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Guide · 3 worked examples

How to order floor tiles: boxes, batch and shade, adhesive bags

Count the order in whole tiles, get every box from one batch and shade, look at 30 tiles laid out before the tiler starts, and work out the adhesive from the bag's own data sheet.

By Bulan Sarkar · Updated

Quick Answer

Work the order out in whole tiles: area ÷ area of one tile, plus 10% for a straight lay (about 15% for diagonal), then round up to full boxes. A 12 × 10 ft room in 600 × 600 mm tiles with skirting needs 38 tiles, which is 10 boxes of 4. Ask for every box from one batch and one shade code; IS 15622 asks makers to mark the batch number or date of manufacture on the tile or its packing. On arrival, lay out at least 30 tiles and look at them from 1 m, the way IS 13630 tests surface quality. For adhesive, use the coverage printed on the bag's data sheet: the same 120 sq ft floor takes 3 to 5 bags of 20 kg depending on the bed thickness.

Source: IS 15622:2006, Pressed Ceramic Tiles: Specification, clause 6.1 (marking) and the surface-quality requirement, checked Oct 2026.

+10%for a straight lay; about 15% for diagonal
1 batchand one shade code for the whole room
30 tileslaid out and viewed from 1 m (IS 13630)
3 to 5 bagsof 20 kg adhesive for a 120 sq ft floor

Count the order in tiles, then in boxes

Shops quote by the square foot and sell by the box, and the box label rounds the area. A box of four 600 × 600 mm tiles is 1.44 m², printed as 15.50 sq ft. Work in whole tiles instead and the rounding stops mattering.

  1. Measure the floor: length × width, in feet. Add skirting if it will be cut from the same tile (perimeter × 4 in).
  2. Divide by the area of one tile. A 600 × 600 mm tile is close to 4 sq ft; a 600 × 1200 mm tile is close to 8 sq ft.
  3. Add the wastage: 10% for a straight grid, about 15% for diagonal or herringbone. Cut edges, breakage and offcuts you can't reuse all come out of this.
  4. Round up to whole tiles, then to whole boxes.
A 12 × 10 ft room, straight lay, 10% wastage (same arithmetic as our tile calculator)
TileFloor onlyFloor + 4 in skirting
600 × 600 mm (box of 4)33 tiles = 9 boxes38 tiles = 10 boxes
600 × 1200 mm (box of 2)17 tiles = 9 boxes19 tiles = 10 boxes

CPWD's schedule allows only 2.5% wastage on its tiling items, but that's a large government floor where offcuts get reused across rooms. A single room can't do that, which is why 10% is the safer figure at home.

From a room size to a tile order1 floor 120 sq ft plus skirting 14.7 sq ft; 2 divide by 4 sq ft a tile, 33.7 tiles; 3 add 10 percent, 38 tiles; 4 round up to boxes of 4, 10 boxes; 5 ask for one batch and one shade code.1Floor 12 × 10 = 120 sq ft, skirting 44 ft × 4 in =14.7 sq ft134.7 sq ft to cover2÷ 4 sq ft a tile (600 × 600 mm)33.7 tiles3+10% wastage, straight lay37.03, so 38 tiles4Round up to boxes of 410 boxes, 40 tiles, 2 spare5One batch, one shade code on every boxCheck the labels before the truck leaves
From a room size to a tile order. The figures are the 12 × 10 ft room with skirting from the table above.

Batch and shade codes: why one room needs one lot

Tiles are fired in production runs, and colour and size drift a little from run to run. IS 15622:2006 asks for each tile or its packing to be marked with the maker's name, the batch number or date of manufacture, and the tile's designation (clause 6.1). Most makers also print a shade code and a size or calibre code on the carton. Those aren't BIS requirements, but they're the codes that matter when you lay the floor.

Two boxes of the same design with different shade codes can look the same in the shop and different on the floor, where 30 or 40 tiles sit side by side in daylight. Two different calibres can leave joints that won't line up. Every box for one room should come from one batch and one shade, and so should the spares you keep for repairs.

Read the labels while the boxes are still on the truck. If the load is mixed, count how many tiles each lot holds and see whether one lot covers the room on its own (the third worked example does this).

