Baseboard and Trim Calculator
Enter a room's length and width, its doors and the length of the pieces to get the linear feet of baseboard and the pieces to buy, counted along the run and wall by wall, rounded up once. Quarter round and shoe follow the same walls.
Estimates for planning, not professional advice. Read the full notice.
Example: a bedroom
8 baseboard, by the piece
- Run around the room 52 ft
- Door width taken off 3 ft
- Run to cover 49 ft
- Run with the waste allowance 53 ft 10 13/16 in
- Pieces by the linear count 7 pieces
Estimate for planning, from what you entered and the product data shown. Check product labels and your supplier before you buy.
Your project
Enter a size to see your total.
Each product is rounded up once for the whole project, so the total can be less than the items bought alone added together. A line counted from a cut layout (sheets, boards or tiles laid out piece by piece) is counted for each item and added.
Shopping list
| Item | Size | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Baseboard, by the piece | baseboard, by the piece | 8 |
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Worked example: a bedroom
Show the working
- Run around the room: all four walls 14 ft × 2 + 12 ft × 2 = 52 ft
- Take the door off 52 ft − 3 ft = 49 ft
- Add the waste allowance, once 49 ft × 1.1 = 53 ft 10 13/16 in
- Linear count: divide by the piece length, round up once 53 ft 10 13/16 in ÷ 8 ft = 7 pieces
- Wall by wall: each wall cut from its own pieces; buy the larger count 8 pieces = 8 pieces of baseboard
Assumptions
The figures behind the example. Sourced figures link to their source below; a default is a starting value to check against your label or supplier.
| Assumption | Value | Details and changes |
|---|---|---|
| Waste allowance | 10% | |
| Default A common allowance, a convention and not a standard, added once. Change it for your job. | ||
| Stock length | No default | |
| Default The length of the pieces you can buy. Check your label or supplier. | ||
| Door width | No default | |
| Default The opening of each door, from your own doors. Check your label or supplier. | ||
| Doors per wall | No default | |
| Default Doors are dealt across the two walls of each pair in turn, the first wall first. A wall is counted as one run. | ||
| Per-wall count | No default | |
| Default The pieces to buy are the larger of the linear count and the count wall by wall; leftovers are not carried across a corner. | ||
Feet and inches, like 12' 6"
Pieces wall by wall
Each wall's length, the door width taken off it and the stock pieces it needs on its own, with no waste and no leftover carried across a corner
| Wall | Length | Doors | Pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall 1 | 14 ft | 3 ft | 2 |
| Wall 2 | 12 ft | 0 in | 2 |
| Wall 3 | 14 ft | 0 in | 2 |
| Wall 4 | 12 ft | 0 in | 2 |
The linear count divides the whole run by the stock length and can come out lower, because a leftover piece cannot turn a corner. The calculator buys the larger of the two.
Pieces by stock length
The linear count, the wall by wall count and the pieces bought for the example room at each stock length
| Stock length | Linear count | Wall by wall | Pieces bought |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft pieces | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 10 ft pieces | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 12 ft pieces | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 14 ft pieces | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 16 ft pieces | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Each row uses the example room, its door and the waste allowance in the assumptions. Longer stock lowers the linear count first.
Questions
How many pieces of baseboard do I need?
The calculator takes the doors off the walls, adds your waste allowance once and divides by the piece length. It also counts each wall on its own, because a leftover piece cannot turn a corner, and it buys the larger of the two counts. Both are in the result and in the table.
What about quarter round or shoe?
Quarter round and shoe run along the same walls, so the same count applies; enter the length of your own pieces. The page counts the run and does not size the trim.
Does this size baseboard heating?
No. Baseboard heating is a different product and this tool does not size it. It counts the trim that covers the base of the wall.
Where do the doors go?
The two long walls and the two short walls each take the doors you choose, dealt across the pair in turn, first wall first. Each door's width comes off its wall.