DIY Square-Foot Estimates for Remodeling

Preparation

• 1

  Consider the area you wish to remodel or add on to. Make sure that all existing walls and structures follow building codes and specifications. Reinforce walls or structures, if necessary.

• 2

  Visit the local home improvement or hardware store, and decide which types of materials to use. Find out if the store can supply enough materials to meet the needs of the project.

• 3

  Clear all debris from construction areas to ensure accurate and easily visible measuring. For interior floors, move any furniture that may interfere with making an accurate measurement. For exterior walls, clear dirt away from the bottom of the wall to get a clear reference point on the foundation.

Determining Square Footage

• 4

  For additions to an exterior wall, determine the wall's height. Place a tape measure on the line that separates the wall and the foundation of the house, near the corner. Measure the distance to the top of the wall (bottom of the gutter). Choose a point near the opposite corner, and repeat the process. If the measurements differ, use the larger measurement for calculations. Write down all of the measurements.

• 5

  Measure the width of the exterior wall. Place the tape measure on the lowest point of one side of the wall (the corner of the house). Measure the distance to the opposite side of the wall. Repeat the process, starting at the highest point of the wall on the first corner. Taking two measurements will compensate for "out of square" walls. Record all measurements, but you will use the larger measurement for calculations.

• 6

  For interior rooms, start by measuring the floor. Set the end of the tape measure near the bottom of one wall, and measure the distance to the opposite wall. Repeat the process using another point on the first wall; this will give you two measurements for either the length or the width of the floor. Use the larger measurement. Follow the same measuring procedure on the adjacent walls.

• 7

  Determine the square footage of the walls. Multiply the wall's length by the wall's height; the resultant number is the square footage for that wall. Repeat the "length x height" calculation for each of the four walls; this will give you four numbers. Add the numbers together to get the total square footage for the walls.

• 8

  To calculate the square footage of the floor, multiply the length of one side of the floor by the length of the other; this procedure will work for determining the square footage of ceilings as well. You should now have six measurements for square footage---one for each wall, one for the floor and one for the ceiling. To get the room's total square footage, add all six numbers together.