Does one shade lot cover the room?Tiles needed: 38. Shade A, 7 boxes: 28 tiles. Shade B, 3 boxes: 12 tiles. Neither reaches 38.Shade A, 7 boxes28 tiles, 10 shortShade B, 3 boxes12 tiles38 tiles needed
Does one shade lot cover the room?. The third worked example: 10 boxes of 4 arrived as 7 boxes of shade A and 3 of shade B. The room needs 38 tiles, and neither lot gets there on its own.

Check the tiles before the tiler starts

IS 13630 (Part 1):2006 tests surface quality on at least 1 m² of tiles, with a minimum of 30 tiles. They're laid out face up, lit evenly (the lab uses 300 lux), and looked at with the naked eye from 1 m. The person who laid them out isn't the one who judges them. The check covers cracks, crazing, short or uneven glaze, depressions, holes, specks and spots, and decorating faults. Effects the design means to have don't count. IS 15622 then asks that at least 95% of tiles are free of defects that would spoil the look of a large area.

You can do a home version in ten minutes. Open three or four boxes, lay 30 tiles out on a clean floor near a window, mixing tiles from different boxes, and have someone else look at them from standing height. Hold two tiles face to face to compare sizes and run a straight edge across the faces for bow. A tile that's chipped, cracked or a clearly different shade goes back; one or two out of 30 is within the 95% allowance, but a box full of them isn't.

The ten-minute check on a tile delivery1 read batch, shade and calibre codes on every box; 2 open three or four boxes; 3 lay out 30 tiles mixed from different boxes; 4 a second person views them from 1 metre in daylight; 5 set aside chipped, cracked or off-shade tiles and count them against the 95 percent allowance.1Read batch, shade and calibre codes on every boxOne lot for the room2Open three or four boxesNot just the top one3Lay out 30 tiles, mixed from different boxesFace up, on a clean floor, in daylight4Someone else views them from 1 mCracks, chips, specks, off-shade tiles5Count the rejects against 95%1 or 2 in 30 is within it; more goes back
The ten-minute check on a tile delivery. Adapted from IS 13630 (Part 1):2006 clause 7: 1 m² or 30 tiles, even light, viewed from 1 m by someone who didn't lay them out.

How many bags of tile adhesive

Adhesive is sold in 20 kg bags, and the coverage depends on how thick the bed is, which depends on the tile size and the notch on the tiler's trowel. Bigger tiles need a thicker bed. Use the coverage on the data sheet for the bag you're buying, not a number from a forum. Two Indian makers' sheets show how wide the spread is:

Coverage from two makers' technical data sheets (IS 15477:2019 Type 1 'T' / EN 12004 C1T adhesives), read October 2026
Data sheetBed or trowelStated coverage120 sq ft (11.15 m²) needs
Nuvoco Zero M Tile Adhesive T13 mm, 6 × 6 × 6 mm notch trowel55 to 60 sq ft per 20 kg2.0 to 2.2 bags, so 3
Nerolac Tile Adhesive Classic4 mm bed, medium tiles5.5 to 6 kg/m²61 to 67 kg, so 4 bags
Nerolac Tile Adhesive Classic5 mm bed, large tiles7.5 to 8 kg/m²84 to 89 kg, so 5 bags

The bag should name its IS 15477:2019 type and the matching EN 12004 class. C1 adhesives meet the normal tensile adhesion of 0.5 N/mm² and C2 the improved 1.0 N/mm²; T means it won't slip on a wall, E means extended open time. Large-format tiles, outdoor floors and tiling over old tiles usually call for a C2 adhesive; the maker's sheet says what each product is meant for.

Adhesive for a 120 sq ft floor, by bed thickness3 mm bed with a 6 mm notch: 40 to 44 kg. 4 mm bed, medium tiles: 61 to 67 kg. 5 mm bed, large tiles: 84 to 89 kg.3 mm bed, 6 mm notch trowel 40 to 44 kg (3 bags)4 mm bed, medium tiles 61 to 67 kg (4 bags)5 mm bed, large tiles 84 to 89 kg (5 bags)20406080100kg of adhesive
Adhesive for a 120 sq ft floor, by bed thickness. 11.15 m² at the coverage each data sheet states. Round up to whole 20 kg bags: 3, 4 and 5 bags.

Worked examples

1. Boxes for a 12 × 10 ft room in 600 × 600 mm tiles

  • Floor: 12 × 10 = 120 sq ft; skirting: 2 × (12 + 10) = 44 ft × 4 in = 14.67 sq ft
  • Total 134.67 sq ft ÷ 4 sq ft a tile = 33.67 tiles
  • +10% straight-lay wastage: 33.67 × 1.1 = 37.03, so 38 tiles
  • 38 ÷ 4 tiles a box = 9.5, so 10 boxes (40 tiles)

Result: Order 10 boxes from one batch and shade. The 2 tiles left over are your repair spares.

