Published August 11, 2026 · Updated August 23, 2026 · By Tupep
You do not buy linear feet, you buy sticks
Baseboard estimating goes wrong at the last step. People measure carefully, total up 256 linear feet, divide by 16, and buy 16 sticks. Then they get to the third bedroom and run out, because a 13 ft wall cannot be cut from a 12 ft stick and the 3 ft drop from the last wall does not help.
The takeoff has two halves and they are different jobs. First you measure net installed footage, room by room. Then you convert that footage into a purchase list of actual stock lengths, wall run by wall run. Skip the second half and the number you buy is fiction.
Half one: the net takeoff
Net LF per room = wall perimeter – door openings – cased openings – runs of cabinetry, tub or shower base
Measure to the face of the door casing, not to the rough opening. Baseboard dies into the casing, so the casing width, commonly 2-1/4 to 3-1/2 in on each side, comes out of the wall run. On a 3 ft door with 2-1/4 in casing that is an extra 4-1/2 in of deduction per door, and in a house with fifteen openings that is over 5 ft.
Here is a three bedroom, two bath house at about 1,300 sq ft.
| Room | Size | Perimeter | Deductions | Net LF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | 18 x 14 | 64 | 3 ft door, 5 ft cased opening | 56 |
| Kitchen and dining | 16 x 13 | 58 | 16 ft cabinet run, 6 ft of openings | 36 |
| Hallway | 20 x 3.5 | 47 | 5 doors, 2 open ends | 25 |
| Bedroom 1 | 13 x 12 | 50 | 3 ft door, 6 ft closet opening | 41 |
| Bedroom 2 | 11 x 11 | 44 | 3 ft door, 5 ft closet | 36 |
| Bedroom 3 | 11 x 10 | 42 | 3 ft door, 5 ft closet | 34 |
| Bath 1 | 8 x 5 | 26 | door, 4 ft vanity, 5 ft tub | 14.5 |
| Bath 2 | 7 x 5 | 24 | door, 3 ft vanity, 5 ft tub | 13.5 |
| Total net | 256 LF |
Half two: fit the runs to stock
Now go wall by wall and pick the shortest stock length that covers each run. Take Bedroom 1, 13 by 12, with a 3 ft door on a 12 ft wall and a 6 ft closet opening on a 13 ft wall. Its four walls become five pieces:
- 13 ft solid wall: one 14 ft stick. Drop 1 ft.
- 12 ft wall with a 3 ft door: two pieces of 4 ft 6 in, both from one 12 ft stick. Drop 3 ft.
- 13 ft wall with a 6 ft closet: two pieces of 3 ft 6 in, 7 ft total, from one 8 ft stick. Drop 1 ft.
- 12 ft solid wall: one 12 ft stick. Drop essentially zero, which is tighter than we like.
Purchased: 14 + 12 + 8 + 12 = 46 LF to install 41 LF. That is 12 percent over, and none of it came from a waste percentage. It came from stock lengths.
Do that for every room and the house lands here:
| Room | Net LF | Sticks that fit | Purchased LF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | 56 | 2 x 14, 2 x 12, 1 x 8 | 60 |
| Kitchen and dining | 36 | 1 x 14, 1 x 12, 2 x 8 | 42 |
| Hallway | 25 | 1 x 14, 2 x 8 | 30 |
| Bedroom 1 | 41 | 1 x 14, 2 x 12, 1 x 8 | 46 |
| Bedroom 2 | 36 | 2 x 12, 2 x 8 | 40 |
| Bedroom 3 | 34 | 2 x 12, 2 x 8 | 40 |
| Bath 1 | 14.5 | 2 x 8 | 16 |
| Bath 2 | 13.5 | 2 x 8 | 16 |
| Total | 256 | 14 x 8, 9 x 12, 5 x 14 | 290 LF |
Two hundred ninety linear feet to install 256, which is 13 percent over. Add two spare sticks for the piece that splits when you nail it and the profile you gouge with the pry bar, and the shopping list is 14 eights, 9 twelves, and 7 fourteens.
What eats the extra length
- Outside corners consume length on both pieces. A mitered outside corner is measured to the long point, and the long point sits past the corner by the full thickness of the stock. On 5/8 in base that is 5/8 in extra on each of the two pieces. Trivial once, real across a house with a dozen jogs and a chase.
- Coped inside corners want the piece cut long first. A cope is made by cutting a 45 on the end, then following the profile line with a coping saw. If the cope tears out you recut, and each recut shortens the piece. Cope inside corners rather than mitering them, because a coped joint stays tight when the wood shrinks and a mitered one opens.
- Factory ends are not usable ends. Primed MDF and finger-jointed pine arrive with dinged, out-of-square ends. Cut an inch off each end of every stick before you start measuring from it.
- Scarf joints go on studs. A run longer than your longest stock gets a 45 degree scarf joint, glued and nailed through both pieces into framing, and positioned so the open side of the joint faces away from the room’s main entry.
What we would add to the order
Shoe molding or quarter round is a separate takeoff at the same net footage, 256 LF here, plus its own stock rounding. It is not optional over a floating floor: it covers the expansion gap that has to stay open behind the base. Nail shoe into the baseboard, not down into the flooring, or the gap you left stops working.
Order all of the base in one run of the same profile. Millwork profiles drift between production runs, and two sticks of nominally identical colonial base from different runs will not line up at a scarf joint.
Related guides
- Why Trim Waste Is Higher Than You Expect
- Door and Window Casing for a Full Remodel
- Crown Molding Linear Feet: Measuring With Miters
- How Many Boxes of Laminate for a 400 sq ft Living Room
Sources and Further Reading
Run your own numbers with the Baseboard & Trim Calculator, or browse every tool on the calculators index. Coverage figures and material constants are cross-checked against manufacturer technical data sheets before publication. See our Methodology page for how figures are selected and verified.
Planning estimate only. Results assume standard conditions and are intended for material planning. Verify against your product’s technical data sheet and your local building code before purchasing. Structural, electrical, and gas work should be specified by a licensed professional.
Last updated: August 23, 2026
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