Just for good measure

Measuring up for the supplies needed for home improvements need not be a headache, as Kya deLongchamps reports.

“Keep in mind that most suppliers are highly experienced at working out quantities and do it all day long. Just measure the area you need covered and let the professionals do the rest”

IT’S deeply annoying in the middle of a home improvement adventure to find that you have over or underestimated wildly what was needed to complete the project. Here’s a short primer to get things as close to the final tile or metre as possible. Keep in mind that more is preferable to coming up short so give yourself a slight contingency of extra material, and keep those receipts. Many stockists will take complete boxes, tins (standard colours only) and pallets back if you overshoot.

TILES:

Measure the length and width of the area whether a wall or floor, multiplying the two numbers together and dividing this figure by the area of a single tile (eg a 10 x 10cm tile has an area of 100cm). Keep in mind that doors, windows and other interruptions will change this number for a whole room. Add 10% for breakages and replacements. If the room is an odd shape, divide it into separate areas and measure those in width and length, then total the figures. If you’re unsure, just take the room measurements with you, including any windows and doors in a rough sketch for your supplier.

CARPET:

Measure the longest length and widest width of the area you want to carpet. Go right into the doorframe as the carpet will slip under the thresholds and skirting. Make a note of feet measurements with their metric equivalent. Take your measurements to your supplier and he or she can estimate what you need to the foot, metre or yard based on the width of the carpet roll you’ve chosen. If there are seams, work out where these would be best hidden, perhaps running under furniture. Patterns may require more carpet to achieve a correct pattern repeat. Use the measurements to purchase the underlay too.

PAINT:

Coverage is generally stated on the tin in square metres. If the product needs two coats and some dark colours or dark surfaces will, you’ll obviously need to double your surface area calculations. Measure the height and width of each wall, multiple the number and add all these together for the volume of paint you will need for the room. In general 1 litre of emulsion paint will cover 12 square metres and glosses slightly less. The texture of the wall will impact coverage too. Online paint calculators that allow you to subtract the area of windows and doors include: www.bbc.co.uk/homes/diy/paintcalculator.shtml

BUILDING MATERIALS:

Use an online calculator for these materials. We like Source4Me’s handy calculator/estimator for bricks, blocks and mortar (sand and cement) required for a given area for metric bricks (single and double skins) as well as 100mm, 140mm and& 215mm blockwork. www.source4me.co.uk. Some materials such as bricks come in palettes, so think about ways to use over leftovers for garden walling etc rather than wasting your materials. A neighbour might be delighted to swap, barter or buy your surplus.

* Keep in mind that most suppliers are highly experienced at working out quantities and do it all day long. Just measure the area you need covered, ensuring you go into every recess when taking your widths and lengths and let the professionals do the rest. Always go larger if in doubt. If you have worked any area out in feet but need to convert it to metres, then divide the figure by nine and then multiply this by 0.836 for a final total in metres. Source4me also offer an area converter if you’re mathematically challenged.