Baseboard Calculator: Linear Feet, Boards to Buy and a Cut List
Add up several rooms, leave out the doors, and get the linear feet of baseboard plus how many 8, 12 or 16 ft boards to buy, with a cut list that keeps joints to a minimum. Feet or metres.
Material quantity estimate only. It is not a structural, safety or building-code check. Values marked UNSOURCED are built-in defaults that no manufacturer or standard has confirmed here: measure your own doors and check them.
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When to use this
- You are buying baseboard, shoe moulding or similar trim for one or more rooms and want to know how many boards to order.
- You want doors and wide openings taken out of the run instead of a plain room perimeter.
- You want a cut list that shows which pieces come from which board, so you buy fewer offcuts.
How to use
- Choose feet or metres. Type how many rooms, press Update rooms, then enter each room's length and width.
- Enter the number of doors in each room and, if there is a wide opening such as an archway, its width.
- Check the door width and the extra length per piece. Tick the board lengths your store sells.
- Press Calculate trim. Read the buy list, then the cut list and drawing.
- Copy the buy list or the link to this plan. Walls from the wallpaper or drywall tool can be typed in as rooms here.
Examples
- 12 x 10 ft room, one 32 in door, 16 ft boards only: The walls add up to 44 ft. The door takes off 32 in, leaving 41 ft 4 in. With 2 in added to each of 5 pieces, the cut list needs 3 boards of 16 ft.
- 30 x 10 ft room, no doors, 8 ft and 12 ft boards: The 30 ft walls are longer than a 12 ft board, so each needs 2 joints. The plan uses 6 boards of 12 ft and 2 of 8 ft.
Understanding the result
The tool walks around each room and takes off the width of every door and opening. Openings are placed on the longest walls first and split that wall into runs. Each run gets a little extra length for mitres and trimming, and runs longer than your longest board are split into board-length pieces with a joint. The pieces are then packed onto your board lengths, longest first, to keep offcuts low. The buy list is the boards in that cut list plus the spare boards you chose.
Limitations
- This is a material quantity estimate. It does not check structure, safety or local building rules.
- Rooms that are not rectangles, bay windows, built-ins and fireplaces are not modelled. Add them as extra rooms or measure them separately.
- Cased openings, window stools, door casing and crown moulding are not counted unless you add them as extra length.
- Measure your own doors. The default door width is a common size, not a measurement of yours.
FAQ
How do I calculate linear feet of baseboard?
Add up the length of every wall you will trim and subtract the width of each door. A 12 x 10 ft room has 44 ft of wall, so with one 32 in door you need about 41 ft 4 in.
How much extra baseboard should I buy?
Allow a few inches for each mitred end, then add one spare board for a bad board or a mistake. The tool shows the boards in the cut plan separately from the spare.
What board length is best for baseboard?
The one that leaves the fewest offcuts and joints. Tick all the lengths your store sells and the tool packs the pieces onto the best mix.
Do I need to join baseboard on long walls?
Only when the wall is longer than your longest board. The tool counts those joints and avoids leaving a very short piece.
Can I use metres?
Yes. Switch to metres and millimetres. The boards offered become 2.4, 3.6 and 4.8 m.
Does this tool store my measurements?
No. It runs in your browser. The share link keeps your numbers after the # sign, which is never sent to a server.
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