Calculate linear footage, materials, and costs for your molding project
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Always buy 10–15% extra to account for miter cuts, mistakes, and future repairs. Molding dye lots can vary, so get everything from the same batch.
Enter your room's length and width in feet, then specify the number of doorways and their average width. Select whether you need baseboard, crown molding, or both, and adjust the waste factor slider to account for miter cuts. Hit Calculate to instantly get linear footage, board counts, and cost estimates.
Buying too little molding is a bigger problem than it sounds. Molding is sold in fixed lengths (usually 8, 12, or 16 feet), and if you run short mid-project, your new batch may not match the sheen or profile of the original — especially with painted MDF. You'd have to repaint the entire room.
On the flip side, over-buying by 30% just adds waste and cost. A 12×14 room needs roughly 48 linear feet of perimeter. With a standard 10% waste factor and one doorway, you're looking at about 45 usable linear feet — meaning 4–5 eight-foot boards. That's a manageable Saturday project for most homeowners. Crown molding on the same room takes longer (3–5 hours) because the cuts are more complex.
This tool is built for real weekend projects — whether you're finishing a basement, upgrading a living room, or trimming out a new build. Contractors use the same perimeter math, just faster. Now you can too.
The core formula is simple:
For crown molding, the same perimeter is used — crown runs at ceiling height on all four walls. The board count uses standard 8-foot lengths. Cost is calculated as: Total footage × price per linear foot.
Basic painted MDF baseboard runs $0.75–$1.50 per linear foot. Mid-grade finger-jointed pine is $1.50–$2.50, and solid oak or poplar for staining runs $3–$6+ per foot. For a typical 12×14 bedroom, expect $50–$150 total material cost depending on style.
Baseboard molding runs along the bottom of walls where they meet the floor — it hides the gap and protects drywall from kicks and scuffs. Crown molding runs along the top of walls at the ceiling and is purely decorative, adding visual height and elegance. Crown is harder to install because it requires compound miter cuts.
For baseboard, no — baseboard doesn't run under windows (it stops at the window casing). For crown molding, windows are typically framed with returns, so the crown still runs across the top. This calculator accounts for doors only, which is the most common deduction. Add window adjustments manually if needed.
A beginner with basic tools can do a standard 12×14 room of baseboard in 3–5 hours including nailing, filling nail holes, and caulking. Crown molding in the same room takes 5–8 hours for a beginner. Experienced installers can do both in 2–3 hours total.