Calculators

Wallpaper calculators

Rolls, paste, borders, peel-and-stick and removal, with pattern repeat and roll sizes done properly.

Wallpaper is not estimated by area. It is estimated by drops: full-height strips cut from the roll, each one a little longer than the wall because of the trim at top and bottom and the pattern repeat. A roll gives a whole number of drops, and the leftover at the end of each roll is waste you cannot use. That is why two rooms with the same wall area can need different numbers of rolls, and why the roll calculator here works in drops rather than dividing square feet.

Roll sizes are the other trap. A US "single roll" is a pricing unit of about 36 square feet, but almost all paper is sold as a double roll of 56 to 72 square feet depending on its width. A European roll is 0.53 by 10.05 metres, about 57 square feet. The calculators carry all three and let you type a custom size from the label.

6 calculators

Guides for this topic

Questions people ask

How many rolls do I need for a 10 × 12 room?
With 8 ft walls the room has a 44 ft perimeter. In 20.5 in wide paper that is 26 drops of 8 ft plus trim. A 33 ft double roll gives three or four full drops depending on the repeat, so the job takes seven to nine double rolls; a large repeat pushes it to the higher figure. The roll calculator counts drops for your roll and repeat and subtracts the door and window drops you can skip.
What is a double roll?
Two single rolls' worth of paper in one continuous length. US wallpaper is priced per single roll (nominally 36 sq ft) but packaged as double rolls, typically 20.5 in × 33 ft (56 sq ft) or 27 in × 27 ft (61 sq ft). If a price looks too good, check whether it is per single roll.
How much does the pattern repeat waste?
Each drop is cut to the wall height plus up to one full repeat so the pattern lines up with the neighbouring strip. On an 8 ft wall a 24 in repeat can waste 2 ft of a 10 ft drop, about 20%. Drop-match patterns waste roughly half a repeat on average, random-match patterns almost nothing.
Paste the wall or paste the paper?
It depends on the backing, not on your preference. Non-woven papers are pasted on the wall and hung dry, which is faster and uses a little less paste. Traditional paper-backed and vinyl papers are pasted on the back, folded (booked) for a few minutes to soak, then hung. The label says which; the paste calculator adjusts the quantity.
How long does removing wallpaper take?
Strippable paper on a sound wall comes off at a few hundred square feet an hour. Old vinyl, several layers, or paper that was painted over can take an hour or more per 100 sq ft with a steamer or solution, plus wall repair afterwards. The removal calculator estimates hours and cost from the paper type, the layers and your method.

More calculator groups

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  • Sprayers, estimating & bidding: Sprayer usage, tip sizes, production rates, drying windows and the maths of a bid.
  • Colour, finish & planning: Sheen, mixing, two-tone walls, stripes, paint versus wallpaper and the calendar.

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