Short answer: the figure most published guides give is 10%, with 5% to 10% for a straight lay in a plain room, rising to about 15% for diagonal layouts, large formats and rooms with many corners, and to 15% to 20% for natural stone. Herringbone is where they disagree most: the figures published for it run from 10–15% up to 30%, and 15% to 20% is the most common band. The public summary of AS 3958:2023, the installation standard, gives no wastage figure, and we did not read the full text; the Australian Tile Council asks that quantities allow for wastage, cutting and spare tiles, and that the allowance go up when the pattern is complex or the tile is hard to cut. The tables below give every figure next to the organisation that publishes it, as read on 18 October 2026.
How to read these tables
Each figure on this page is a planning allowance as one organisation publishes it: four tile brands, eleven tile retailers and one Australian tiling contractor, sixteen in all. They are not Tilekind's recommendation and they are not a standard. They show where published advice agrees and where it does not, so that you can talk to your installer with the range in front of you. The Australian Tile Council puts the final responsibility for quantities on the buyer, through their tiler [1]. The figure depends on the room, the cut pattern, the tile and how it is laid.
Two things differ between sources and are worth knowing before you compare numbers. Some figures are meant to cover cuts and breakage only; others also cover spare tiles kept for later repairs. And some sources publish a range, others a single number. Where a page gives two different figures for the same case, both are shown. The bracketed numbers point to the references at the end.
1. Wastage allowance by laying pattern
| Pattern | Published allowance | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Straight lay (grid or stack) | 5% to 10% | 5–10% for a straight grid, Johnson Tiles [4]; 5–10% for straight lay, AMP Tiles [29]; 5% for a simple rectangular room laid in a straight grid, Perfectly Laid [31]; 10% for a straight or standard layout, National Tiles [19]; 10% baseline, Marmoré [28] |
| Brick bond (offset) | 10% to 15% | 10–15% for brick bond, Topps Tiles [35]; 10% for running bond with an offset under 50%, Marmoré [28]. No source gives a separate figure for a half offset. |
| Diagonal (45°) | 10% to 20%; every source includes 15% | 15% in its diamond-pattern section and 10–15% or more in its tips on ordering, Johnson Tiles [4]; 15% for diagonal or complex layouts, National Tiles [19]; 12–15%, AMP Tiles [29]; 15%, Perfectly Laid [31]; 15% in the questions on the page and 20% in the main text, Marmoré [28] |
| Herringbone | 10% to 30%; four of the seven sources fall between 15% and 20% | 10–15% in its key takeaways and herringbone section, and 10–15% or more in its tips on ordering, Johnson Tiles [4]; 12–15%, AMP Tiles [29]; at least 15%, Buildmat [30]; 15%, Perfectly Laid [31]; 20%, TileCloud [25]; 20% in the main text and 15% in the questions, with 25–30% for natural-stone herringbone in an irregular room, Marmoré [28]; 30% for herringbone or intricate patterns, National Tiles [19] |
| Chevron | 10% to 20% | 10–15%, Johnson Tiles [4]; 15% in the questions and 20% in the main text, Marmoré [28] |
| Basketweave | 10% to 15% | 10–15%, Johnson Tiles [4]. One source only. |
| Special laying patterns, not named | 15% to 20% | 15–20%, Tile Factory Outlet [32]. The Australian Tile Council says to increase the allowance for a complex pattern, without a figure [1]. |
| Versailles and other multi-size modular patterns | No published figure found | Depends on the site; ask your installer. |
For how these patterns are set out on a wall or floor, see subway tile layouts: eight patterns and seven layouts for 600 × 600, 300 × 600 and 600 × 1200 mm tiles. The herringbone guide works a quantity through at 10% and 15%.
