Herringbone tile calculator
Enter your room and the size of one plank. You get the tiles and boxes to order, with the grout joint counted and the extra waste a herringbone floor needs already added.
10% for a straight or brick lay, 15% for diagonal, 15–20% for herringbone.
97 tiles to order, for 7.68 square metres.
- Floor area
- 7.68 m²
- Tiles to cover it
- 84
- Plus 15% waste
- +13
A 3.6 × 2.8 m kitchen in 600 × 150 mm planks
- Room area = 3.6 × 2.8 = 10.08 m².
- Plank footprint with a 3 mm joint = 0.603 × 0.153 = 0.0923 m².
- Planks to cover = 10.08 ÷ 0.0923 = 109.3, rounded up to 110.
- Add 15% for herringbone: 110 × 1.15 = 126.5, so order 127 planks. At 20% it is 132.
- Round up to whole boxes: in boxes of 24, 127 planks is 5.3 boxes, so buy 6.
Laid out by the Tily Tile Planner, the same kitchen takes 80 whole planks and 51 cut pieces, and those pieces come from 33 planks: 113 in all before any allowance. The 15% on top covers breakages, cuts that go wrong, and offcuts that don't fit where they were meant to.
Where the cuts go
The planks zig-zag, so the pattern never finishes square against a wall: the whole perimeter is cut pieces. That is where the extra waste comes from: more cuts, and offcuts of odd lengths that rarely fit anywhere else.
Same room, same plank, twice the cuts
Each room below was laid twice by the Tile Planner's own layout code, with a 3 mm joint: once straight, once in herringbone. “Planks” is whole planks plus the planks the cut pieces come from, before any waste allowance.
| Room | Plank | By area | Straight: cuts / planks | Herringbone: cuts / planks | Order at +15% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallway3 × 1.2 m · 3.6 m² | 600 × 150 mm | 40 | 12 / 40 | 27 / 40 | 46 |
| Bathroom2.4 × 1.8 m · 4.32 m² | 600 × 150 mm | 47 | 15 / 48 | 33 / 48 | 56 |
| Kitchen3.6 × 2.8 m · 10.08 m² | 600 × 150 mm | 110 | 24 / 110 | 51 / 113 | 130 |
| Living room4.8 × 3.3 m · 15.84 m² | 600 × 150 mm | 172 | 29 / 176 | 65 / 176 | 203 |
| Hallway3 × 1.2 m · 3.6 m² | 300 × 100 mm | 116 | 21 / 120 | 49 / 119 | 137 |
| Bathroom2.4 × 1.8 m · 4.32 m² | 300 × 100 mm | 139 | 25 / 140 | 51 / 144 | 166 |
| Kitchen3.6 × 2.8 m · 10.08 m² | 300 × 100 mm | 323 | 39 / 327 | 82 / 329 | 379 |
| Living room4.8 × 3.3 m · 15.84 m² | 300 × 100 mm | 508 | 48 / 513 | 105 / 513 | 590 |
The planner's count assumes every offcut is used again wherever it fits, which is the best case. On a real floor some offcuts are too short, some cuts go wrong and the odd plank arrives chipped, so allow 15% on top, or 20% for a small room or one with many corners.
Herringbone questions
- How much waste should I allow for herringbone?
- 15% is the usual allowance, and 20% for a small room, a room with many corners, or a tile that is hard to cut cleanly. Herringbone has roughly twice as many cuts as a straight lay, and every cut is a chance for a breakage or a piece that comes out short.
- Do I need more tiles for herringbone than for a straight lay?
- Not many more if every offcut is used: in the examples on this page the planner's count for herringbone is within a few tiles of a straight lay. The difference is the number of cuts, which is why the waste allowance goes up rather than the base count.
- What size tiles work for herringbone?
- Rectangular tiles or planks, usually at least twice as long as they are wide. Long, narrow planks such as 600 × 150 mm give the classic parquet look; shorter ones such as 300 × 100 mm give a busier pattern with more pieces to lay.
- Is chevron the same as herringbone?
- No. Chevron tiles have angled ends and meet in a straight point; herringbone uses ordinary rectangles laid at right angles. Chevron needs its own tiles. The same waste allowance of 15–20% is a sensible start for both.
- Can I see where the cuts fall in my room?
- Yes. The free Tily Tile Planner lays herringbone at four angles in your real room shape, and counts whole tiles and cut pieces separately, so you can see where the cuts land before you start.
Plan the herringbone in your own room
The free Tile Planner lays herringbone in your real room shape, including L-shapes and alcoves, and counts whole planks and cuts separately. For other patterns, the general tile calculator covers straight, brick and diagonal lays.
Sell tiles? Put this on your product pages
Tily's Tile Planner sits on your product pages. Customers draw their room, pick herringbone, and add the right number of boxes to the basket.