Please note: For your convenience, this calculation has been rounded up slightly.

Important reminder: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this calculation. But before purchasing materials for any project, please check amounts with your suppliers or contractors.

The surest way to figure how much carpeting you need is to take a scale drawing of all the rooms to a dealer, who can determine the most efficient way to lay the carpeting. This calculator will help you make an initial estimate.

If you have multiple rooms to carpet, use this calculator to calculate carpeting for only one room, then use it again to calculate for other rooms.

A few tips: Carpeting is usually sold by the square yard, but some dealers give a square-foot price, as well. Most carpeting comes in rolls 9, 12, or 15 feet wide. When figuring carpet needs for oddly shaped floors or multiple rooms, the goal is to end up with as few seams as possible. (With some types of carpeting, seams are close to invisible; with other types, seams can be unsightly.) Many carpets have a pile that faces a certain direction; when joining two pieces together with a seam, it is important they both have the pile facing in the same direction. Seams should be placed in low-traffic areas whenever possible.

Laying a carpet is rarely a homeowner-friendly project. The tools and materials are not the problem -- they can be rented or bought. But if you are inexperienced, a professional will almost certainly install carpeting more tightly, with less visible seams, and in a small fraction of the time it would take you. Carpet installers sometimes get better prices on carpeting and padding than you can get, so doing it yourself likely won't save much money, either.