How to Calculate the Square Footage of Floor Space

A floor's square footage is its surface area measured in squares, each 1 foot wide. The square foot is a common unit of measurement for flooring materials such as tiling, planking and carpet, and so measuring floor area in square feet simplifies the estimation of materials for repair, decoration and rebuilding projects. Anyone with access to a tape measure and basic math skills can measure the square footage of a room as proficiently as a professional, and you may save some money by doing it yourself.

Tape measure

Instructions

- 1
  Move furniture and other obstacles toward the middle of the room you want to measure unless you can easily reach the corners of the room with the items in their current location.
- 2
  Determine the floor area of a simple rectangular room by first measuring the length of one of its longest walls from one end to the other end. Repeat the procedure to be certain the measurement is correct, and then record the distance as the room's "length" in feet.
- 3
  Measure the length of one of the room's short walls from the point where it meets a long wall to its opposite end. Measure twice for accuracy. Record the distance as the room's width in feet.
- 4
  Multiply the room's length by its width. The result is the floor space expressed in square feet. For example, a room with a length of 20 feet and a width of 15 feet has a floor surface area of 300 square feet. The calculation's equation is 20 x 15 = 300.

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