Questions and answers
Short answers to what people ask first. If something here is wrong or missing, tell us.
What is BuildBatch?
BuildBatch is a free web app that turns one room's measurements into a complete, checkable buying list for paint, wallpaper, tiles, flooring, skirting or a mix of them. It works in real tin and pack sizes, shows the sum behind every figure, and says what to check before you buy. It is built for UK homes: metres, litres and the pack sizes sold here. You can plan a room refresh without signing up for anything.
Is it free?
Yes. It is free, and no account is needed: the calculators, the room planner and the room refresh all work without one. Nothing you type leaves your browser: the arithmetic runs on your own device, and no measurement, price or decision is sent anywhere. A project you save is stored in this browser only, so it will not appear on another device and it is lost if the browser's data is cleared.
Do I need an account?
No. There is nothing to sign up for, and everything works in your browser. Projects you save are kept in this browser only. To open them on another device, export them to a file from the Projects page and import the file there.
How accurate is it?
It is arithmetic on the figures you give it, done the same way every time and shown in full. The result is only as good as those figures, and the tin's or the pack's own figures decide it. It cannot see the surface, so it cannot know about bare plaster, damp or a wall that needs a different product. Treat every answer as an estimate and check it against the tin or the pack.
Can it work out wallpaper?
Yes. Choose "Wallpaper them" for the walls and copy the roll's width, length, pattern repeat and match from the label. It counts whole drops for each wall, rounds each drop up to the pattern, and says how many rolls, with the paste, lining paper and tools. Doors and windows are not taken off, which is the usual way to buy wallpaper. The wallpaper guide shows the working.
Can it work out skirting and architrave?
Yes, with any of the jobs. Tick "Skirting boards" or "Architrave round the doors" in the first step and enter the length each is sold in. It cuts one piece for each wall and two legs and a head for each door from whole lengths, and prints the cutting plan, which is often one length more than the perimeter suggests. The skirting and architrave guide shows the working.
Can it work out tiles?
Yes, for walls and floors. Choose "Tile them" for the walls, with the height the tiles go up to, or "Floor tiles" for the floor, and copy what one box covers from the box. It counts whole boxes with an allowance for cuts, and lists the adhesive, grout, what goes under the tiles, waterproofing round a shower and the tools. The tiles guide shows the working.
Why does it work in real pack sizes rather than litres or square metres?
Because a total in litres is not a shopping list. You cannot buy 7.586 L of paint; you buy tins, and which tins you buy changes the cost and what is left over. BuildBatch rounds up to whole tins and packs once, at the end, and tells you how much will be over.
What do lowest total cost and least left over mean?
They are the two rules for choosing tins or packs when a product comes in more than one size. With a price for every size, it finds the combination with the lowest total cost, breaking ties by least left over and then fewest packs. With any price missing, it finds the least left over. Both are worked out only from the sizes and prices you entered; it is never a comparison between shops or products.
Does it take off doors and windows?
Yes. Each opening's width times height is taken off the wall area, and nothing is taken off the ceiling or the floor. The doors you enter also shorten the skirting run and give the number of door bars. If you skip them, the paint estimate simply comes out a little higher.
What does Check first mean on a line?
It means the line belongs on the list, but its quantity, or whether you need it at all, depends on something BuildBatch cannot see: the surface, the product's instructions or how the floor is fitted. Rather than invent a number, the line says what decides it and what to look for. Once you know, you can mark it Need, Already have or Not needed.
Where do the product facts come from?
Every deciding fact says where it came from. It is a reviewed catalogue fact with its source and the date it was checked, a figure you entered from your own tin or pack, or a generic example labelled as an example. The three are never mixed up, and an example is never presented as a product.
Can I use it for an L-shaped room?
Yes. The room planner lets you draw the room to scale, or type each wall in turn as a list, and works out the floor area and the wall lengths. By hand, split the floor into rectangles and add their areas; the perimeter is all the walls added together.
Can I print the list or send it to a merchant?
Yes. You can copy the buying list as text, print it from your browser, or save it as a project in this browser. There is also a neutral merchant enquiry you can copy and paste into an email or a message to ask for prices. BuildBatch does not send it; it stays on your device until you choose where it goes.
Who is behind BuildBatch?
BuildBatch is one person's project, built in the UK. Nothing is for sale on the site, and there is no shop. The about page says what it does and what it does not claim.
How do I report a wrong answer?
Use the report a problem page. Include the measurements you entered, the paint or pack details on screen, what it told you and what you expected instead. Copying the list puts most of that on your clipboard in one go.