Floor Tile Layout Planner — see the cuts and count the boxes
Drop a real tile grid on any room, slide it to control where the cuts fall, and read exactly how many full tiles, cut tiles, and boxes you'll need — before you buy.
Buying floor tile means answering two questions the shop can't: how many boxes, and where do the cut tiles land? The Floor Tile Layout Planner answers both. It lays a real tile grid inside your room — clipped to the inside faces of the walls — and, as you size and slide it, keeps a live count of full tiles, tiles to cut, total tiles needed, and boxes to buy.
It's a planning tool, not a decorating one: the layout saves back onto the room as a toggleable 2D overlay, and nothing you do here touches your flooring material or the rest of the editor.
What you'll need
- •A floor plan with at least one room
- •The tile size you're considering (e.g. 12×12 or 24×24)
Step by step
- 1
Open the Tile Planner
On desktop: left panel → Materials tab → the Tile Planner tile (hint: Plan tile layout, cuts & quantities). On phones: tap the Materials button, then Tile Planner in the popup. The full-screen planner opens on your room.
Materials → Tile Planner — the entry point on both desktop and mobile. - 2
Set the tile size and grout
Pick a preset under Tile size — 12×12, 24×24, 12×24, plank, and more — or type an exact width and length. Set the Grout joint (in inches) beside it. The grid on the plan redraws instantly, and every number to the right updates with it.
Choose a size and grout — the grid and the counts update live. - 3
Position, orient, and balance the cuts
Drag the grid on the plan to move it, and use the Rotation slider or the Pattern toggle (Grid / Running bond) to orient it. Then let the app do the fiddly part: Flush to corner runs whole tiles from the top-left, while Balance cuts centers the layout so the slivers at opposite walls match. The Edge cuts readouts (Left / Right / Top / Bottom) show the exact cut width against each wall.
Balance cuts evens the slivers; Edge cuts tells you exactly how wide each border tile is. - 4
Read the quantities before you buy
The estimate panel is the payoff: Covered area, Full tiles (uncut), Tiles to cut, and Total tiles needed. Set your Waste % (10% is a common allowance) and the tiles Per box from the tile's label, and the planner computes Boxes to buy — the number you take to the store.
Full tiles, cut tiles, total, and — after waste and box size — the boxes to buy. - 5
Tile the whole floor, or room by room
On a floor split by interior walls, the planner opens on a room picker: Tap a room to plan its tiles, or choose Tile whole floor to lay one continuous grid across everything. Use All rooms to step back to the picker and give each room its own size and pattern. A whole-floor layout and per-room layouts cover the same ground, so saving one asks to Replace tile layouts? before it swaps the other.
- 6
Save the layout
Tap Save. The button flips to Saved, the layout is stored on the room as a 2D overlay you can toggle later, and the planner stays open so you can move on to the next room. Close when you're done.
Save keeps the planner open — carry straight on to the next room.
Tips
Balance cuts is your friend for narrow slivers
A layout flush to one corner often leaves a paper-thin cut against the far wall — hard to cut and easy to break. Tap Balance cuts to split the difference so both borders are a workable width.
Add waste, don't eyeball it
Breakage, future repairs, and diagonal patterns all eat tiles. Leaving Waste % at around 10% (more for busy patterns) means the Boxes to buy figure already covers it — so you buy once.
Get Per box from the label
Coverage per box varies by tile. Enter the actual tiles Per box from the product listing so Boxes to buy matches what you'll ring up, not an average.
Common mistakes
Reading counts before you've placed the grid
The numbers reflect wherever the grid currently sits. Position and align it first — Balance cuts or Flush to corner — then read Total tiles needed and Boxes to buy, because moving the grid changes how many tiles get cut.
Expecting it to change your flooring
The Tile Planner estimates a tile layout; it doesn't set the room's flooring material. Pick the actual floor finish in Flooring, and use the planner to plan cuts and quantities.
Frequently asked questions
How does it know how many tiles I need?
It lays your chosen tile size (plus grout) over the room's inside floor area and counts them: whole tiles that fit are Full tiles, tiles crossing a wall are Tiles to cut, and the two add up to Total tiles needed. Boxes to buy then applies your Waste % and Per box to that total.
What's the difference between Flush to corner and Balance cuts?
Flush to corner starts whole tiles hard against the top-left walls, so the cuts all pile up on the opposite two walls. Balance cuts centers the grid so the partial tiles at opposite walls come out roughly equal — usually the better-looking, easier-to-cut result.
Can different rooms use different tiles?
Yes. On a floor with interior walls, tap each room in the picker and give it its own size, grout, and pattern. Or choose Tile whole floor for one continuous grid — you can't mix a whole-floor layout with per-room ones, so saving one replaces the other.
Does the layout show up in my plan?
The saved layout is stored on the room as a 2D tile overlay you can toggle on the plan. It's a planning aid — it doesn't replace your flooring material or appear as a texture in the 3D view.
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