Linear Feet to Square Feet
Linear feet cannot become square feet on their own — you need a width. Here is the calculation, and why materials are priced this way.
Formula: square feet = linear feet × width in feet
There is no conversion factor here, and any tool that offers you one is guessing. A linear foot measures length along a single line. A square foot measures area, which needs two dimensions. To get from one to the other you have to supply the missing one:
square feet = linear feet × width in feet
A 100-foot run of material 3 feet wide covers 300 sq ft. The same 100 linear feet at 6 inches wide covers 50.
Why so much material is sold this way
Anything that comes off a roll or out of a mill at a fixed width gets priced by length, because the width is not a variable the buyer chooses. Baseboard, crown molding, quarter-round, fencing, guttering, countertop and carpet runners are all quoted per linear foot for exactly that reason. The supplier already knows the width; you are only buying more or less of it.
The gap between the two units is where estimating errors live. Flooring is the usual culprit: planks are sold by the square foot but installed along a run, so a quote in linear feet and a floor measured in square feet need the plank width before they can be compared.
Converting the other way
If you know the area and the width, divide: 300 sq ft of 3-foot material is 100 linear feet. That is the calculation to run when a supplier quotes coverage and you need to know how much of the roll to ask for.
Linear feet to square feet table
Linear feet alone cannot become square feet. This table assumes a width of 3 feet; change the width above for your own run.
| Linear feet | Square feet |
|---|---|
| 10 linear ft | 30 sq ft |
| 20 linear ft | 60 sq ft |
| 30 linear ft | 90 sq ft |
| 40 linear ft | 120 sq ft |
| 50 linear ft | 150 sq ft |
| 75 linear ft | 225 sq ft |
| 100 linear ft | 300 sq ft |
| 150 linear ft | 450 sq ft |
| 200 linear ft | 600 sq ft |
| 250 linear ft | 750 sq ft |
Other conversions
- Square feet to gaj
- Gaj to square feet
- Square feet to guntha
- Guntha to square feet
- Square feet to bigha
- Bigha to square feet
Need the area first? The square footage calculator works it out from your measurements, and the shape calculators handle the rooms and lots that are not a plain rectangle.