what is the total square footage of material he needs to buy ?
So, we need to find the area of the shown figure :
There are 3 rectangles in the middle, and two squares on the sides
The area of one rectangle = 2 * 1 = 2 square foot
The area of one square = 1 * 1 = 1 square foot
So, total area = 3 * 2 + 2 * 1 = 6 + 2 = 8 square foot
So, the answer is : total square footage = 8