Frequently asked questions

TilePlan Pro is a tile layout calculator that draws a scaled diagram of your room, counts full and cut tiles, and bundles the result into a material estimate and a cut list with exact dimensions. It supports 14 tile patterns — from straight and running bond through to herringbone, chevron, and Versailles parquet — and exports a branded PDF for clients. Try the free tile calculator without signing up.

One free calculation is on us — no signup needed. After that, a free account unlocks unlimited calculations across both the layout calculator and the cost calculator, plus save, share, and branded PDFs.

Fourteen tile patterns are built in: straight, running bond, 1/3 offset, diagonal, herringbone, double herringbone, checkerboard, basket weave, double basket weave, wood-strip, chevron, mosaic pinwheel, Chantilly, and Versailles parquet. Each has its own waste percentage and tile-ratio rules — see the full pattern gallery for examples and recommended tile sizes.

Yes, on the Pro tier. The branded PDF includes your company name and contact details, the scaled layout diagram, project stats, and the full cut list. See the pricing page for what's included.

Yes. Imperial (feet and inches) and metric (meters and centimetres) are both supported, and a units toggle in every calculator flips between them without losing your inputs.

The cut list is generated geometrically from the scaled layout, not estimated from a formula. Every partial tile at the perimeter is measured, deduplicated by exact dimension, and listed with a count. Contractors have used the output to order tile within one or two boxes of what the job actually consumed, which is roughly as good as a hand layout against the room before the first tile is set.

Yes. The multi-wall room mode in the Pro planner handles multiple walls, window cutouts, door openings, recessed niches, outlets, and custom obstacles. Each wall is editable independently with its own height, width, and obstacle list — useful for bathrooms where the back wall, side wall, and floor all need their own tile counts.

The free tier covers the layout calculator and the cost calculator — one free try without signup, unlimited use with a free account — plus all 14 patterns and a basic material estimate. The Pro tier adds the multi-wall room mode, cloud project saves, client-facing share links, and the branded PDF export. Current pricing is on the pricing page.

A spreadsheet gives you a tile count — square footage divided by tile area, times a waste fudge factor. TilePlan Pro gives you a scaled diagram that shows exactly where every cut tile falls against the room's perimeter, and a cut list with the dimensions of each partial. The numbers are geometric, not estimated, which matters for pattern work where the waste is concentrated in a few specific cuts rather than spread evenly.

Yes. Pro accounts can generate a public read-only share link at /share/<slug>. Clients open the link in any browser and see the scaled diagram, stats, and cut list — no account, no install, no signup.

Usually yes — fewer grout lines means the floor reads as a continuous field rather than a busy grid, and the eye reads a continuous field as more expansive. But there's a ceiling: a 24-inch tile in a 5×5 bath produces so few full tiles that the cuts dominate, and the room looks chopped. The sweet spot in a small bath is 12×12 or 12×24, with grout color matched to the tile.

1×1 mosaic is the practical floor minimum, and it's standard on shower floors because the grout grid pushes slip resistance well above the DCOF 0.42 wet-area minimum. Below 1×1 you're into glass or specialty mosaic that's wall-rated only. For dry floors, 2×2 mosaic and 4×4 hex are both common — anything smaller starts to read busy and adds labor cost.

12×24 is the more modern read and produces half the grout lines per square foot — but it requires a flatter substrate (lippage shows on a 24-inch edge that's invisible on a 12-inch edge), and TCNA discourages running bond on tiles over 15 inches because of seam-midpoint lippage. Use 12×12 if you want a quiet grid and an easy DIY install; use 12×24 for a contemporary look in a primary bath or a kitchen, and switch to a 1/3 offset or stacked layout.

Yes, and it's the spa-bathroom default — fewer grout lines mean less wet-area maintenance. The constraints are the substrate (cement board with a continuous waterproofing membrane, never drywall), 95% mortar coverage per ANSI A108.5, and lippage clips on every long edge. Stacked layouts are safer than offset; running bond on a 12×24 or larger wall tile shows seam-midpoint lippage and is actively discouraged by the TCNA Handbook.

Mosaic is sold by the sheet, but the install labor is priced like the underlying tile count. A 12×12 sheet of 1-inch mosaic has 144 tiles versus a single 12×12 tile — every grout line still needs to be packed and tooled. Expect a $4-8/sq ft labor premium over a standard 12×12 install, more in wet areas where the sheet has to conform to slope toward a drain.

Default to 3×6 subway in half-offset — cheapest material, easiest install ($10-15/sq ft labor), pairs with any cabinet. Move to 4×12 or 2×8 for a more contemporary read, or 12×24 for a slab look on a full-wall backsplash above 30 sq ft.

