the usable square footage in your home refers to the amount of space that would count as your personal space.

Common areas like kitchens, living rooms, hallways, and storage closets wouldn’t count as usable square footage. With this information in hand, you should be able to calculate the actual square footage of your home as well as the usable square footage of your home.

Being able to calculate the square footage of you home can be very helpful when you’re attempting to sell your property or would like to complete a renovation. If you’re getting ready to renovate your entire kitchen, knowing the square footage of the floor will allow you to purchase the right amount of materials. Keep in mind that most flooring materials are priced by square feet.

Let’s say that hardwood flooring has a price of $10 per square foot. If your kitchen has a floor space of 175 square feet, the flooring would likely cost around $1,750. In the event that you work as an architect or structural engineer, knowing how to calculate the square footage of a space can be invaluable for your work.

Jason Somers, President & Founder of Crest Real Estate With over 15 years of professional experience in the Los Angeles luxury real estate market, Jason Somers has the background, judgement and track record to provide an unparalleled level of real estate services. His widespread knowledge helps clients identify and acquire income producing properties and value-ad development opportunities. Learn more about Jason Somers or contact us.

How to use the square footage calculator

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how the calculator works and what is the square footage formula, it’s useful to know how to use the calculator, and what each of the components mean. With the “One room/area” option selected, the square footage calculator is composed of the following fields:

1. Shape – Select the room/area shape from rectangle, square, circle, triangle, hexagon or octagon
2. Measurements – Various measurements of the room, which change depending on the shape selected
3. Quantity – Enter the number of rooms/areas that have the same shape and measurements
4. Area – Combined square footage of all the spaces as input above
5. Unit price – Price (in the local currency) per square foot
6. Total cost – Combined monetary value of the spaces described above

To use the calculator is as simple as setting the known values and letting the system calculate the rest. This means that you can use this calculator to compute the price per square foot of a property if you know the total price and total square footage.

If you select the option “Multiple rooms/areas” at the top of the calculate, you can enter the measurements for up to ten rooms or areas and get a grand total at the bottom of the calculator of the square footage. For complex room layouts, divide up the room into simple shapes, such as rectangles, squares, etc., and enter each one as a separate room/area. If you’ve entered a unit price, you’ll also get the total cost.

How to find the square footage of a rectangle

1. Measure the width and length of the area in feet.
2. Multiply your length and width together to get your area.

Note: If your measurements aren't in feet, convert them to feet first using our length converter.

Once you've carried out your calculation, you will have your square feet (ft²) figure. To calculate your cost of materials, simply multiply this figure by your price per square foot.

How to Calculate Square Footage

Square footage is area expressed in square feet. Likewise, square yardage is area expressed in square yards.  Square meters is also a common measure of area.

Assume you have a rectangular area such as a room and, for example, you want to calculate the square footage area for flooring or carpet.

The way to calculate a rectangular area is by measuring the length and width of your area then multiplying those two numbers together to get the area in feet squared (ft²). If you have on oddly shaped area, such as an L-shape, split it into square or rectanglualar sections and treat them as two separate areas. Calculate the area of each section then add them together for your total. If your measurements are in different units, say feet and inches, you can first convert those values to feet, then multiply them together to get the square footage of the area.

Convert all of your measurements to feet

• If you measured in feet skip to “Calculate the Area as Square Footage”
• If you measured in feet & inches, divide inches by 12 and add that to your feet measure to get total feet
• If you measured in another unit of measure, do the following to convert to feet – inches: divide by 12 and that is your measurement in feet – yards: multiply by 3 and that is your measurement in feet – centimeters: multiply by 0.03281 to convert to feet – meters: multiply by 3.281 to convert to feet

Calculate the Area as Square Footage

• If you are measuring a square or rectangle area, multiply length times width; Length x Width = Area.
• For other area shapes, see formulas below to calculate Area (ft²) = Square Footage.

How many square feet is a 12×12 room?

The square footage of a room measuring 12 feet wide by 12 feet long is 144 square feet. To calculate this you simply multiply the width by the height. 12ft × 12ft = 144 sq ft.

Why is square feet an important measurement?

A home’s square footage might determine how much you’ll pay in taxes on your home and what kind of renovations you may do in the future. The most important factor of square footage, however, is determining the price of a home you’re trying to buy or sell. When you list a home for sale, the home’s square footage is an important number to help determine the list price. 

A real estate agent finds comparable properties, or properties of a similar size in the area that have sold recently to advise you on a fair offer price. A home appraiser uses a similar process of evaluating comparable properties, in addition to conducting an on-site review, to appraise the home’s true value.

Between you, the real estate agent, the appraiser, the architect, and the buyer, each entity may assess a home’s square footage differently. If you’re working with an agent and an appraiser to sell your home, it’s important to measure a home’s square footage accurately so you can reach a common agreement. An inaccurate square footage number could cause you to buy for too much or sell for too little, and could even hold up a sale entirely. For instance, if the appraiser doesn’t include the basement in square footage but your agent did, a buyer’s lender may not approve a mortgage for your agreed-upon sale price. You can contest a home appraisal as a buyer or seller, but it’s a time-consuming and expensive process. That’s why it’s important to accurately measure square footage and arrive at a number that everyone agrees upon.

Does a basement count as square footage?

We alluded to it, but one of the most common questions homeowners have is whether or not basements count as square footage. 

Square footage is also called “gross living area” (GLA), which is a good concept to consider when analyzing the basement question. If you can’t live in a space, you can’t count that square footage.

“Living area” means a room must meet certain criteria like height clearances, heating, and the presence of windows. GLA only includes above-grade square footage, so completely underground basements — finished or not — cannot count to a home’s overall square footage. 

To count towards a home’s square footage, a basement must be:

• Finished to the same quality and standards as the rest of the house with walls, flooring, lighting, and other features that are similar to the main living areas.
• Heated like the rest of the house. Space heaters (which are also a fire hazard) do not count.
• At least partially above ground (requirements vary by state).

Those are the big qualifications. 

Then, nuances and variations to how rules apply impact whether a basement counts as square footage or not. Let’s look at some of the common scenarios in which basements are included to help you figure out if your basement counts.

To count as square footage, basements must have a legal entrance and exit so people can evacuate in the event of an emergency. That tends to mean that your basement is a walk-out basement with a door that leads directly outside, or a garden-level lot basement that doesn’t have a door that leads outside but does have windows that look out on the garden. Since the space is half above-grade with an exterior view, it may count as square footage. (Again, this is subject to different state requirements.)

Square Footage Calculations FAQs

Finding the measurements of your room will inform you of how much material you will need to complete the project

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