Laticrete Grout Calculator: PermaColor Select and SpectraLock Coverage

1. Pick the Laticrete grout and pack you plan to buy. The calculator fills in the grout per unit from Laticrete data. PERMACOLOR Select also buys color pods, which the result counts for you.
2. Enter the tile length, width and thickness and the grout joint width. Use the real tile size from the box. Choose inches or millimetres first.
3. Enter the area to grout and your own waste allowance. Read the base bags and pods, bags, or units to buy, or switch the question to see the area one unit covers.

A Laticrete grout calculator estimates how much Laticrete brand grout a tiling job needs. It works out the volume of the grout joints, then turns that volume into the real purchase units for each product line.

Laticrete grouts are bought in very different ways. PERMACOLOR Select is a base bag plus color pods. PERMACOLOR Grout is a cement bag. SPECTRALOCK PRO Premium is a three-part epoxy sold in Mini, Full and Commercial units. SPECTRALOCK 1 is a pre-mixed pail. This tool returns the right unit for whichever one you pick.

This page is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by LATICRETE International, Inc. For a general calculator that is not tied to one brand, use the grout calculator, or compare the TEC grout calculator.

The calculator finds the cubic inches of grout in one square foot of tile, then divides what one purchase unit fills by that volume to get the coverage per unit.

Here L and W are the tile length and width in inches, T is the tile thickness, J is the joint width, and 144 converts square inches to square feet. One unit covers its grout volume divided by that joint volume.

1. Joint length. Each tile has a joint along its length and its width. Per square inch of tile, the joint length is (L + W) / (L x W).
2. Joint volume. Multiply by the joint width and the tile thickness, then by 144 to get cubic inches per square foot.
3. Coverage per unit. Divide the grout one unit fills by that joint volume.
4. Units. Divide the area (with waste) by the coverage and round up. PERMACOLOR Select adds 1 pod per 10 lb base bag, 2 per 20 lb.

The grout per unit comes from Laticrete. The table lists each product, the unit, what it fills, and where the figure came from. I read these on 2026-10-04.

The PERMACOLOR Grout factor (0.0552 lb per cubic inch) comes from a single row of Laticrete's estimator. The estimator uses one constant density per product, so a single read fixes it with good confidence, but it was not cross-checked on a second tile.

Take a 340 sq ft floor of 12 x 12 in porcelain, 3/8 in thick, with 1/8 in joints, grouted with PERMACOLOR Select in 10 lb base bags. The 10 percent waste allowance is only an example.

1. Joint volume: 144 x 0.375 x 0.125 x (12 + 12) / (12 x 12) = 1.1250 in3 per sq ft.
2. Coverage per base bag: one 10 lb base fills about 214 in3, so it covers 214 / 1.1250 = 190.3 sq ft before waste.
3. With waste: 340 x 1.10 = 374 sq ft of coverage needed. That is 374 / 190.3 = 1.97, so buy 2 base bags and 2 pods.
4. Dry mix and volume: that is about 19.6 lb of dry grout and 420.8 in3 (6.9 L) of joint, with about 6.6 sq ft of coverage to spare.

Laticrete's own estimator lists 193.2 sq ft per 10 lb base for this tile and joint. This page shows 190.3 sq ft, about 1.5 percent lower, because of the formula difference explained below.

Coverage falls fast as the joint gets wider. Doubling the joint width roughly halves the area a unit covers, because the joint volume doubles.

This table shows square feet per 10 lb PERMACOLOR Select base bag, computed with the formula above.

Bigger tiles cover far more per unit, because they have less joint per square foot. A 24 x 24 in tile has about one sixth of the joint length of 3 x 6 in tile over the same area.

SPECTRALOCK 1 is pre-mixed and sold in 1 US gallon (3.8 L, 14.2 lb) pails. Its current data sheet, DS-36589-0926, still prints a full coverage chart. These are the exact chart values in square feet per pail.

For a tile size that is not in the chart, the calculator interpolates with the joint-volume geometry, using about 226 cubic inches of grout per pail. When the tile matches a chart row, trust the chart value, which you can type into the coverage override box.

Five inputs move the answer. Four of them are in the calculator, and the fifth is how well you spread the grout.

Joint Width

Grout quantity is directly proportional to the joint width. A 1/4 in joint takes twice the grout of a 1/8 in joint on the same tile.

Tile Thickness

Thicker tile means deeper joints. The calculator assumes the joint is filled to the full tile thickness, which is a safe figure for ordering.

Tile Size

Small tile has the most joint length per square foot. A mosaic can need many times the grout of a large-format tile.

Grout Product

Each line fills a different volume per unit. PERMACOLOR Grout is denser than PERMACOLOR Select, and the epoxy units fill a fixed volume set by the kit, not by weight.

Waste and Technique

Spillage, mixing loss and uneven tile edges use extra grout. Set your own allowance, since no standard figure fits every job.

Each Laticrete grout has its own joint range, unit and basis. The table lists what the data says, read on 2026-10-04.