2. Wastage allowance by tile size and material
| Tile | Published allowance | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Mosaic sheets | 8% | Marmoré, in the questions on its page [28]. One source only. |
| Tiles up to and including 600 × 600 mm | 10% | 10%, Tile Factory Outlet [32]; 10% for tiles under 600 × 600 mm, Marmoré [28] |
| Large formats and slabs | 10% to 20% | 15–20% for formats larger than 600 × 600 mm, Tile Factory Outlet [32]; 15% for large-format porcelain, Perfectly Laid [31]; 15% for 600 × 1200 mm and larger in the main text and 12% for slabs larger than 600 × 1200 mm in the questions, Marmoré [28]; 10% for slabs, Beaumont Tiles [23] |
| Natural stone | 15% to 20% | 15–20%, Tile Factory Outlet [32]; 15%, Perfectly Laid [31]; 20%, Marmoré [28] |
| Plank tiles | No published figure found | Depends on the site; ask your installer. |
| Rectified compared with non-rectified edges | No published figure found | Depends on the site; ask your installer. |
Mosaics bought by the sheet are worked through in measuring a mosaic project.
3. Wastage allowance by room and surface
| Room or surface | Published allowance | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Simple rectangular room, straight lay | 5% to 10% | 5%, Perfectly Laid [31]; 10% for a regular room, Marmoré [28] |
| Most bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and open-plan floors | 10% | Perfectly Laid [31]; 10% for rectangular bathrooms and open-plan kitchens with islands, Marmoré, in the questions on its page [28] |
| Bathrooms with vanities, niches and showers | 12% to 13% | Marmoré, in the questions on its page [28]. One source only. |
| Irregular rooms, or many corners and penetrations | About 15% | 15% for rooms with many corners and penetrations, Perfectly Laid [31]; 15% for irregular rooms, Marmoré [28]. Crossville lists odd room shapes among the reasons it gives for 10–15% [13]. |
| Feature walls with matched veining | 15% | Marmoré [28]. One source only. |
| Complex feature work | 20% or more | Perfectly Laid [31]. One source only. |
| Pool surround in pavers | 15% | Marmoré, in a worked example with 600 × 600 mm pavers, giving perimeter cuts around the pool coping as the reason [28]. One source only. |
| Walls compared with floors | 15% walls, 10% floors | OneTile [33]. One source only. |
| Small rooms | No published figure found | Depends on the site; ask your installer. |
| Kitchen splashbacks | No published figure found | Depends on the site; ask your installer. |
A bathroom floor, the walls of the same bathroom and a kitchen splashback are counted out tile by tile in how many tiles do I need: three rooms worked through.
4. The single figure most guides give
Where a guide gives one figure for any job, it is usually 10%. Johnson Tiles' answers recommend 10% for cuts and wastage, and its calculator offers a 10% wastage option [5][6]; National Tiles' buying guide says to order 10% above the area [20]; Beaumont Tiles suggests about 10% for cuts and breakages [21]; Perini Tiles recommends 10% [27]; Topps Tiles works on 10% [34]; and Perfectly Laid calls 10% a sound starting point for most straightforward jobs [31]. Atlas Concorde recommends an average of 10% to 15% [14], Crossville says most installers recommend 10% to 15% [13], and Tile Mall says to order 10% to 15% extra to cover mistakes, cuts and future repairs [26]. TileCloud's standard figure is higher, at 15% [25].
5. What the standards say
The Australian Tile Council lists seven Australian Standards that apply to tiling, among them AS 3958 for installation and AS ISO 13006 for tile definitions, classification and marking [2]. AS 3958:2023 (amended 2024), Installation of ceramic and stone tiles, is a paid document; its public summary covers background preparation, fixing and grouting and gives no wastage figure [3]. We did not read the full text of it or of the other standards the Tile Council lists. The clearest Australian line is the Tile Council's own checklist: quantities “should always include allowances for wastage, cutting and spare tiles”, and the percentage should be increased when the pattern is complex or the tiles are hard to cut [1]. It gives no number.
6. How the allowance is worked out
- Area. Multiply length by width for each surface. Split an L-shaped or irregular room into rectangles, work out each one and add them together [19][35].
- Doors and windows. Sources differ. Topps Tiles takes doors, windows and other obstructions off the total [35]. TileCloud leaves small windows in, counting them as solid wall, and takes off larger windows and doors [25]. Beaumont Tiles takes off the number of tiles that would have covered a window, allowing for its sills and sides [21]. Whichever you use, the allowance goes on afterwards.