Mostly the same shapes — but commercial floors require a tighter slip rating (DCOF 0.42 minimum for wet areas, often 0.6+ for entryways), a more robust mortar coverage spec (95% in commercial, 80% residential dry per ANSI A108.5), and frequently a PEI rating of 4 or 5 for the tile itself. Format-wise, commercial leans larger (24×24, 24×48) to reduce grout maintenance, with mosaic accents at the entry for slip rating.

Larger tile reduces labor per square foot for straight installs (fewer pieces to set) but increases substrate prep cost — anything 15 inches or larger demands a substrate flat to 1/8 in over 10 ft (ANSI A108), which often means $1.50-3.50/sq ft of self-leveling underlayment. Mosaic and small tile cost more in labor but less in substrate prep. The break-even depends on your floor's existing flatness — plug your numbers into the cost calculator to see the trade-off.

Across U.S. residential installs, warm gray and pearl gray are the two best-selling shades — they hide minor staining better than bright white, flatter both cool and warm tile, and read calm rather than graphic. Custom Polyblend #545 Bleached Wood and #386 Oyster Gray are the volume leaders at the box stores; Mapei Keracolor U #93 Warm Gray is the equivalent at the tile shop.

It's a real choice — match-white grout reads modern and monolithic, contrast-charcoal reads classic-graphic. If you go bright white, specify a urethane (Mapei Ultracolor Plus FA) or epoxy (Laticrete SpectraLock Pro Premium) so you're not resealing twice a year to keep coffee splash from telegraphing. The grout color guide walks both options for white tile.

It's less forgiving in a different way — the grout-on-tile rub-off during install is much more visible on light tile, so you have to be aggressive about sponging within the 15-30 minute window before the haze sets. Use clean water on every pass and budget a $20-40 grout haze remover (Aqua Mix or StoneTech) for the inevitable streaks 24 hours later.

Cementitious grout: yes, twice in the first year and then annually with a penetrating sealer (Aqua Mix Sealer's Choice Gold or TileLab SurfaceGard, $25-40 a quart). Urethane (Mapei Ultracolor Plus FA, Bostik Hydroment) and epoxy (Laticrete SpectraLock Pro Premium) grouts are factory-sealed and don't need any maintenance — that's most of what you're paying for at the 2-3× price.

Closest-match brown. Wood-look plank's whole visual purpose is to read as a wood floor, and a contrast grout immediately reveals the grid — the illusion collapses. Use a 1/16 in joint with rectified planks and a sand-or-brown urethane matched to the dominant tile color. The recommender on the grout color guide has specifics by tile undertone.

Cementitious grout absolutely fades — UV exposure and repeated sealer applications both lighten the color over 5-10 years. If you spot-repair a section years later, the new patch will read different. Mix dye lots from the same SKU during install and store a labeled bag with the project; urethane and epoxy grouts are far more colorfast.

Sanded grout has fine silica sand mixed in for grip and is used in joints 1/8 in and wider — virtually all floors and most walls. Unsanded grout is smoother and used in joints under 1/8 in (mosaics) and on polished or honed marble, where the sand in sanded grout would scratch the tile face during the tool-off pass.

Yes, with a grout stain or colorant (Polyblend Grout Renew, $15-25 a bottle). It bonds to the cementitious grout surface and can darken or completely re-color the grout — but it doesn't work on urethane or epoxy (the polymer surface won't accept the dye). Plan on 4-6 hours of taping plus 24 hours of cure for a typical bath.

A standard 40 sq ft bathroom floor with mid-range porcelain ($6/sq ft) and 15% waste runs about $275 in tile alone, before labor and substrate work. Add $5-12/sq ft for installation, more if the room includes a tiled shower surround. Plug your dimensions into the cost calculator to see your specific number — bathrooms are the project where waste % and trim pieces add up fastest.

A typical 30 sq ft backsplash with glass or ceramic subway tile costs $90-600 for material depending on the tile, plus $10-20/sq ft for installation if you hire it out. Backsplashes are one of the few projects where DIY pays off — short runs, no wet area, no large tiles — but plan for edge profiles or bullnose at termination points, which the calculator doesn't include.

Both patterns require precise angled cuts at every wall and at every direction-change. Herringbone has roughly 20% waste; chevron pushes 25% because every tile is mitered on the ends. Labor scales with the cuts — expect a $3-6/sq ft surcharge over a straight or running-bond install, sometimes more if the room has obstacles.

