How to Convert a Foot to Square Feet

How to calculate square feet

To calculate an area in square feet, you will need measurements for the width and length (for a square shape) or the diameter (for a circular area). It may be that the area you're looking to measure is a strange shape (such as a room or garden). In this case, dividing it up into smaller parts and doing individual calculations is a good way to calculate the overall square footage.

Let's say you have a rectangular-shaped room and you want to calculate the square footage area for flooring or carpet. The easiest method for calculating the square footage is to measure the length and width in feet and then multiply the two figures together to give you a result in ft². If you're measuring a room for flooring, take a look at our article on how to measure for a new floor.

Should you find yourself needing to calculate an area of square feet in an 'L' shape, consider dividing the shape up into rectangular sections and treating them as separate areas for calculation (adding them together at the end). For more instructions, see our full article: how to calculate square footage.

How to find the square footage of a triangle

1. Measure the length of the base and the height of the triangle in feet.
2. Multiply your base and height measurements together.
3. Divide your total by two to get the square footage of the triangle

The formula for calculating the square footage area of a triangle is: base × height / 2. To work out your cost of materials, simply multiply this figure by your 'price per square foot'.

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Converting From Other Units of Measure

Now that you’ve mastered the simple area calculation from feet to square feet, you can, in essence, be your own linear foot calculator to transform linear measurements into measurements of area. But what if the dimensions you’re given to work with aren’t in feet?

No problem: You can use simple conversion factors to convert those measurements from other units into feet. It’s usually easiest to perform those conversions ​before​ you do the math to go from linear dimensions into square dimensions. The two conversions you’re most likely to find yourself making are yards and inches.

​Yards​

One yard equals 3 feet. So if you’re given linear measurements in yards, multiply each measurement by 3 to get its equivalent in feet. For example:

9\text{ yd}\frac{3\text{ ft}}{\text{yd}}=27\text{ ft}

​Inches​

There are 12 inches in 1 foot, so to convert from inches to feet, divide by 12. For example:

36\text{ in}\frac{\text{ ft}}{12\text{ in}}=3\text{ ft}

How Do You Calculate Square Footage?

All home projects — from wallpapering to landscaping — start with proper measurements. To find the square footage of a space, you’ll need a measuring tape and a method of recording your measurements. Here are the steps:

1. Start with the longest side of the room or space and measure the length. Be sure your tape measure is in a straight line.
2. Write down the length in feet.
3. Repeat the process on the shortest side of the room or space you are measuring. For square spaces, all four sides will be the same.
4. Write down the width in feet.
5. Multiply the two values together to get square feet.

How to use the square footage calculator

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how the calculator works and what is the square footage formula, it’s useful to know how to use the calculator, and what each of the components mean. With the “One room/area” option selected, the square footage calculator is composed of the following fields:

1. Shape – Select the room/area shape from rectangle, square, circle, triangle, hexagon or octagon
2. Measurements – Various measurements of the room, which change depending on the shape selected
3. Quantity – Enter the number of rooms/areas that have the same shape and measurements
4. Area – Combined square footage of all the spaces as input above
5. Unit price – Price (in the local currency) per square foot
6. Total cost – Combined monetary value of the spaces described above

To use the calculator is as simple as setting the known values and letting the system calculate the rest. This means that you can use this calculator to compute the price per square foot of a property if you know the total price and total square footage.

If you select the option “Multiple rooms/areas” at the top of the calculate, you can enter the measurements for up to ten rooms or areas and get a grand total at the bottom of the calculator of the square footage. For complex room layouts, divide up the room into simple shapes, such as rectangles, squares, etc., and enter each one as a separate room/area. If you’ve entered a unit price, you’ll also get the total cost.

Convert among square inch, square foot, square yard and square meter

You could, for example, perform all of your measurements in inches or centimeters, calculate area in square inches or square centimeters then convert your final answer to the unit you need such as square feet or square meters.

To convert among square feet, yards and meters use the following conversion factors.  For other units use our calculator for area conversions.

• Square Feet to Square Inches
  • multiply ft² by 144 to get in²
• Square Feet to Square Yards
  • multiply ft² by 0.11111 to get yd²
• Square Feet to Square Meters
  • multiply ft² by 0.092903 to get m²
• Square Yards to Square Feet
  • multiply yd² by 9 to get ft²
• Square Yards to Square Meters
  • multiply yd² by 0.836127 to get m²
• Square Meters to Square Inches
  • multiply m² by 1,550 to get in²
• Square Meters to Square Feet
  • multiply m² by 10.7639 to get ft²
• Square Meters to Square Yards
  • multiply m² by 1.19599 to get yd²

How to calculate square footage pricing

Once again, we tackle a widespread issue that, despite the complications which might arise in real life, has some rather simple maths beneath it. The calculations of square footage pricing are, mathematically, the simple division of the price of a specific property by its total square footage. In everyday life, this value changes significantly depending on such factors as a location of the property, intended or potential use, and so on. It is nonetheless a useful quantity to evaluate the value of a particular house or property.

  Before we talk a bit more about the usefulness of this measurement, let’s take a look at how we can use this calculator when square footage pricing comes into play. First, make sure that the “One room/area” option is selected at the top of the calculator. The area can be calculated in the previous steps or can also be inputted by the user. Then either the price per sq ft or the total cost should be provided to obtain the other value. Let’s look at a complete example:

1. Input the size of the property’s (or property chunk’s) width and length in your desired units,
2. Input the number of properties/chunks of the property with the size input above,
3. [only if you didn’t follow the first two steps] Input the total area in your desired units,
4. Input the total pricing of the property,
5. Obtain the square footage pricing as dollars (or your local currency) per sq ft.

This is an example of one of the most straightforward scenarios, but it is very representative of the typical uses of this square footage calculator. We think that it is essential not only to know how to calculate square footage or how to measure square footage but also to know what you can do with those values once you get them.

When it comes to square footage pricing, its usefulness relies on the fact that it allows comparing properties (mostly houses) of different sizes and prices. It’s the equivalent of performance per dollar charts of computer parts, for example. In this manner, one could compare a 1500 sq ft with a 500 sq ft and know which one represents a better real state option, looking beyond just the price or the size of them. In fact, this can be used with any other area unit with or without converting from square meters to square feet or acres to square feet – every time we want to make a fair comparison.

Convert Inches to Feet

You may need to convert inches to feet for certain projects. To do so, divide the total number of inches by 12. To get from feet to inches, multiply by 12.

Since we’re all home now more than ever, being prepared for unexpected home repairs with a plan from HomeServe is important. Having a plan in place gives you the peace of mind knowing that you can simply call our 24/7 repair hotline for covered breakdowns. See what plans are available in your neighborhood.

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