How to Figure the Number of Wallpaper Rolls
- 1). Make a rough pencil sketch of all four walls with the openings included. Measure the height and width of each wall and opening; round the figures up or down to the nearest foot. Transfer the figures to your sketch.
- 2). Multiply width by height on a calculator to arrive at square footage; jot the figures down on your sketch. Add the totals and subtract the opening square footage from the wall square footage to arrive at the actual area to be covered. Round up to the nearest square foot.
- 3). Calculate the usable square footage per roll. Standard wallpaper rolls contain 36 square feet of material, and you will lose a certain amount to pattern matching and opening returns. Figure 20 percent wastage if you have a distinctively spaced pattern, which leaves 24 square feet of usable paper per roll. If you have a zero or straight match pattern, figure 10 percent wastage, or 32 square feet of usable paper per roll.
- 4). Divide the usable square footage per roll by the total square footage to be covered to determine the number of rolls required.
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