INFOSANTIER
How do I measure and calculate waste
Measuring surfaces and calculating material waste
Surfaces to be clad with stone tiles can be measured with a tape measure, a folding ruler, or a laser (distance meter). If the area to be clad has a classic geometric shape (square, triangle, rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus, parallelogram, hexagon, circle, etc.), or can be approximated to a known shape or a sum of such shapes, the area is calculated using standard plane-geometry formulas. So:
for a triangle: B x h / 2, where B = base and h = height
for a rectangle: L x l, where L = length and l = width
for a square: L², where L = the side
for a parallelogram: B x h, where B = base and h = height
for a trapezoid: (B+b) x h / 2, where B = the long base, b = the short base, h = height
for a rhombus with two equal adjacent sides: d1 x d2 / 2, where d1 and d2 are the diagonals
for a circle: ΠR², where Π = 3.14 and R = the radius
In most cases, surfaces can be broken down into standard geometric shapes, and the area is calculated using the formulas above, with the total surface obtained by adding up the component areas.
If you know A, the total area to be clad, and S, the size of the stone tile chosen for cladding, then the total number of tiles is n = A/S. On top of this number of tiles, buying a surplus of about 10%-15% is recommended.
This way we cover:
approximations made in estimating the surfaces
any tiles that break or get damaged during transport or installation
any color variation that could affect the desired cladding pattern
There’s no fixed formula for how much extra stone to buy; some products, through their standard delivery quantities (e.g. SKIN flexible slate, cobblestone, etc.), may already result in extra quantity, so buying a surplus in other cases ultimately comes down to the customer’s decision.
