BEWARE! The curse of the online wallpaper calculators!

So you picked out a wallpaper that you love online and you are on their website. Now you are wondering, "How much wallpaper do I order?" You'll probably see some help nearby: "Oh, look! An online calculator! This will be easy!" The truth is that it's not that simple. Online calculators seem to be the solution to ordering the right amount of wallpaper, but they are meant to calculate the square footage of the room. They also do not calculate pattern repeats, and that is a very important part of your calculation.

This is why it is important to let me, the wallpaper installer, figure this out for you. I have used all of the wallpaper formulas after over 42 years in the industry and know how to calculate the exact right amount of wallpaper for your project.

One example of how badly the online calculator works is this: Let's say we are going to wallpaper a room with grass cloth. The room is 10 feet by 12 feet with 9 foot ceilings. So I put into the online calculator the area of 396 square feet. It came back and told me I needed 6 rolls 24 feet long each and 3 feet wide per roll. When I use my formula, I come up with 8 rolls 24 feet long by 3 feet wide each. And this calculation doesn't even include a pattern or a drop match, which can require even more wallpaper!

The difference is because I am only getting 2 sheets that are 9 feet long (the ceiling height) out of each roll. (9x2 =18 24-18 =6) The roll is only 24 feet long, so I have 6 feet of waste that was not accounted for with the online calculator. If I need 16 sheets to get around the room, I will be 4 sheets shy using the online calculator. That is 4 sheets or 12 feet or an entire wall. Not exactly a complete job!

The online calculator was only going to provide me with paper for three quarters of the room. That makes a huge difference. The result is you'll have to reschedule me to come back for that one wall (and I charge an additional day for that.) It also means moving the furniture again, waiting until the other wallpaper arrives, and then getting back on the schedule.

So, please let me figure this all out for you and get the right amount of paper to begin with. This is why I ask the questions I do on my Contact Page. I hope this helps!