- Allowance. Multiply the area by one plus the allowance: 1.10 for 10%, 1.15 for 15%. Perfectly Laid notes that its percentages are worked on the net tiled area [31].
- Boxes. Divide by the area one box covers and round up to whole boxes. National Tiles' own example: 20 m² plus 10% is 22 m²; at 1.5 m² a box, that is 15 boxes, because you always round up [19].
Narrow strips are the exception to working by area. Beaumont Tiles' example is a 6000 × 900 mm passage in 250 mm tiles: area alone gives 86 tiles, but counting whole tiles gives 96, because the 900 mm width needs 3.6 tiles across, which becomes 4 in each of the 24 rows [24]. Beaumont's general advice is to work in tiles, not square metres.
The tile calculator on this site follows the same order: surface area less the openings you enter, times one plus the allowance you choose, divided by the area of one tile and rounded up. It offers 10%, 15% and 20% or a figure of your own, as a planning input, not a recommendation.
7. When the guides say to allow more
- A complex laying pattern, or tiles that are hard to cut [1].
- Diagonal, herringbone and chevron layouts (section 1).
- Large formats and natural stone [28][31][32].
- Irregular rooms, and rooms with many corners and penetrations [13][28][31].
- Feature walls where the veining has to match across tiles [28].
- Tiles damaged in transit, and the chance that the same tile is not available later; Crossville lists both among the reasons it gives for ordering extra [13].
8. Spare tiles: inside the allowance or on top of it
Published guides split on this. National Tiles [19][20], Tile Mall [26] and TileCloud [25] in Australia, and Topps Tiles [36] and Atlas Concorde [14] overseas, count future repairs inside one allowance. Others keep spares separate. Beaumont Tiles gives about 10% for cuts and breakages and also suggests ordering some extras to store for future use [21]; another Beaumont guide calls its 10% a spare [22]. Marmoré says to keep at least 5% of the total order as spares after the job, on top of the wastage allowance; counted in boxes, that is one to two extra boxes from the original order (never less than one full box), or three to five for a feature tile [28]. Daltile recommends buying about 10% more than the job needs as spare stock [7], and Crossville gives 10% of the installed area as a common figure for spares [13]. We found no Australian association figure for spares.
Spares only help if they match. The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation advises having tiles from the same dye lot or run on hand before a repair [17], and the Australian Tile Council suggests keeping the marked section from one empty box of each tile for later reference [1].
9. Why the whole quantity is bought at once
Tiles are made in production batches. The Australian Tile Council notes that batches are usually given a shade number and a calibre (size), generally printed on the box [1]; Marazzi USA prints the shade (dye lot) and caliber on every box and advises buying one shade and caliber where possible [10]; Topps Tiles notes that every box carries a batch number on its label [36]. Crossville notes that different production runs can come out slightly different in size or shade [13].
A later order may not match. Marazzi USA says that where a job is extended over time it may not be possible to get the shade first installed [10]; Atlas Concorde says a later order from current stock may not be a perfect match [14]; TileCloud adds that a tile can be discontinued [25]. The Australian Tile Council warns that under-measuring can leave the same tile or batch unavailable [1]; Topps Tiles advises ordering the full quantity in one go [36], and Marmoré to over-order rather than re-order [28].
Before laying, the advice is consistent:
- Check the shade and calibre markings on every box before work starts; the Australian Tile Council puts this on the tiler, and notes that suppliers will not accept claims once tiles are installed [1]. Daltile's and Marazzi USA's warranties both require products to be inspected before installation [9][12].
- Blend tiles from several boxes as you lay: four to five boxes in the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation's mockup advice [16], three or four in Topps Tiles' advice for boxes from different batches [36], and several cartons in Daltile's and Marazzi USA's installation guides [8][11]. Johnson Tiles recommends a dry-lay test, which lets problems be picked up before final laying [4][6].
- For tiles with high shade variation, look at the range, not a single piece. The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation describes the shade scale from V0, no shade range the average eye can detect, to V4, a potentially extremely varied colour and tone, and advises viewing the range before selecting at the higher grades [15]. National Tiles describes a V1 to V4 rating for natural-look and stone-look tiles [20].
