How Many 12x12 Tiles for 100 Square Feet?
Tiles needed
108 tiles
100 square feet, 12 by 12 tile, an eighth inch joint, 15 tiles a box, 10 percent waste.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Area to tile100 sq ft
- Tile width12 in
- Tile length12 in
- Tile thickness0.3125 in
- Grout joint0.125 in
- Tiles per box15 each
- Waste allowance10 %
Tiles needed108 tiles
| Area with 10% waste | 110 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Coverage of one tile | 1.021 sq fttile plus one joint |
| Tiles per square foot | 0.98 |
| Boxes at 15 per box | 8 |
| Thinset, 50 lb bags | 2about 60 sq ft per bag at this tile size |
| Grout | 5.6 lbsold in 10 and 25 lb boxes |
| Backer board, 3 by 5 sheets | 7 |
The material list this produces
| Tile, boxes | 8 |
|---|---|
| Thinset mortar, 50 lb bags | 2 |
| Grout, lb | 6 |
| Tile spacers, each | 216 |
| Cement backer board, 3 x 5 sheets | 7 |
| Backer board screws, each | 280 |
Waste allowance compared
Waste is the only input here you choose rather than measure, and it is the one that decides whether the job finishes on a Saturday or on the following Saturday.
| Waste allowance | Tiles needed | Boxes at 15 per box |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | 103 tiles | 7 |
| 10% | 108 tiles | 8 |
| 15% | 113 tiles | 8 |
| 20% | 118 tiles | 8 |
What else matters here
A hundred square feet of 12 by 12 does not take 100 tiles. With a normal eighth inch joint each tile occupies 12.125 inches square, which is 1.021 square feet of floor, so the bare floor wants 98 and the order with waste wants 108.
That is 8 boxes at 15 tiles a box. Boxes vary, so check the count on yours before you order, because a box of 12 by 12 can hold anything from 11 to 17 depending on the maker and the thickness.
Thinset comes to 2 bags at the 60 square feet a quarter by three eighths notch gives you under a tile this size. Grout is small, under 6 pounds, because a 12 inch tile has relatively little joint per square foot compared with anything smaller.
What this calculator assumes
- The tile count is worked out from the space one tile actually occupies, which is the tile plus one grout joint on two sides, not the tile on its own. On a 12 by 24 with an eighth inch joint that difference is about one percent, and on a mosaic it is far more.
- 10 percent waste suits a straight lay in a square room. A diagonal or herringbone lay wastes 15, and a room full of jogs, niches and closets can reach 20.
- Grout is figured geometrically: the joint volume is the space around each tile times the tile thickness, converted at 105 pounds per cubic foot, which is where sanded grout lands once mixed. Manufacturer coverage charts vary, so treat this as the order quantity and not the gospel.
- Thinset coverage follows the trowel, and the trowel follows the tile: about 85 sq ft from a 50 lb bag with a quarter inch notch under small tile, 60 under 12 inch, and 40 under large format where the notch grows and the tile gets back buttered.
Questions people ask
How many 12x12 tiles are in 100 square feet?
98 to cover the bare floor at an eighth inch joint, and 108 once 10 percent waste is on it. Eight boxes at 15 a box.
How much waste should I add?
Ten percent for a straight lay in a square room, fifteen for a diagonal or a cut up bathroom, twenty for herringbone. Under ten leaves nothing for a bad box or a broken tile, and both happen.
Should I buy extra tile?
Buy the whole job plus the waste in one order. Tile is fired in batches and the shade moves between batches, so a replacement box bought next spring will read as a patch from across the room. Keep the offcuts too, because a cracked tile three years from now is a lot easier to match from your own attic than from a supplier.
The tile calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.