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Baseboard Calculator

Find out how much baseboard trim to buy. Enter your rooms or the total perimeter, subtract doorways and other gaps, and get the linear feet, the number of pieces for your stock length and an optional cost.

Currency

Measure by

Room dimensionsTotal perimeter

Rooms (length × width in feet, one per line)

Add a room name after the numbers if you like.

Total perimeter

Sum of all wall lengths that get baseboard.

Doorways

Width per doorway

A 36 in door with casing is about 3 ft.

Other gaps (cabinets, fireplace…)

Baseboard piece length

Waste allowance

For miters, copes and short offcuts. 10-15%.

Also add shoe molding / quarter round

Price (optional)

Price is per

PieceLinear foot

Price

Enter your values to see the result.

How to use the Baseboard Calculator

Choose how to measure: room dimensions (length × width) or a total perimeter you measured yourself.
Enter doorways and their width, plus any other gaps where no baseboard goes.
Pick the piece length you will buy and a waste allowance.
Add a price per piece or per linear foot for a cost estimate.
Read the results and compare other stock lengths in the table.

Baseboard formula

Perimeter = 2 × (length + width) for each rectangular room, added together.

Baseboard length = perimeter − (doorways × doorway width) − other gaps.

To buy = baseboard length × (1 + waste ÷ 100), and pieces = ⌈length to buy ÷ piece length⌉.

Example: a 12 × 14 ft bedroom and a 10 × 11 ft office have perimeters of 52 ft and 42 ft = 94 ft. With 3 doorways of 3 ft: 94 − 9 = 85 ft. Add 10%: 93.5 ft, which is 6 pieces of 16 ft (96 ft).

For L-shaped rooms, closets and bay windows, measure each wall along the floor and use the total perimeter option.

Baseboard for common room sizes

One 3 ft doorway, 10% waste.

Room	Perimeter	Baseboard (ft)	With 10% waste	8 ft pieces	16 ft pieces
8 × 10 ft	36 ft	33 ft	36.3 ft	5	3
10 × 10 ft	40 ft	37 ft	40.7 ft	6	3
10 × 12 ft	44 ft	41 ft	45.1 ft	6	3
12 × 12 ft	48 ft	45 ft	49.5 ft	7	4
12 × 14 ft	52 ft	49 ft	53.9 ft	7	4
14 × 16 ft	60 ft	57 ft	62.7 ft	8	4
16 × 20 ft	72 ft	69 ft	75.9 ft	10	5

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate how much baseboard I need?

Measure the perimeter of each room: 2 × (length + width). Subtract the width of each doorway (about 3 ft for a standard door with casing) and other places with no baseboard, then add 10-15% for waste. Divide by the length of the pieces you buy and round up.

How much baseboard for a 12 x 12 room?

A 12 × 12 ft room has a 48 ft perimeter. With one 3 ft doorway you need 45 linear ft, or about 50 ft with 10% waste: 4 pieces of 16 ft, or 5 of 12 ft.

How much extra baseboard should I buy?

Add 10% for simple rectangular rooms and 15% for rooms with many corners, bump-outs or angled walls. Every miter or cope cuts a little off each piece, and short leftovers are often too short to use.

Should I buy long or short baseboard pieces?

Longer pieces (14-16 ft) mean fewer joints on long walls and usually less waste per foot. Shorter 8 ft pieces are easier to transport and handle and can work well in small rooms like bathrooms.

Do I need quarter round or shoe molding too?

Shoe molding or quarter round is a small trim nailed at the bottom of the baseboard to cover gaps at the floor, common with hardwood or laminate. It runs the same length as the baseboard, so you need about the same number of pieces.

How many nails do I need for baseboard?

Trim carpenters usually put two finish nails into each wall stud, which are 16 in apart, plus nails at joints and corners. That is about 1.5 nails per foot of baseboard.

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