10. Defective and broken tiles
No tile maker, retailer or tiling association we read publishes a percentage for tiles broken in transit; the one figure we saw, on a US home-improvement site, is not used here. Crossville says only that some tiles may arrive broken or damaged [13]. On defects, Noah Chitty of the Tile Council of North America explains, in a 2004 TILE magazine column republished by the Council, that under ANSI A137.1, the US tile standard, acceptance is judged on a random sample of 80 tiles, which passes with five or fewer defective, and that this is not the same as five defects in a whole delivery [18]; the current edition of the standard was not read. Atlas Concorde writes that current standards allow 5% defective tiles in a first-choice batch, without naming the standard [14]. The Australian Tile Council notes that affected tiles can usually be used for cuts, but that defective tiles should not be installed [1].
11. Where a sample fits
A sample settles colour and face before you order; it does not fix the batch that arrives. Marazzi USA's warranty, for one, says samples are representative only and may not exactly match supplied tiles because of batch manufacturing [12]. On this site, tile samples are A$3 a piece, up to five pieces to a tray, and sample delivery is free Australia-wide. The A$3 a piece can be credited against a tile order placed within six months.
Questions
What percentage should I add for tile wastage?
The figure most guides give is 10% as a general allowance, and 5% to 10% for a straight lay in a plain room. Published figures rise to about 15% for diagonal layouts, large formats and rooms with many corners, to 15% to 20% for natural stone, and to between 10% and 30% for herringbone, most often 15% to 20%. Your installer sets the final figure.
Is 10% enough for herringbone?
One source in the table, Johnson Tiles, gives 10–15% (or more, in its tips on ordering). The others give 12% to 30%, most often 15% to 20%. Ask your installer before ordering at 10%.
Does the allowance include spare tiles?
It depends on the source. Several Australian retailers include future repairs in one figure; Daltile and Crossville give about 10% for spares, separate from the cutting allowance, and Marmoré says to keep at least 5% spare on top of it.
Should I subtract doors and windows?
Of the three sources that cover openings, all take the large ones off: Topps Tiles doors, windows and obstructions, TileCloud larger windows and doors, and Beaumont Tiles windows. TileCloud leaves small windows in, counting them as solid wall. The allowance is added after.
Is there an Australian Standard for tile wastage?
The public summary of AS 3958:2023, the installation standard, gives no wastage figure. We did not read the full text of it or of the other standards the Australian Tile Council lists. The Tile Council's checklist asks for an allowance for wastage, cutting and spares, increased for complex patterns, without a number.
Why not order extra tiles later if I run short?
Because a later order can come from a different batch, and the shade or size may not match the tiles already laid. Some tiles are also discontinued.
Where these figures come from
Every page in the references was opened and read on 18 October 2026, and each figure in the third column of the tables is copied as that page published it on that date; the second column is our summary of the range to its right. Where one page gives different figures in its main text and its questions, both are shown. Pages that could not be opened without a browser check (Bunnings, Home Depot and Lowe's) were left out rather than quoted from memory. The tables will be re-read and the date changed when they are updated. Nothing here is a statement about whether a tile or pattern is right for a particular room; that is a question for the product record and the installer.
