Joinery panels Calculator: measuring notes and method
Make a panel list
List sides, shelves, doors and backs with finished dimensions and material thickness. Group only panels cut from the same sheet specification before totalling their area.
Lay out cuts on actual sheets
Grain direction, saw kerf and defects can prevent offcut reuse. Equal area does not guarantee a workable cutting plan. Edge banding and hardware require separate lengths or counts.
Formula
Sheets = (area − openings) × (1 + waste ÷ 100) ÷ (sheet length × sheet width), rounded up.
Worked examples in metric and imperial units
Illustrative values match Reset example and stay fixed when you edit the calculator. Both columns describe the same calculation; converted inputs are rounded.
Metric worked example
- Total surface area
- 24 m²
- Openings / excluded area
- 0 m²
- Sheet length
- 2.4 m
- Sheet width
- 1.2 m
- Waste allowance
- 10 %
Sheets to buy: 10
Imperial worked example
- Total surface area
- 258.3339 ft²
- Openings / excluded area
- 0 ft²
- Sheet length
- 7.874 ft
- Sheet width
- 3.937 ft
- Waste allowance
- 10 %
Sheets to buy: 10
Follow the calculation
Lengths in this working are in metres.
- Net area = 24 − 0 = 24 m².
- Area per sheet = 2.4 × 1.2 = 2.88 m².
- Sheets = 24 × 1.1 ÷ 2.88, rounded up. Check the cutting layout separately.
Reviewed 19 October 2026. How calculations are checked · Report a correction