Add a waste factor to any material quantity. Enter what you need and a waste percentage to get the total to buy.
Total to Order
— units
Base plus waste, rounded up.Usage Tip
When in doubt, round up and buy a little extra from the same lot. Returning a spare box is easier and cheaper than a second trip for one tile that no longer matches.
THE MATH
Waste = Base × waste%
Total to order = Base × (1 + waste%), rounded up
Total to order = Base × (1 + waste%), rounded up
The waste factor is extra material for cuts, breakage, defects, and mistakes. Pick a material to load a typical percentage, or type your own.
It is a percentage added on top of the bare quantity you measured.
It is a percentage added on top of the bare quantity you measured.
Typical waste factors: about 10% for straight tile or plank flooring, 15% for diagonal or herringbone layouts and wallpaper, 20% for natural stone or complex rooms, and 5% for drywall.
Add more for small rooms (proportionally more cut pieces), patterned material that must align, and anything sold in dye lots you cannot rematch later.
Keep leftover full pieces for future repairs — matching later is hard.
Add more for small rooms (proportionally more cut pieces), patterned material that must align, and anything sold in dye lots you cannot rematch later.
Keep leftover full pieces for future repairs — matching later is hard.