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Backsplash Square Footage Calculator

Enter the counter length in feet and backsplash height in inches to get the area, including a 10% waste allowance.

How it is calculated

The backsplash is treated as one rectangle: area = L × (H / 12). L is the total length in feet and H the height in inches, which the engine divides by 12 to get feet, so the result is in square feet. A second figure adds a fixed allowance for cuts and breakage: area with waste = area × 1.10. Both values are rounded to two decimals. Length and height must be above zero. The tool does not subtract windows, outlets or range hoods and cannot add several separate wall sections, so measure each run, add the lengths when the height is the same, and enter the total. It also has no rule for tile size or pattern, which may call for more than 10% waste.

Worked example

A kitchen has 14 feet of counter with an 18-inch backsplash. Convert the height to feet: 18 / 12 = 1.5 ft. Area = 14 × 1.5 = 21.00 sq ft. Adding the 10% allowance gives 21 × 1.10 = 23.10 sq ft. That second figure is the amount to order. If the tile comes in boxes of 10 sq ft, you would need three boxes, since two boxes would give only 20 sq ft.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the height in feet. The height field is in inches, so an 18-inch backsplash is 18, not 1.5; typing 1.5 gives 1.75 sq ft for a 14 ft run.
  • Entering the length in inches. The length is in feet, so a 168-inch counter must be typed as 14; typing 168 gives 252.00 sq ft.
  • Ordering the area without the waste figure. The raw area has no cuts, so ordering exactly 21.00 sq ft would leave you short once outlets and edges are cut.
  • Not subtracting the window or hood space. The tool measures a full rectangle, so a large opening should be taken off by hand when it is bigger than the waste allowance.
  • Rounding the box count down. Tile is sold in whole boxes, so round up the waste figure; keeping one spare box is also useful for later repairs.

About this calculator

A kitchen backsplash covers the wall strip between the countertop and the upper cabinets, and its area is simply backsplash length × backsplash height, converted to square feet. Because tile must be cut around outlets, corners and the stove, this calculator adds a standard 10% waste allowance on top of the raw area.

Buying tile by exact square footage almost always leaves a homeowner short once cuts and breakage are accounted for, and over-ordering wastes money on materials that can't be returned once opened. Contractors and DIY renovators use this figure to order the right box count in one trip.

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