If your product or pack is not listed, pick Custom and enter the grout per unit yourself, or type a coverage figure into the override box. Always confirm it on that product's current data sheet.

Ordering Grout for a Floor or Shower

Enter the tile and joint details, pick the grout, and read the units. Then add the grout to the tile order from the tile calculator.

Buying PERMACOLOR Select Base and Pods

The result counts base bags and color pods together, so you do not under-order pods for a big floor.

Checking a Store Estimate

If a store or installer quotes a unit count, run the same tile size here. A big gap usually means a different joint width or tile thickness.

Planning a Whole Project

The flooring and tile quantities guide shows how to measure a room before you use the numbers here, and the how much grout guide explains the method.

1. Forgetting the Color Pods

PERMACOLOR Select needs 1 pod per 10 lb base bag, 2 per 20 lb. The calculator counts them, but confirm the count at the counter.

2. Using Nominal Tile Size

Some tiles measure a little less than the label. Enter the real size from the box.

3. Forgetting Tile Thickness

A 1/2 in thick tile has joints twice as deep as a 1/4 in tile. Leaving thickness out gives the wrong volume.

4. Using a Joint Outside the Product Range

SPECTRALOCK 1 is charted up to 3/8 in. A wider joint needs a different product, and the numbers for it do not apply.

5. Skipping the Waste Allowance

The exact figure assumes no spillage. See the material waste guide for how allowances work.

6. Rounding Units Down

Grout is sold whole. 1.1 units means 2. A full unit also mixes better than a part unit, especially for epoxy ratios.

This page keeps the same approximation formula as the other grout calculators on this site, so results are consistent across brands. Laticrete's own Project Estimator uses the exact joint formula, which counts the joint corners, so the two differ slightly.

The difference is small for common floor tile and grows for small mosaics. For a 24 x 24 in tile it is about 0.8 percent. For a 12 x 12 in tile it is about 1.6 percent. For a 2 x 2 in mosaic it reaches about 9.5 percent. On this page the approximation reads a touch high on joint volume, so it is cautious: it never leaves you short. The verified Laticrete factors (k = 0.0467 and 0.0552) were measured against the exact formula and are kept as-is.

To match Laticrete's estimator exactly for a charted tile, read the square feet per unit from the estimator or the SPECTRALOCK 1 chart and type it into the coverage override box.

One color pod goes with each 10 lb base bag, and two pods go with each 20 lb base bag. The calculator counts the pods for you once you enter the area, so the base bags and pods always match.

It depends on tile size and joint width. For 12 x 12 in tile, 3/8 in thick, with 1/8 in joints, one 10 lb base covers about 190 sq ft on this page. Laticrete's estimator lists 193.2 sq ft for the same tile.

Joint volume per square foot equals 144 x T x J x (L + W) / (L x W). Coverage per unit is the grout one unit fills divided by that volume. T is tile thickness, J is joint width, and L and W are the tile sides in inches.

On 12 x 12 in tile, 3/8 in thick, with 1/8 in joints, a Full Unit covers about 160 sq ft on this page. A Mini Unit covers one quarter of that, and a Commercial Unit about four times as much.

Laticrete's current grout data sheets omit the coverage chart and point to a document (DS-254.3) that is not reachable today. So the per-unit coverage for PERMACOLOR Select, PERMACOLOR Grout and SPECTRALOCK PRO Premium was read from Laticrete's own live Project Estimator on 2026-10-04. SPECTRALOCK 1 coverage is from its current data sheet.

This page uses a simplified joint formula for consistency with the other grout calculators. Laticrete's estimator uses the exact corner formula. The two agree within about 1 percent for 12 x 12 in and larger tile, and diverge more on small mosaics. This page reads a touch high, so it is cautious.

Yes. Pick SPECTRALOCK 1, find your tile and joint in the chart on this page, and type that square-feet-per-pail figure into the coverage override box. The calculator then uses the exact chart value for your area.

Switch the units to millimetres and square metres. The calculator converts to inches with 1 in = 25.4 mm, then shows litres and square metres beside the cubic inches and square feet.

PERMACOLOR Select, PERMACOLOR Grout, SPECTRALOCK PRO Premium and SPECTRALOCK 1 are all charted from 1/16 in. The verdict band warns you if the joint falls outside a product's published range.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to our servers. Anything you choose to Save stays in this browser only.

• Laticrete Project Estimator: coverage per unit for PERMACOLOR Select, PERMACOLOR Grout and SPECTRALOCK PRO Premium (LATICRETE, live tool, read 2026-10-04).
• PERMACOLOR Select data sheet DS-281-0926: packaging, base bags and color pods, mixing (LATICRETE, rev 09/2026, read 2026-10-04).
• SPECTRALOCK PRO Premium Grout data sheet DS-681-0926: Mini, Full and Commercial unit yields (LATICRETE, rev 09/2026, read 2026-10-04).
• SPECTRALOCK 1 data sheet DS-36589-0926: printed coverage chart per 1 gallon pail (LATICRETE, rev 09/2026, read 2026-10-04).