After you have selected granite (natural stone) as your countertop material, the next step is to choose a color. The color and pattern for your kitchen countertops is a very personal choice. Most of the time, but not always, the Counter Tops will be the focal point of the kitchen. Patterns and colors vary greatly so there will always be a piece of granite that will fit in with your decorating ideas.
Measuring square footage for granite Counter Tops.
Normally, fabricator or estimator will come out at your job site to measure up square footage for the stone needed, to do the job.
But what about, if you want to find out how much stone (tile) you will need. Or, you want to get a quick quote over the phone, without having fabricator (estimator) coming out to your place. In order for fabricator or estimator to give you a quote over the phone, they will need to know square footage, and probably some other information.
So let’s measure!
The diagram and note will help you calculate the total area of your countertops. Please click on the image for large view (kitchen layout).
Simple kitchen layout. Click on the image for
large view.
| How To Calculate the Square footage of countertops. |
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| 1 We add up length's of the countertop A+C+D+E (216"+148"+52"+24"= 440") It is important that width dimension is the same for all pieces! |
| 2 Then we take length dimension 414" and multiply by (width, dept of the countertops) 26". 440"*26"=11,440 (Square inches) |
| 3 We do the same for back splash. (216"+200"+52"+52")*6"=3,120 (Square inches) |
| 4 Next we need add up Back splash and Countertop Square inches and multiply that by 144 (Square inches in Square Foot) (11,440 + 3,120)/144=101.11 |
| Total Square Footage for this Kitchen is 101.11 Average Granite, Marble slab is about 36 Square Feet. So for this project you will need three slabs. |
That’s in case when all pieces have nice strait, perpendicular edges. Very often that’s not the case. Some times there will be some parallelograms, arches, circles, triangles, trapezoids, ovals and odd shapes.
Now let’s deal with Parallelograms, Arches, Circles, Triangles, Trapezoids and Ovals shapes.
Parallelograms
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Parallelograms is defined by the opposite sides being straight, parallel, and of equal length. The area of this shapes is found by multiplying the length (L) times the width (W). Formula: Area = L (length) x W (width) |
Circle
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The area of a circle is found by multiplying the constant pi (p, or 3.14) times the square of the radius. The radius is ½ of the diameter. Formula: Area = π x r2 |
Triangle
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The area of a triangle A&B is found by multiplying the length of the base times the length of the height, then dividing this result by 2. Formula: Area = (b x h) ÷ 2 |
Trapezoid
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The area of a trapezoid is found by first finding the average length of the parallel sides (A + B) ¸ 2, then multiplying the result times the height (h). Formula: Area = [(A + B) ÷ 2] x h |
Oval
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The area of an oval is found by multiplying the width (W) times the length (L), then multiplying the result by 0.8 Formula: Area = (W x L) x 0.8 |
Compound Simple Shapes
Many Countertops can be sub-divided into multiple, simple shapes. In these cases, use the formulas for the simple shapes and add the results for the total square footage. See the appropriate formula in other sections of this article.
For example: Image on right, the A Countertop shape, can be divided in B as C-Half of circle and d-rectangle.
