How Much Baseboard Do I Need? Measuring Trim

Measure the perimeter, minus doorways

Baseboard runs around the room, so start with the perimeter: 2 × (width + length). A 12 × 14 room is 52 linear feet. Subtract each doorway opening (about 3 ft for a standard door) — one door leaves 49 feet of trim to buy.

Try it Baseboard & Trim Calculator → Find the linear feet and number of baseboard pieces for a room, with doorways removed and waste for cuts.

Add waste for cuts

Every inside and outside corner is a mitered cut, and mistakes happen, so add about 10% waste. Our 49 ft becomes about 54 ft to purchase. Buy the longest sticks that fit your walls and vehicle — fewer joints means a cleaner run.

• Baseboard is sold in fixed lengths (commonly 8, 12 and 16 ft) — divide your total by the stick length and round up.
• Plan long walls to use single sticks; put unavoidable seams (scarf joints) where they're least visible.
• Buy matching shoe molding or quarter-round if your floor gaps need hiding.

Corners and returns

Inside corners are usually coped for a tight fit; outside corners are mitered at 45 degrees. Count them up front so you cut in the right order and don't run short on the last wall — which is exactly where people do.