Measure these first
- Length and width of the pool, inside the walls.
- Water depth at the shallow end and at the deep end. Tiles usually run up past the water to the coping, so add about 150mm above the water line.
- The number of steps, if you are tiling them.
Tiling the whole pool
For a rectangular pool, add up the walls and the floor. The two long walls taper from the shallow depth to the deep depth, so use the average of the two. The floor is slightly longer than the pool because it slopes. Steps add the tread and riser of each one across the width. For a kidney or freeform pool, measure the overall length and width; the calculator works the area from the shape.
Tiling just the waterline
Measure around the edge of the pool, the perimeter, in linear metres, and multiply it by the height of the band. A 150mm band around a 10 x 4m pool is 28 linear metres x 0.15m = 4.2m². If you already know the perimeter, the calculator has a linear metres option.
Allow extra for cuts and spares
Add around 10% for cuts, corners and breakages, and a little more for complicated pools with lots of curves or steps. Keep a few spare tiles or sheets after the job: if one is ever damaged, a later batch may not match exactly.
Boxes, not square metres
Tiles are sold by the box, and each box covers a set area shown on the product page. Once you have the area, the calculator rounds up to whole boxes for you.
Ready to work it out? Open any pool tile and use the calculator next to the price.