Baseboard Calculator: Measure Once, Order Right.

Measure the total length of every wall — the perimeter — then subtract the width of any doorways or open archways. Add a 10% waste allowance for miscuts and corners, and that total is how much to order. The calculator above does this automatically for one or several rooms at once.

Add the length and width, then double it — a 12′ × 10′ room is 2 × (12 + 10) = 44 linear feet of wall. Subtract door openings, then add roughly 10% for waste to get your order quantity.

Material typically runs $0.50–$8 per linear foot depending on the type — MDF is cheapest, solid wood and polyurethane cost more — plus labor if you're hiring it out. Enter a price per linear foot in the calculator above to get a total material cost estimate.

Residential baseboard typically runs 3″ to 5¼″ tall. Commercial cove base is usually 4″ or 6″ — see the commercial cove base guide for the full breakdown.

Yes — a 10% allowance is standard to cover miscuts, coped inside corners, and mitered outside corners. Rooms with lots of corners or doorways can eat more than that, so round up rather than ordering the exact number.

Baseboard is rigid wood, MDF, PVC, or polyurethane trim that's nailed to the wall. Cove base is a thin, flexible vinyl or rubber strip that's glued directly to the wall at the floor line — no nails, no paint — and is standard in basements, laundry rooms, and commercial buildings. See the full material comparison.