Home Improvement
Wallpaper Roll Calculator
Enter wall height and width (or perimeter), roll length and width, pattern repeat and waste to see rolls to buy.
How many wallpaper rolls do I need?
Wallpaper is sold in rolls of fixed length and width, so the practical question is how many full-height strips (drops) your walls need and how many of those strips fit on one roll after pattern matching. Measure wall height and the total width you will cover — or enter a room perimeter if you are papering all the way around — then enter the roll length, roll width and vertical pattern repeat from the label. The calculator builds strip length as height plus repeat, counts strips across the width, divides by strips per roll and rounds up, with an optional waste percentage for corners and mistakes. Patterned papers with large repeats waste more length than plains. For adjacent finishes see the laminate flooring and flooring tools when you are also renewing floors in the same room.
Worked example
A 2.4 m high wall 4.5 m wide with 0.53 m roll width needs ceil(4.5/0.53) = 9 strips. With a 0.53 m repeat, strip length ≈ 2.93 m. A 10.05 m roll holds floor(10.05/2.93) = 3 strips, so rolls ≈ ceil(9/3) = 3 before waste.
Limits and assumptions
Assumes vertical hanging on flat walls. Recesses, arched openings, diagonal matching and border papers need extra. Always confirm roll size on the batch you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use perimeter or wall width?
Use perimeter when papering a full room loop; use a single wall width for one feature wall. Do not double-count both.
Why add pattern repeat to height?
Each new drop must start on the same motif. Adding the repeat (or the label’s match allowance) stops you running short mid-roll.
Is 10% waste enough?
Plains and small repeats often sit near 5–10%. Large motifs, many corners or first-time hanging may need 15%+.
Do paste-the-wall and traditional papers calculate the same?
Strip counting is the same; paste method does not change how many rolls you buy.