Measure the Room

• 1
  You can use a basic tape measure, a laser measure, or even a yardstick.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Prepare by sketching the shape of the room onto the paper, noting doorways, closets and any recesses. This sketch simply gives you a way to reference your findings. Note what floor-coverings are in any rooms adjoining the one being carpeted.
  
  
• 2). Measure the length of the room in feet with a measuring tape or yardstick, starting at the middle of any doorway, not the the base of the wall. Note the measurement on your sketch.
  
  
• 3). Measure the width of the room in the same way as you did the length. Note this measurement on your sketch, too.
  
  
• 4). Measure any areas that jut out of the room that will change the total length or width of carpet you need. If the carpeting extends into a small entry, decide whether to make a seam (where two pieces of carpet join) or extend the full length of the carpeting.
  
  

Figure Yardage

• 1). Multiply the length of the room by the width. Consider any large areas that cut in or jut out separately by doing the same length by width equation, then add them in or subtract them from the total.
  
  
• 2). Multiply the figure by 10% to allow for seams and other installation considerations after calculating the initial square yardage.
  
  
• 3). Divide the total square feet by 9 to arrive at the square yards figure. This is the square yardage of the room, but not necessarily the square yardage of carpet to purchase.
  
  

Planning for Carpet

• 1). Decide which direction to turn your piece of carpeting. Since most carpeting is manufactured in 12 foot wide rolls, if the room is 12' or less in either direction you can turn the carpet that way. Then you would purchase enough running feet to cover the dimension going the other direction. This is one of the reasons you cannot purchase carpet based simply upon square yardage of a room.
  
  
• 2). Plan for a seam if both dimensions of the room are over 12 feet. To decide which way to run your seam, first make sure that it does not fall perpendicular in a doorway of the room. Carpet has a "direction" to it, so examine a sample in the lighting of the room to see if you have a preference in the way it looks. Always lay carpet with all of the pieces turned the same direction, too.
  
  
• 3). Use the dimension of the carpet running in the other direction to determine how many feet of the carpeting you need to purchase by multiplying that room dimension times two, if two sections of carpet are necessary.