How to use the multi-room measurement takeoff sheet
- Choose feet or meters for all the measurements.
- Add one row per room with its name, length, width, ceiling height and the number of doors and windows.
- Enter the area and width of one door, the area of one window, the waste allowance, the floor covered by a box and the wall area a can of paint covers, then the number of coats.
- Read the floor area, wall area with the openings removed, baseboard length, flooring boxes and paint, and the table by room.
Formula
Floor = length x width, and perimeter = 2 x (length + width)
Walls = perimeter x height - doors x door area - windows x window area
Baseboard = perimeter - doors x door width
Flooring boxes = floor x (1 + waste) / floor per box, rounded up. Paint = walls x coats x (1 + waste) / coverage
Waste covers cuts and mistakes. The page rounds boxes up to a whole box and shows paint both in exact amounts and as the whole cans or gallons to buy.
Three rooms in feet
The living room is 16 by 12 by 8 with 2 doors and 3 windows. Its floor is 192, the walls are 56 x 8 - 2 x 21 - 3 x 15 = 361 and the baseboard is 56 - 2 x 3 = 50. The bedroom (12 by 10, 1 door, 2 windows) has 120 of floor, 301 of wall and 41 of baseboard. The bath (8 by 6, 1 door, 1 window) has 48 of floor, 188 of wall and 25 of baseboard.
The totals are 360 square feet of floor, 850 square feet of wall and 116 feet of baseboard. With 10 percent waste and 20 square feet per box, flooring needs 360 x 1.1 / 20 = 19.8, so 20 boxes. Two coats of paint at 350 square feet per gallon need 850 x 2 x 1.1 / 350 = 5.343 gallons, so buy 6.
Measuring the rooms
Measure each room at its widest point, and treat alcoves as separate rooms or add them as their own row. Use the same ceiling height for the walls and note any that slope. Door and window sizes on the page are examples, so change them to match your own, and measure unusual openings and add them as a larger window.
For one room at a time, there are more detailed tools. See the flooring calculator, the paint calculator and the baseboard trim calculator.
What the sheet leaves out
The sheet does not subtract closets, built-ins, stairs or floor areas under cabinets, and it does not add for patterns that need matching. Painted surfaces such as ceilings, trim and closets are not included. For the area of any shape you can use the square footage calculator.
Product coverage varies. Use the figures on the package for the floor per box and the paint per can.
Assumptions and limits
- Rooms are rectangular, and walls are painted from the floor to the ceiling.
- Door and window sizes are the same for every opening. The values on the page are examples.
- Waste applies to both flooring and paint. Choose it to suit your project.
- The results are estimates. Confirm the quantities before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
What is a takeoff sheet?
It is a list of the quantities of materials needed for a job, taken off measurements. This one totals floor, wall, baseboard, flooring and paint for several rooms.
Why does the baseboard take off the door width?
There is no baseboard across a doorway, so each door removes its width from the perimeter.
How much waste should I add?
The page starts with 10 percent as an example. Diagonal layouts and patterns need more, and simple layouts may need less.
Can I use metric units?
Yes. Choose meters, and enter door and window areas in square meters and the coverage per liter.