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Calcimator

Acoustic Ceiling Grid Calculator

T-bar grid and tile count from room dimensions.

Inputs

%

Results

Tiles needed (with waste)

44

Total material cost ($)

$591.50

≈ 7 nice dinners out

Room area (sq ft)300
Main runner (LF)80
Cross tee (LF)200
Wall molding (LF)70
Total grid (LF)350
Tile cost ($)$154.00
Grid cost ($)$437.50
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Room length (ft), Room width (ft), and Tile size (0=2x4, 1=2x2).
  2. Set Waste allowance (%), Tile cost ($/each), and Grid cost ($/LF).
  3. Review Tiles needed (with waste) and Total material cost ($) ($).
  4. Use Room area (sq ft) and Main runner (LF) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Room width (ft)

Room width (ft)Tiles needed (with waste)Total material cost ($)
51143$1,703.00
176484$5,534.00
325897$10,202.00
4501,238$14,033.00

What each input means

Room length (ft)
Room dimension parallel to main runners.
Room width (ft)
Room dimension perpendicular to main runners.
Tile size (0=2x4, 1=2x2)
0 for standard 2'x4' tiles, 1 for 2'x2' tiles.
Waste allowance (%)
Extra tiles for cuts and breakage (typically 10-15%).
Tile cost ($/each)
Cost per ceiling tile.
Grid cost ($/LF)
Average cost per linear foot for grid components.

What each result means

Room area (sq ft)
Total room floor area.
Tiles needed (with waste)
Total ceiling tiles including waste allowance.
Main runner (LF)
Total linear feet of main T-bar runners.
Cross tee (LF)
Total linear feet of cross tees.
Wall molding (LF)
Perimeter wall angle molding.
Total grid (LF)
Combined linear feet of all grid components.
Tile cost ($)
Total cost for ceiling tiles.
Grid cost ($)
Total cost for grid components.
Total material cost ($)
Combined tile and grid material cost.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Room length (ft) = 20, Room width (ft) = 15, Tile size (0=2x4, 1=2x2) = 0, Waste allowance (%) = 10 = 6 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Tiles needed
    Tiles needed = ceil(totalTilesNet * (1 + wastePct / 100))
    44 = 44
  3. Calculate Total material cost
    Total material cost = tileCost + gridCost
    591.5 = $591.5
  4. Calculate Room area
    Room area = roomLengthFt * roomWidthFt
    300 = 300
  5. Calculate Main runner
    Main runner = mainRunnerCount * roomLengthFt
    80 = 80

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