Skirting & Architrave Calculator – Lengths, Cuts & Cost

MEASURE · CUT · PLAN

Skirting and architrave calculator: lengths, cutting plans and costs

This free skirting and architrave calculator helps you plan trim for a room or a larger project. Calculate skirting boards, baseboards, door architrave or window casing using Metric or Imperial measurements. Start with a quick stock-length estimate, then add detailed piece measurements, existing stock, adhesive and job pricing when useful. Your results can be printed or saved as a PDF through your browser.

How to use the calculator

1. Choose your units. A project name and currency are optional.
2. For skirting, enter room length and width, then subtract lengths that need no skirting. Repeat identical rooms with the quantity field or add more measurements.
3. Check the length of the stock boards you will actually buy. The starting lengths are examples, not universal product sizes.
4. Enable architrave if needed. Door mode uses two legs and one head per face; window mode adds an equal bottom trim piece. Enter finished cut dimensions, not bare opening dimensions.
5. For a cutting plan, enter individual pieces or finished door/window cuts. Add saw, end-trim or piece allowances only where needed.
6. Optionally add extra material, matching existing stock, adhesive, labour and other costs. Calculate, review each profile separately and print your estimate.

Quick skirting quantity example

A rectangular room measuring 4 m by 3 m has a perimeter of 14 m. If a 0.9 m doorway has no skirting, the net fitted length is 13.1 m. With a 10% extra allowance, the planning quantity is 14.41 m. Dividing by 4.2 m stock and rounding up gives four lengths. If you already own one matching usable whole length, buy three.

This is a length estimate. It does not prove that four boards will produce every required run without additional joins. Door positions, corners, actual cut lengths and reusable offcuts all affect the order. Switch to a detailed cutting plan once you have measured individual pieces.

Measuring architrave correctly

Door height and width alone are not necessarily the lengths you need to cut. An architrave’s profile width, reveal and mitred corners affect its outer dimensions. Enter the finished outer or long-point length of each leg and head after deciding the fitting detail. The calculator does not silently add an assumed reveal or moulding width.

For example, two finished legs of 2.1 m and a finished head of 0.9 m total 5.1 m for one door face. Two identical faces total 10.2 m. With 2.4 m stock and no cutting allowances, the detailed plan needs five lengths for both faces: four legs each use a board, and the two heads share another. A simple total-length division would also return five here, but that agreement will not hold for every set of cuts.

Window mode assumes a complete four-sided trim with equal head and sill pieces. A projecting window board, a three-sided casing or unequal pieces should be entered as individual finished cuts instead. Suppliers use different set and pack descriptions, so check the actual contents rather than assuming that a “door set” covers both faces.

What does the cutting plan allow for?

The detailed method sorts pieces from longest to shortest and places each into the first stock length with sufficient usable space. This gives a practical suggested layout. It is not a guaranteed mathematical minimum and does not account for defects, grain direction, decorative matching or every fitting constraint.

Optional end trim is removed from both ends of every stock length. Optional piece allowance increases each finished piece’s reserved length. Optional saw allowance is also reserved for every piece; this is conservative where a final piece needs no separate cut. A piece that exceeds the usable stock, including its allowances, is rejected. Choose longer stock or decide joint positions and enter the resulting measured pieces yourself.

In detailed mode, the extra percentage buys separate spare lengths: net fitted length × extra percentage ÷ usable stock length, rounded up. In quick mode it increases the aggregate length before rounding. These methods deliberately produce different results because a cutting plan must retain whole pieces. Zero extra percentage adds no spare lengths.

Skirting and architrave purchasing

Keep profiles separate even if they have similar dimensions. This calculator never reuses skirting offcuts as architrave. Each section uses one stock length and product profile. If your supplier offers mixed lengths, use separate estimates or review the suggested plan manually with the available stock.

Existing stock means whole, matching and usable lengths. Partial offcuts are not treated as full boards. Stock reduces new purchases but has no historical cost assigned. If you want to include the value of materials already owned in a business costing, add that value deliberately to additional whole-job costs.

Adhesive and labour estimates

Adhesive is optional and uses the total fitted length, without spare timber. Enter the manufacturer’s coverage per cartridge for the specified bead pattern and surface. Do not assume that one cartridge covers a fixed number of metres for every product or board size. Different adhesives or different application patterns need separate estimates.

Labour can use combined fitted length, hours or days. Time pricing is useful where skirting and architrave have different levels of difficulty. Additional costs can cover fixings, caulk, decorating, removal, delivery or equipment. Include each cost once. Markup is added to cost; tax is then applied to the selling price before tax.

Frequently asked questions

Measuring and fitting references

For practical measuring context, see the Wickes skirting fitting guide, Wickes architrave fitting guide and Skirting World architrave buying guide. Check your exact supplier’s stock lengths, pack contents and product guidance before ordering.

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