DrywallCalculator

Drywall Calculator

Enter your room once. Get the buy count, materials list, and cost before you head to the store.

Your buy count

18sheets
Net area518 sq ft
Materials$333
Also buy3 screw boxes · 2 mud buckets · 1 tape roll

36 sq ft of openings deducted · 10% waste · 4 × 8 ft sheets

Room dimensions or known area
Room 1·
ft
ft
ft
%
OpeningsSubtracting 1 door · 1 window
Custom opening sizes
ft
ft
ft
ft
Finish & applicationHorizontal · Level 4 · Ready-mix
ft
More
Full shopping list5 items
ItemQtyUnit priceTotal
18 sheets$$270
3 1 lb boxes$$21
2 buckets$$38
1 rolls$$4
0 sticks$$0
$/sq ft

Unit prices start with typical US retail averages. Edit them to match your supplier or quote.

Materials$333
Labornot included
Total$333$0.64/sq ft
Layout previewPlanning preview — not the buy count
DoorFront wall · 14′ × 8′2 full + 3 cut · 2 rows
Front wall
Back wall · 14′ × 8′2 full + 3 cut · 2 rows
Back wall
Left wall · 11′ × 8′1 full + 3 cut · 2 rows
Left wall
WindowRight wall · 11′ × 8′1 full + 3 cut · 2 rows
Right wall
Ceiling · 14′ × 11′2 full + 5 cut · 3 rows
Ceiling

Use one readable surface at a time. The amber pieces are cuts; the drawing is for installation planning, not the purchase count.

How this estimate is calculated

The tool keeps the purchase count separate from the layout preview. These are the assumptions behind the numbers you can edit above.

Area & openings

Wall area is 2 × (length + width) × height. Doors and windows 2 sq ft or larger are deducted from the walls, then the ceiling adds length × width when it is included. Known area mode starts with the net area you provide, so openings are already accounted for.

Sheets & waste

Purchase sheets = ceiling(net area × (1 + waste) ÷ sheet coverage). A 4×8 sheet covers 32 sq ft, and the result rounds up once across the whole project. Waste covers cuts, breakage, and pieces that are too small to reuse.

Joint compound

Compound is based on the product coverage of the selected bucket or bag, multiplied by finish level. Ready-mix uses 4.5-gallon buckets; setting-type and lightweight products stay on their own bag coverage and price lines.

Tape

Joint tape is estimated at 0.40 linear ft per sq ft of board and rounded up to 250 ft rolls. Outside corners are separate: enter their total length under Finish & application to add 8 ft bead sticks with 10% waste.

Screws

Wall fastening uses about 1 screw per sq ft and ceiling fastening uses 1.4 screws per sq ft for tighter overhead spacing. The count is translated at roughly 250 screws per pound and rounded up into 1 lb boxes.

Materials & labor cost

Each shopping-list quantity is multiplied by its editable unit price. Materials are the line-item subtotal; optional labor is net area × your labor rate. The displayed total and cost per square foot update immediately when you change a price or the labor switch.

Worked example

For a 14 × 11 ft room with 8 ft walls, one door, one window, and the ceiling included, the walls are 400 sq ft gross. Subtract 36 sq ft of openings and add the 154 sq ft ceiling for 518 sq ft net. With 10% waste and 4×8 sheets, the purchase answer is 18 sheets, about 580 screws in three 1 lb boxes, two 4.5-gallon buckets of compound, and one 250 ft roll of tape — about $333 in materials at the default prices.