To cite this page: Tilekind (2026). Tile wastage percentage by pattern, size and room: what published guides say. Read 18 October 2026. https://tilekind.com.au/blogs/guides/tile-wastage-percentage-by-pattern-size-and-room
References
[1] Australian Tile Council. Tiling checklist. australiantilecouncil.com.au/general-information/tiling-checklist
[2] Australian Tile Council. Australian tiling standards. australiantilecouncil.com.au/general-information/australian-tiling-standards
[3] Standards Australia. AS 3958:2023 Installation of ceramic and stone tiles (store page). store.standards.org.au/product/as-3958-2023
[4] Johnson Tiles Australia. The art of tile layout patterns. johnsontiles.com.au/blog/the-art-of-tile-layout-patterns
[5] Johnson Tiles Australia. Tile calculator. johnsontiles.com.au/calculator
[6] Johnson Tiles Australia. FAQs. johnsontiles.com.au/faqs
[7] Daltile. FAQs: what is attic stock? daltile.com/how-to/faqs
[8] Daltile. How to install floor tile. daltile.com/how-to/how-to-install-tile/how-to-install-floor-tile
[9] Daltile. Warranty. daltile.com/why-daltile/industry-standards/warranty
[10] Marazzi USA. FAQs. marazziusa.com/style-and-design/resources/faqs
[11] Marazzi USA. How to install. marazziusa.com/style-and-design/resources/how-to-install
[12] Marazzi USA. Warranty. marazziusa.com/our-mission/industry-standards/warranty
[13] Crossville. FAQs. crossville.com/company/faqs
[14] Atlas Concorde. FAQ. atlasconcorde.com/en/faq
[15] Carothers, S. How to prepare for tile shade variation. Ceramic Tile Education Foundation. ceramictilefoundation.org/blog/how-to-prepare-for-tile-shade-variation
[16] Ceramic Tile Education Foundation. Why a tile installation mockup is really necessary. ceramictilefoundation.org/blog/why-tile-installation-mockup-is-really-necessary
[17] Ceramic Tile Education Foundation. ANSI standards: a tile installer's best friend. ceramictilefoundation.org/blog/ansi-standards-tile-installers-best-friend
[18] Chitty, N. (2004). Examination of tile for defects. TILE magazine, Fall 2004; republished by Tile Council of North America. tcnatile.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Examination-of-Tile-for-Defects.pdf
[19] National Tiles. Tile and flooring calculator. nationaltiles.com.au/flooring-tile-area-calculator
[20] National Tiles. Tile buying guide. nationaltiles.com.au/tile-buying-guide
[21] Beaumont Tiles. How to measure your tiles. beaumont-tiles.com.au/blogs/diy-with-confidence/how-to-measure-your-tiles
[22] Beaumont Tiles. Laying out your tiles. beaumont-tiles.com.au/blogs/diy-with-confidence/laying-out-your-tiles
[23] Beaumont Tiles. Tile sizes and thickness explained. beaumont-tiles.com.au/blogs/diy-with-confidence/tile-sizes-thickness-explained
[24] Beaumont Tiles. How to measure your floor for tiling. beaumont-tiles.com.au/blogs/inspiration/how-to-measure-your-floor-for-tiling
[25] TileCloud. How many tiles do I need!? tilecloud.com.au/blogs/news/how-many-tiles-do-i-need
[26] Tile Mall. Top 10 tiling mistakes to avoid in Australia. tilemall.com.au/blogs/tile-guide/top-10-tiling-mistakes-to-avoid-in-australia
[27] Perini Tiles. How ordering tiles works. perini.com.au/how-ordering-tiles-works
[28] Marmoré. Tile wastage: how much extra should you order? marmore.com.au/journal/tile-wastage-calculator-guide
[29] AMP Tiles. Tile calculator tips: wastage and layout. amptiles.com.au/blog/tile-calculator-tips-wastage-layout
[30] Buildmat. What is a herringbone tile layout? buildmat.com.au/blogs/help-centre/what-is-a-herringbone-tile-layout
[31] Perfectly Laid. How much tile wastage should I allow for my project? perfectlylaid.com.au/how-much-tile-wastage-should-i-allow
[32] Tile Factory Outlet. Frequently asked questions. tfo.com.au/frequently-asked-questions
[33] OneTile. Tiles wastage. onetile.com.au/en-au/tiles-wastage.aspx
[34] Topps Tiles. Tile calculator. toppstiles.co.uk/tile-calculator
[35] Topps Tiles. How many tiles will I need per square metre? toppstiles.co.uk/knowledge-base/how-many-tiles-will-i-need-per-square-metre-m2
[36] Topps Tiles. What is batch variation and how can I avoid it? toppstiles.co.uk/knowledge-base/what-is-batch-variation
Where this guide sits: Where to start sets out the order the guides follow, and buying tiles online in Australia covers samples and batches before an order.
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