# Square feet of a Rectangle Calculator

## Square feet of a rectangle

Square feet of a rectangle is the area of that rectangle measured in the imperial units $\text{sq}\cdot \text{ft}$sqft or ${\text{ft}}^{2}$ft2. Apart from this particularity, square feet of a rectangle is computed in the same way as its area:

$\text{SA}=l×w$SA=l×w

where:

• $\text{SA}$SA – The surface area of the rectangle measured in $\text{sq}\cdot \text{ft}$sqft or ${\text{ft}}^{2}$ft2;
• $l$l – The length of the rectangle measured in $\text{ft}$ft. Usually, it refers to the longest side of the rectangle; and
• $w$w – The width of the rectangle measured in $\text{ft}$ft. Usually, it refers to the shortest side of the rectangle.

Ensure that the length and width are in feet before the multiplication to avoid further conversions.

## What is square footage used for?

You can use square footage in real-world contexts such as:

• Architecture: Architects use square footage to measure the space that a building or other construction projects may fill.

• Cartography: Cartographers use square footage to determine the area that countries and other landmarks might occupy on a map or globe.

• Landscaping: Landscapers use square footage to find how much space a yard or other plot of land takes and what can fit within that space.

• Real estate: Realtors and contractors use square footage to describe how much floor space a house or other marketable building has when it's for sale.

You can also use square footage as the first step toward calculating cubic footage, or the volume of an area. For example, you can use the outcome of the calculation and multiply the number by the width of a shape. If the measurements are in feet, then you get a cubic measurement. This means there are three sides you measure to get the volume of the shape.

## How to Calculate Square Footage

Square footage is area expressed in square feet. Likewise, square yardage is area expressed in square yards.  Square meters is also a common measure of area.

Assume you have a rectangular area such as a room and, for example, you want to calculate the square footage area for flooring or carpet.

The way to calculate a rectangular area is by measuring the length and width of your area then multiplying those two numbers together to get the area in feet squared (ft2). If you have on oddly shaped area, such as an L-shape, split it into square or rectanglualar sections and treat them as two separate areas. Calculate the area of each section then add them together for your total. If your measurements are in different units, say feet and inches, you can first convert those values to feet, then multiply them together to get the square footage of the area.

### Convert all of your measurements to feet

• If you measured in feet skip to “Calculate the Area as Square Footage”
• If you measured in feet & inches, divide inches by 12 and add that to your feet measure to get total feet
• If you measured in another unit of measure, do the following to convert to feet – inches: divide by 12 and that is your measurement in feet – yards: multiply by 3 and that is your measurement in feet – centimeters: multiply by 0.03281 to convert to feet – meters: multiply by 3.281 to convert to feet

### Calculate the Area as Square Footage

• If you are measuring a square or rectangle area, multiply length times width; Length x Width = Area.
• For other area shapes, see formulas below to calculate Area (ft2) = Square Footage.

## How to find the square footage of a circle

1. Measure the diameter of your circle in feet.
2. Divide your diameter by 2 and then square it (multiply it by itself).
3. Multiply your total by π (3.14159265)

The formula for calculating the area of a circle is: π r2 (with r being the radius of the circle, which is half the diameter). π is the symbol for pi (3.14159265).

## How to Calculate the Square Feet of a Home or Residence

When measuring the square footage of a home or residence, some special considerations apply to determine the inhabitable square footage. The livable size of a home helps determine the market value and price and helps buyers understand the overall size.

Only livable rooms, with finished walls, floor, and ceiling, count toward the finished area of the home. For a room to be considered livable, the space should be finished and should have heating or air conditioning as applicable.

Indoor spaces count toward the square footage of a home, while outdoor spaces typically do not. In fact, the American National Standards Institute has defined rules[1] for what counts as finished area and which rooms contribute to the gross living area of a home.[2]

To calculate the total area, measure each room in feet using a tape measure. Then, multiply the length and width of each room to get the square footage, then add them all together.

The calculator above can help determine the square feet of each room, then simply add all the room’s areas together. We also have great resources on how to measure rooms and complex spaces.

### How to Calculate Price per Sq Ft

To calculate the price per square foot of your home, divide the total price by the number of square feet.

price per ft2 = total price ÷ total ft2

For example, to find the price per ft2 of a home that costs $200,000 and is 2,000 ft2 use this formula. price per ft2 =$200,000 ÷ 2,000 ft2 price per ft2 = \$100

If you’d prefer not to do the math, you can also use our unit price calculator to calculate the price per square foot.

## FAQS

How to Calculate Square Footage?

Square footage is the measurement of an area. The area is the measurement of a two-dimension space bordered by a set of lines. Square footage is mostly used in the calculation for the flooring of the house. To calculate square footage area, it is important to recognize the shape of the plane for example, if it’s a square, rectangle, or any other shape, then the formula for square footage area will be according to the shape. For example, to calculate the square footage of a room in a square (2) or rectangle shape. Simply multiply the length and width of the area. To calculate square footage of an oddly shaped area, for example, an L-shaped area. Start by splitting the area into two separate sections making a square or rectangle of both sections. Now, measure the area of both sections and add them together to get the total square footage. Following are a few examples of how square footage calculators calculate the area for different shapes: 1. Square => Area (ft2) = Side Length x Side Length 2. Rectangle => Area (ft2) = Length x Width 3. Triangle => Area (ft2) = ½ × Base × Height 4. Circle => Area (ft2) = π x (diameter/2)2

How to Calculate Square Footage of a Room?

Whenever you plan to buy new flooring, the first thing is to calculate the Square Footage of the room. It’s quite easy to calculate Square Footage, first, you need to measure the square footage of all areas of the room, this includes nooks and crannies and then you need to add all measurements together. This planning takes time and lots of measurements so make sure to double-check your measurements before ordering your flooring. For the safe side, add 5-10% of the waste factor, it is to prevent errors, damages, and extra cuts. To calculate this you need to add a waste factor in square footage like you have 100sqft and you are assuming 5% as a waste factor then 100 × 0.05 = 5 means total sqft will be 100 + 5 = 105sqft.

How to Calculate Square Footage of a House?

Whenever you plan to measure the square footage of the house, start with these supplies: 1- Notes, Pencil. 2- Calculator 3- Measuring tool Now it is important to recognize the shape of the house, perfect square, rectangle, or any other shape, then the formula for square footage area will be according to the shape. For example, to calculate the square footage of a room in a square (2) or rectangle shape. Simply multiply the length and width of the area. If you are measuring for a two-story house, simply multiple the square footage by 2.

How to Measure for Wallpapering? First, measure the width (feet) of the wall you plan to add wallpaper. Round the measurement up to the nearest foot. For example, if 14 feet, 9 inches wide, it will be around 15 feet. Then, measure the height (feet) of the wall you plan to add wallpaper. Round the measurement up to the nearest foot. Multiply the rounded width and the height of the wall. This will be your total square footage of the wall. Now measure the width and height of large areas that will not be going to be covered with wallpaper, such as double doors, and round these heights and width. Multiply the width and height of all these areas and sum them up together to get the total square footage of any large area. Subtract the square footage of any large areas from the total square footage of the wall. The result is the total square footage of wallpaper needed to cover the wall.