Calculate Square Footage

Calculating the area of a place in square feet or square footage, is a simple and useful exercise. You don't need to be a Geometry or Mathematics whiz to get it done. All you need is a standard measuring tape, a pencil and a calculator or not if you are willing to multiply by hand!

Formula For Calculating Square Footage
Area is a quantitative measure of the surface expanse of any object or region. The term square footage comes from the unit of calculating 'Area', which is usually calculated in square feet. That is, when length is measured in feet, the area is calculated in square feet. There are different formulas for calculating area according to the geometric shape of that region. Here are the 4 most common formulas:

• Formula for Area of a Square Region: (Length)²
• Formula for Area of a Rectangular Region: (Length x Breadth)
• Formula for Area of a Circle: (3.14159 x Radius²)
• Formula For Area of a Triangle: (½ x Base x Height)

If the length breadth, radius, base and height are all calculated in the unit of feet, then the area calculated will be in square feet. Why it is called 'square feet' is clear in case of a square area. Let's say, that the length of a square region is 10 feet, then its area would be 100 square feet. Which means, that the area consists of 100 squares of 1 square foot each! The square is actually a special case of a rectangle, which has length equal to breadth.

Area of a House
You will have to calculate square footage of a house in case you are planning to go for a refurnishing project, like the change of carpet or you may need to know the walled area of your house for an interior painting project. To calculate the area of your house, arm yourself with a tape measure, a pencil and a piece of paper. Start calculating the area, room by room. Measure the length, breadth and height of every room in feet. Most of the rooms are rectangular in shape. To calculate the area, just multiply the measured length and breadth to get the area.

Area of a Lot
A land lot may not be an exact geometrical figure of a rectangle or a square. It is usually irregular. In that case, what you need to do is measure all the dimensions of the lot and draw a map of it on paper, which is accurate and to the scale. Then you can divide the lot area into squares, rectangles and triangles, according to whatever is the shape of the plot. Next, you must calculate the area of all these individual pieces, using the formulas given above and add it all up. The sum total of all the areas, of all the individual pieces will give you the total square footage of your lot. Exactly 43,560 square feet make one acre. So, if you want to convert the calculated area value into acres, then just divide the whole value by 43,560, to get the acreage.

You must have realized that measuring and calculating area is simple, after reading this article. All you need are the measurements and the right formulas.