Always. Even a perfectly square room produces cut tiles at the perimeter, and the offcuts rarely fit anywhere else. The cost calculator adds the pattern's recommended waste % automatically — but consider buying an extra box on top for future repairs, because tile lots shift batch-to-batch and matching a discontinued color years later is nearly impossible.

For floors, showers, and outdoor surfaces — yes. Porcelain is denser, absorbs less water, and is rated for higher foot traffic. Ceramic is fine for walls, backsplashes, and low-traffic floors where the price difference matters more than the durability. The pricing in the calculator reflects this: porcelain's mid-range is about 1.5× ceramic.

Most installers quote $5-12/sq ft for straightforward floor or wall work. Wet areas (showers, steam rooms), large-format tiles (24"×48" and up), natural stone, and pattern work (herringbone, chevron, mosaic) push to $14-20/sq ft. Get three quotes — labor rates vary more by region and demand than material pricing does.

Yes. Tile is sold in batches, and dye lots shift over time. A single cracked tile six years from now is a problem if you didn't keep spares — sometimes the line is discontinued entirely. Buy one extra box beyond what the waste % gives you and store it somewhere climate-stable.

Pick a mid-range ceramic in a straight or running-bond pattern (lowest waste at 10-15%), reuse the existing subfloor and substrate if it's sound, and skip pattern complexity. The math: 40 sq ft × $4/sq ft × 1.15 ≈ $185 in tile. Labor is the line item that varies most — DIY if you're patient and the room is rectangular; hire it out for wet areas and large-format installs.

Measure the wall perimeter (2 × length + 2 × width), multiply by ceiling height, subtract roughly 15 sq ft per window and 21 sq ft per door, then multiply by your number of coats and divide by the coverage rate on the can. A 12×12 bedroom with an 8-ft ceiling and one window: 2 × (12+12) × 8 = 384 sq ft of wall, minus 15 = 369 sq ft net, × 2 coats / 350 sq ft per gallon ≈ 2.1 gallons (round up to 3 for safety). The paint calculator runs the same math with openings and ceilings built in.

A small 5×8 bathroom with an 8-ft ceiling needs about 1 gallon of wall paint for two coats (208 sq ft of wall, minus an opening or two — comfortably inside a single gallon at 350 sq ft per coat). Add roughly half a gallon for the ceiling (40 sq ft × 2 coats, even budget paint covers that with margin) and a quart of semi-gloss or satin for the door, frame, and baseboards. Total: about 1.5–2 gallons plus the trim quart.

Premium interior paint covers 350–400 sq ft per gallon — Benjamin Moore Aura and Sherwin Williams Emerald are the reference points. Mid-range (Behr Marquee, BM Regal Select, SW SuperPaint) is 300–350. Budget lines (Behr Premium Plus, BM Ben) sit at 250–300. The spec is printed on the can; check it before you buy, because glossier sheens cover slightly less per gallon than the flat or matte in the same line.

Two coats is the safe specification — it's what the manufacturer's coverage rate already assumes, and it's required for any color change, any dark-on-light situation, and most fresh paint jobs. One coat works on a same-color repaint when you're using a true one-coat paint (Behr Marquee, BM Aura, SW Emerald) on a properly primed and clean surface. Anything less and you'll see roller streaks or color sheen-through within a year.

Four scenarios: new drywall (PVA primer like Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 or Kilz PVA to seal the paper face), color shifts spanning more than 4–5 shades on the value scale (a tinted gray primer narrows the gap), water-damaged surfaces or stains (stain-blocking like Kilz Original oil or Zinsser BIN shellac), and tannin-rich woods (cedar, redwood — BIN is the only reliable answer). Existing paint in good condition with a similar color: no primer needed.

Premium $45–65 per gallon (Benjamin Moore Aura, Sherwin Williams Emerald). Mid-range $30–45 (BM Regal Select, SW SuperPaint, Behr Marquee). Budget $20–30 (Behr Premium Plus, BM Ben). Hiring a contractor adds $2–6 per sq ft of wall on top of the material — labor is 70%+ of a professional interior paint job, so spec'ing the better paint is usually worth it once a crew is on site.

Usually yes for similar sheens on the same substrate — matte over matte, eggshell over eggshell, flat over flat. Glossy over glossy needs deglossing first: a liquid deglosser (Krud Kutter Gloss-Off or Klean-Strip Easy Liquid Sander), 220-grit hand sanding, or a bonding primer (Zinsser BIN shellac or Zinsser 1-2-3) over the glossy surface so the topcoat has something to bite into. Skipping this on semi-gloss trim is the most common cause of peeling paint a year later.