How to calculate square meters of land (m2) using formulas

Understanding how to calculate the square meters of construction land (or how to calculate the construction area), homeowners can estimate the cost of building a house and labor costs. In this article, Maison Office will guide you on how to calculate the construction area according to current standards when building residential buildings.

1. What is a square meter (m2)?

A square meter, abbreviated as “m2”, is a unit of area measurement used to measure the size of the surface of a square with each side being 1 meter long. It is one of the most common units of area measurement, originating from mathematics and used to measure area.

In the field of civil construction, the square meter (m2) is the most commonly used unit. It is used to calculate the area of components in a construction such as walls, floors, ceilings, partitions, and to achieve high accuracy in the process of repair or decoration.

Moreover, the square meter is also used to measure construction area, house area, land area, and many other cases.

Depending on the measurement requirements, you can convert square meters (m²) to other units such as square centimeters (cm²), hectare meters (hm²), decimeter square (dm²), dekameter square (dam²), or square kilometers (km²).

When converting between area units, remember that each unit after is 100 times the unit before.

Example: 1,000,000 mm² = 10,000 cm² = 100 dm² = 1 m² = 0.01 dam² = 0.0001 hm² = 0.000001 km².

2. Basic way to calculate square meters of land area

The simplest way to calculate square meters (m2) is S (area) = length x width.

In this formula, the unit of measurement for length and width is meters (m). When encountering fractional values, you can round to the nearest decimal for convenience in calculation.

Step 1: Choose a measuring tool in meters

To measure the area, you need to use a measuring tool divided into units. You can use a straight ruler or a tape measure, with units divided into meters (m) or centimeters (cm).

This will make it easier for you to calculate the area in square meters or square centimeters, as both units belong to the same measurement system.

Step 2: Measure the length of the land

Square meters is a unit used to measure the area or size of two-dimensional objects like a football field or house floor.

• To measure the size of an object’s surface, use measuring tools and measure from one corner to the opposite corner, recording the measurement.
• If you cannot measure the entire length at once, you can divide it into multiple parts.
• Stretch the measuring tape and place a pebble or something at a precise point to remember (like marking 1m or 50cm).
• Collect the tape and continue measuring, starting from the previously marked point. Repeat this process until you have measured the entire length, then add all the results together.

Step 3: Measure the width

Continue using the measuring tool to measure the width. Note that the width should be measured so that it is perpendicular to the length, forming two adjacent sides of a square. Then, record the measurement and convert the unit from centimeters to meters if necessary.

To apply the method of calculating square meters correctly for land with shapes other than square or rectangle, such as a polygon, you should divide it into smaller rectangles, squares, or triangles for easy measurement and calculation. It is best to draw the shape of the land on paper to help the measuring and calculating process of the m2 area become easier and quicker.

Step 4: Convert from Centimeters to Meters

Most measurements are not expressed in whole meters but often combine meters and centimeters, for example, 8m28cm.

Here, we know that 1cm equals 0.01m. Therefore, to convert from centimeters to meters, you just need to move the decimal point two places to the left.

Step 5: Multiply length by width

After completing the measurements of length and width, multiply these two numbers together to calculate the area, as the area equals the product of length and width (S = Length x Width). The result will be expressed in square meters (m2). For example, if you have a rectangle with a length of 8 meters and a width of 4 meters:

=> The area of the rectangle will be: 8 x 4 = 32 (m2)

In cases with decimal numbers, for example, 2.495 m2, it can be rounded to 2.5 m2. Since this measurement result is not entirely accurate in reality, usually the last digit is not precise. Therefore, in such cases, you can round the number to the nearest centimeter (0.01 m).

3. Standard Formulas for Calculating Square Meters for Various Shapes

There are several different formulas for calculating square meters due to the diversity of object shapes. In mathematics, the area is often denoted as S. Below are some specific formulas:

3.1 Calculating the area in square meters (m2) for square, rectangle, and triangle in construction

• For rectangles and squares: Area = Length x Width (m2)
• For triangles: Area = 1/2(Length x Height)
• For right-angled triangles: Area = (First right-angled side x Second right-angled side) / 2

3.2 Calculating the area in square meters for circles

The following formula is used to calculate the area (m2) of a circular piece of land in construction: S = π.r^2

Here:

• r is the radius of the circle.
• π = 3.14 (pi), a constant used in calculations involving circles.

3.3 Calculating the area in square meters for residential land

In calculating the square meter area for a level 4 house with a rectangular or square shape, the formula used is as follows:

Area = width x length – 24.2m x 4.03m = 97.526 m2 (square meters).

Example: If the length is 12.32 meters and the width is 6.03 meters, the area of the land can be calculated as follows:

12.32 x 6.03 = 74.2896 (m2).

3.4 Calculating square meters for walls

The area of the ceiling or walls of a house is calculated using the following formula:

Area = Floor area (as recorded in the land title) x 3

For example, if an apartment has a floor area of 56m2, the total wall area to be painted at most would be 56 x 3 = 168m2.

Note that this formula applies to townhouses, which typically have 3 adjoining sides: two side walls and the front. The back does not require painting, only the front.

Maison Office has just shared with you how to calculate the square meter area (m2) and provided the most detailed formulas. We hope this information will make it easier and more accurate for you to determine the area of a space.

Bui Duc Huy

Editor and content team manager at Maison Office.

With over 5 years of experience in consulting and extensive content editing in the real estate services and interior design field. Sharing valuable information with customers, partners, and attracting millions of views.