Baseboard calculator
Enter the room, its doorways and the length the baseboard comes in. The calculator takes the doorways off the perimeter, adds waste, and packs the wall runs into stock lengths with a cut list, drawn piece by piece around the room.
Baseboard calculator
Openings with no baseboard across them.
Interior doors are 24 to 36 in wide; measure the gap between the casings, where the baseboard stops.
For miters, scarf joints and a bad cut.
Baseboard to buy
4 × 16 ft
- Linear
- 49 ft
- With waste
- 53.9 ft
- Cut list
- 4 lengths
- Offcut
- 15 ft
Baseboard around the room
Each stock length, cut
- Length 116′
- Lengths 2–3, each16′
- Length 416′
- On the wall
- Offcut
- Spare for waste
The formula
- Perimeter: 2 × (length + width).
- Less doorways: the number of doorways × their width, measured between the casings where the baseboard stops.
- Plus waste: linear feet × (1 + the waste allowance) for miters, joints and a bad cut.
- Cut list: each wall run (a wall, or the part of it beside a doorway) is cut from stock lengths. A run longer than a stock length is spliced: whole lengths, then the rest. The pieces are packed longest first into the first length with room for them (first-fit decreasing).
- Lengths to buy: the cut list's count, or the linear feet with waste ÷ the stock length, rounded up, whichever is more.
Worked example
A 14 × 12 ft room with one 3 ft doorway. The perimeter is 52 ft, less 3 ft: 49 ft of baseboard, 53.9 ft with 10% waste. The doorway splits wall A into two 5 ft 6 in runs; the others are 12, 14 and 12 ft. In 16 ft lengths the cut list is 14 ft (2 ft left), 12 ft (4 ft left), 12 ft (4 ft left), and both 5 ft 6 in runs from the fourth length (5 ft left): 4 lengths, 64 ft, which also covers the 53.9 ft with waste. In 8 ft lengths the 12 and 14 ft walls each need a joint, and the same room takes 7 lengths.
| Room | Doorways | Linear ft | With waste | 8 ft lengths | 12 ft lengths | 16 ft lengths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 1 | 37 | 40.7 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 × 12 ft | 1 | 41 | 45.1 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 1 | 45 | 49.5 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 12 × 14 ft | 1 | 49 | 53.9 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 14 × 16 ft | 1 | 57 | 62.7 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| 16 × 20 ft | 2 | 66 | 72.6 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
Longer lengths mean fewer joints and often fewer pieces, but more offcut per piece: the 12 × 12 ft room leaves 19 ft of offcut in four 16 ft lengths. In metric, a 4 × 3 m room with a 0.9 m doorway is 13.1 m, 14.4 m with waste: 4 lengths of 4.2 m, or 7 of 2.4 m.
Cutting and fitting
- Inside corners are usually coped or mitered, outside corners mitered; each miter takes a little length, which the waste allowance covers.
- Joints on a long wall are usually scarf joints (two 45° cuts overlapping) over a stud, so they hide once painted.
- Offcuts are useful in closets and short runs; with several rooms, the cut list of the whole house wastes less than room by room.
- Doorways and openings without a door both stop the baseboard. Count a cased opening as a doorway of its own width.
Every room at once
FloorGen's Schedules and budget panel (in the account menu) gives the skirting length net of doors for every room and the whole house. See materials estimate from a floor plan for a worked example.
Questions
How much baseboard do I need for a 12 × 12 room?
The perimeter is 48 ft; with one 3 ft doorway, 45 ft, and 49.5 ft with 10% waste. That is four 16 ft lengths, five 12 ft lengths or seven 8 ft lengths.
How do I calculate linear feet of baseboard?
Add the length of every wall (the room's perimeter), subtract the width of each doorway, and add about 10% for cuts and mistakes.
How much extra baseboard should I buy?
Metrie, a moulding maker, suggests an extra 10% for miscounts, damage and bad cuts. A room with many outside corners or short runs may need more.
Should I buy 8, 12 or 16 ft baseboard?
Longer lengths mean fewer joints on long walls; a 16 ft length covers most bedroom walls in one piece. Shorter lengths are easier to carry and fit in a car. The calculator shows the count for each.