Square footage is a measurement of area, and area is the measurement of any two-dimensional space contained within a set of lines. Think of it in the sense of a dance floor. Take a moment to imagine a dance floor that is 20 feet by 20 feet (6.09 meters by 6.09 meters). How do we express the area that it takes up? This one is easy, because the dance floor is a square. We simply multiply the width of the floor by the length of the floor, 20 feet times 20 feet equals 400 square feet. Therefore, the total area of the dance floor is 400 square feet (37.2 square meters). The equation is the same for a rectangle [source: MCWDN].
Area of a square or rectangle = Width x Length
It's important to keep in mind that a square foot doesn't necessarily have to be shaped like a square. The dance floor above could be shaped like a triangle and cover the same amount of area. If you were asked to determine the area of a triangle or a circle, the equation would be different, but the concept is the same. Plug in the right numbers and you'll get the right answer. Both equations are listed below.
Area of a triangle = ½ (Base x Height)
Area of a circle = 3.14 x radius2
So we've established that the square in square feet doesn't refer to shape. All measurements of area are expressed in square units -- the standard foot just happens to be the unit used in U.S. real estate.
Read on to find out how to calculate the square footage of a house.
It's Hip to Be Square
Most houses are shaped like rectangles or squares, which makes calculating the square footage easy, whether you're measuring outside or inside the home. But what if you need to measure inside a house that has an odd number of walls and corners that aren’t 90 degrees? That doesn’t have to be difficult either. Just break it down into smaller rectangles, squares and triangles. Then determine the square footage of each individual section and add them together.
FAQs
To calculate the square feet of a room, start by measuring the length and width of the room in feet using a tape measurer. Next, multiply the length by the width to calculate a room's total square footage. So if a bedroom is 12 feet wide and 12 feet long, it is 144 square feet total (12 x 12 = 144 sqft).
How to calculate sq ft? ›
Measure the length and width, in feet, of each room. Then, multiply the length by the width to calculate that room's square footage. For example: If a bedroom is 12 feet by 20 feet, it is 240 square feet (12 x 20 = 240).
How many square feet is a 12x12 room? ›
How many square feet is a 12x12 room? To measure square footage, multiply the length and width of the room in feet. In the case of a 12x12 room, simply multiply 12 by 12, resulting in 144 square feet.
How many square feet is a 10x10 room? ›
Dining room: 10 feet by 10 ft = 100 square feet.
What size room is 120 sq ft? ›
10 ft x 12 ft room = 120 sq. ft.
How to calculate area? ›
The basic formula for calculating area is Length times Width (LxW). If you are estimating the area for a rectangle you'll always use LxW. If you are calculating the area for a square you can multiply the length of one Side times itself, or (S2).
How to calculate square footage with inches? ›
How do you calculate square feet from inches? To calculate the square footage of a space based on square inches, divide the square inches value by 144. Square Inches of a Room / 144 = Square Footage of the Room.
Is a 10x10 room 100 square feet? ›
100 sq ft. It's the size of a medium sized bedroom, not including the space the inside the closet. If you are renting a 10x10 (100 square feet) bedroom, you will have plenty of space for a bed, side table and dresser… but not much else. Most second bedrooms are between 100 feet and 144 feet (12x12).
How big is a 400 sq foot room? ›
Imagining a standard two-car garage is a great way to visualize a room that's 400 square feet. It's not a huge space, but it can definitely be functional and cozy. Here are some other ways to think about 400 square feet: Roughly the size of a large bedroom.
What size is a 200 sq ft room? ›
200 square feet feet would be the area of a rectangle 20' by 10', or 12' by 16'8". So it would be a large but not very large room, maybe a living room in an average-sized house.
Hello , most probably 8 x 9 feet. IE 72 square feet. If square then √ 72 = 8.485 feet.
How big is a 20x20 room? ›
How many square feet is a 20x20 room? The square footage of a room 20 feet wide and 20 feet long is 400 square feet. The square footage is found by multiplying the width (20 ft) by the length (20 ft).
How big is a 800 square foot room? ›
Other people might visualize 800 square feet as an oversized studio apartment with a little extra room to spare. If you have a good handle on feet by width, you can visualize an 800-square-foot apartment as roughly 25 feet wide by 32 feet long.
How big is 200 square feet visually? ›
A 200 square foot space is about the size of a one-car garage. In other words, the average car could fit into 200 square foot place with a small amount of wiggle room. Imagine a space smaller than a bedroom for 100 square feet. A 100 square foot space is very small.
What is a normal bedroom size? ›
The average bedroom size in U.S. homes is 11 feet x 12 feet (132 square feet). That is the average size when you take into account the standard sizes of master bedrooms, secondary bedrooms, guest suites and their normal variations. So 11'x12' or 132 sq. ft. is the average bedroom size across the board.
How many square feet is a 9x9 room? ›
If the dimensions are in feet, then there are 9 X 9 = 81 square feet.
How many feet is 1 sq ft? ›
There is only one foot in a square foot. A square foot is a two-dimensional shape with a measurement of one foot along its length and one foot along its width. A linear foot would only be a one-dimensional measurement of length alone.
How do you calculate square feet with inches and feet? ›
- Just do the multiplication in inches and then divide by 144.
- 1 foot = 12 inches.
- 1 foot squared is 12 x 12 = 144 square inches.
- 6″ x 12″ = 72 square inches.
- 72/144 = 1/2 = 0.5 square feet.
- 6″ x 6″ = 36 square inches.
- 36/144 = 1/4 = 0.25 square feet.
How to Calculate Square Feet of an Irregular Shape. To calculate the square footage of an irregular shape, divide the irregular shape into smaller shapes, find the area of each, and then add up all the results.
How to calculate the square of a number? ›
For single-digit numbers, we can use multiplication tables to find the square, while in the case of two or more than two-digit numbers, we perform multiplication of the number by itself to get the answer. For example, 9 × 9 = 81, where 81 is the square of 9. Similarly, 3 × 3 = 9, where 9 is the square of 3.