2. Adhesive bags for the same 120 sq ft floor

  • 120 sq ft ÷ 10.764 = 11.15 m²
  • Nuvoco sheet, 3 mm bed: 120 ÷ 60 to 120 ÷ 55 = 2.0 to 2.2 bags, so 3 bags
  • Nerolac sheet, 4 mm bed: 11.15 × 5.5 to 6 kg = 61 to 67 kg = 3.1 to 3.3 bags, so 4 bags
  • Nerolac sheet, 5 mm bed for large tiles: 11.15 × 7.5 to 8 kg = 84 to 89 kg = 4.2 to 4.5 bags, so 5 bags

Result: Anywhere from 3 to 5 bags for the same floor. Ask the tiler for the trowel size, then buy by that line of the sheet plus one spare bag if the shop takes back unopened ones.

3. A delivery with two shade codes

  • Needed: 38 tiles (10 boxes of 4), from example 1
  • Delivered: 7 boxes with shade code A, 3 boxes with shade code B
  • Shade A holds 7 × 4 = 28 tiles; 28 is less than 38
  • Shade B holds 3 × 4 = 12 tiles

Result: Neither lot covers the room alone. Ask the shop to swap the 3 boxes of B for A before the truck leaves. If they can't, keep B for a different room rather than mixing the two in one floor.

Tips and tricks

  • Count in tiles, not square feet. The box label rounds, and a nominal 2 × 2 ft tile is really 600 mm, a little under 4 sq ft.
  • Photograph every carton label before the boxes go into the store. The batch and shade code is what you quote if you ever need more.
  • Keep 2 to 4 spare tiles from the same lot after the job. A cracked tile five years later is a one-tile repair only if you still have the shade.
  • Mix tiles from several boxes as you lay, so any small shade drift spreads out instead of showing as a patch.
  • Check the bag's packing date as well as the tile codes. The Nuvoco sheet gives a 12-month shelf life for a sealed bag kept dry and out of the sun.
  • Ask before you buy whether the shop takes back unopened boxes and bags. Then the extra 10% doesn't feel like money wasted.

What we would do

We'd work the order out in whole tiles with 10% added, round up to boxes, and ask for one batch and one shade code in writing on the bill. When the boxes arrive we'd read every label, lay 30 tiles out by a window and send back anything off-shade or chipped before the tiler mixes the first bag. For adhesive we'd ask the tiler which trowel they'll use and buy from that line of the data sheet.

Frequently asked questions

How many tile boxes do I need for a 10 × 12 room?
With 600 × 600 mm tiles in a straight lay, the floor alone needs 33 tiles with 10% wastage, which is 9 boxes of 4. With 4-inch skirting cut from the same tiles it's 38 tiles, or 10 boxes.
What does the shade number on a tile box mean?
It's the maker's code for the colour lot of that production run. Tiles with different shade codes can look slightly different on a floor, so every box for one room should share the same shade code and batch.
Can I mix two batches of the same tile?
It's best not to in one room. If you have to, lay one batch per room, or keep the second lot where the two won't sit side by side.
How much area does a 20 kg bag of tile adhesive cover?
It depends on the bed thickness. One maker's data sheet gives 55 to 60 sq ft per 20 kg at 3 mm with a 6 mm notch trowel; another gives 5.5 to 6 kg/m² for a 4 mm bed and 7.5 to 8 kg/m² for a 5 mm bed under large tiles.
How much wastage should I add for tiles?
About 10% for a straight grid in a normal room and about 15% for diagonal or herringbone. CPWD's 2.5% applies to large government floors where offcuts are reused, not to a single room.
How do I check tile quality at site?
Lay out at least 30 tiles from different boxes and have someone view them from 1 m in good light, the way IS 13630 tests surface quality. IS 15622 expects at least 95% to be free of visible defects.

Sources and date checked

This guide covers ordering and checking tiles and adhesive. Whether an old floor or a wet area needs repair or waterproofing first is the tiler's or engineer's call. IS 15622 and IS 13630 are quoted from their 2006 editions; check the current editions for later changes. Adhesive figures are the makers' own and change between products.

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