How To Measure Counter Space

On this tutorial we will cover how to measure your counter space. In other words we are going to figure out how many square feet (sqft) of material is needed for your kitchen countertop, bathroom vanity or other counter top.

First lets have a look at our kitchen layout.

Its a typical L-shaped kitchen, now for our tutorial the wall with the window measures 120″ and the wall with the stove measure 96″.

Step 1 - Measurement: Measure from the corner where the two walls meet up to the end of the cabinetry. In our case scenario it happens to measure the same as the wall so the overall width is 120″.

Step 2 - Figure out Area: - By definition Area of a rectangle is Side A x Side B; The Side A in a counter top is the distance from the wall to the front of the counter or the Depth. The standard kitchen counter top has a depth of 25 1/2″ and Side B is the width that we measure at 120″

Thus far our area looks like this Area 1 = 120 x 25.5 the answer is 3060 square inches. We want our answer expressed in square feet so we divide 3060 / 144 = 21.25 sqft (why divide by 144?).

Step 3 - Repeat 1 & 2: Repeat step 1 and 2 for the remainder pieces on your kitchen. For instance measure from the corner where the two walls meet up to where the stove is located, in this tutorial we will claim that the distance is 51″.

Before calculating the area as in step 2 notice how the two pieces overlap on the corner.

If you calculate the area with the overlap you will get an area different from the actual area that you have. To fix this just subtract the depth of a counter from the width of that piece; the new width is 51 - 25.5 = 25.5″. Now you can calculate the Area with the new width, Area 2 = 25.5 x 25.5 = 650.25 square inches. Do the conversion Area 2 = 650.25 / 144 = 4.51 sqft

Now its time for the last piece, the one next to the stove, that has a width of 15& from our assumptions in this tutorial. repeat steps 1 & 2 and you will get Area 3 = 15 x 25.5 = 382.5 square inches. Convert it Area 3 = 382.5 / 144 = 2.65.

Step 4 - Add It All Up: Add Area 1 + Area 2 + Area 3 = Total Area, so we have 21.25 + 4.51 + 2.65 = 28.41. We have our answer 28.41 sqft, however in the real world we round up to the nearest integer making our final answer 29 sqft

So far we’ve covered the steps to determine the counter top area, the next step is to figure out the back splash area; for back splashes you can follow the same steps taking the following into consideration:

• A Full Back splash is a backsplash that has covers all the wall space between the countertop and the wall cabinet. The standard height is 18″, however you can ask for a different height if applicable.
• If you have a window that interrupts the backsplash ignore it, measure the whole wall.

There is another point that we need to touch; as you may know granite is offered in two thickness, 2cm (3/4″) and 3cm (1 1/4″), but you can ask for Lamination(read FAQ for explanation) to have a thicker looking counter top. Lamination requires additional material so our calculation needs to be adjusted to reflect that.

Lamination is calculated by measuring the length of the visible edges of your countertop and multiplying it times 3 (read why). Take a look at the picture below, the red line represents the edge of the countertop that is visible, for your convenience I’ve placed the values of the lengths directly on the picture. Now if we add all the values 25.5 x 5 + 94.5 + 15 = 237″; now multiply times 3, 237 x 3 = 711 square inch. Finally we convert it to sqft 711 / 144 = 4.9 sqft.

Knowing your counter area can help you check that you are getting quote the correct amount, it can help you know how many slabs of granite you need (each slab is about 50 sqft). If you need assistance with this tutorial or want a quote contact us.