How do you calculate how much carpeting is needed for a room?

Answer 1

The obvious answer is to figure out the total area of the room and then buy an area of carpet equal to this amount. Since rooms often do not match up with standard carpet widths, this can lead to a patchwork of small bits cobbled together to cover the last areas of the room.

Choose an area of the room that can be covered with one piece of the carpet. This is carpet area #1. Then determine the fewest large pieces of carpet needed to cover the rest -- even if there is some waste involved. This is carpet area #2. Total carpet purchase is area 1+2.