Feet to metres converter

Converting by hand

Feet to metres: multiply by 0.3048. Metres to feet: multiply by 3.2808. For a rough figure in your head, three feet is a little under a metre — a 12 ft wall is about 3.7 m, and a 10 ft wall about 3 m.

Areas do not convert with the same number, which catches people out. One square metre is 10.764 square feet, not 3.28. A 144 sq ft room is 13.38 m².

Work in millimetres for anything you are building

Trades in the UK and most of Europe work in millimetres rather than metres or centimetres, because whole millimetres avoid decimal points and the mistakes that come with them. A door is 826 mm, not 0.826 m. If you are passing measurements to a joiner or a fitter, give them millimetres.

That is also why the planner stores every distance in millimetres internally and only converts for display — the plan stays exact whichever unit you are looking at.

Feet and inches

There are twelve inches in a foot and one inch is exactly 25.4 mm. The awkward part is that decimal feet are not inches: 12.5 ft is 12 ft 6 in, not 12 ft 5 in. The converter above shows the feet-and-inches form alongside the decimal one so you do not have to do that step yourself.

Common questions

How many metres is 12 feet?

3.658 metres, or 3658 mm. Twelve feet is one of the most common room dimensions in US housing, which is why 12x12 rooms come up so often.

Is a foot exactly 0.3048 metres?

Yes. The international foot has been defined as exactly 0.3048 m since 1959, so the conversion is exact rather than approximate.

How do I convert square feet to square metres?

Divide by 10.764, or multiply by 0.0929. Do not use 0.3048 — that is the linear conversion, and using it on an area will give you a figure roughly three times too large.

Should I use centimetres or millimetres?

Millimetres for anything being built or fitted. Whole millimetres avoid decimals entirely, and every trade drawing in the UK is dimensioned that way.