Estimate drywall sheets, screws, joint compound and tape for any room. Enter room dimensions, pick a sheet size, and get a complete material list instantly.
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Enter the room length, width and ceiling height, and the calculator builds the total board area from first principles: wall area is twice the sum of length and width times the ceiling height, and the ceiling is length times width when you include it. It multiplies that net area by your waste allowance, divides by the coverage of one sheet (32 sq ft for 4x8, 40 for 4x10, 48 for 4x12), and rounds up, because drywall is only sold in whole sheets. This drywall estimator treats openings like doors and windows as solid wall: installers hang a full sheet across an opening and cut it out, so the cut-away piece doubles as built-in waste margin. Finishing materials come from industry planning figures rather than guesswork. Screws scale from the standard rule of 32 screws per 4x8 sheet at 16-inch stud spacing, so a 4x10 sheet takes about 40 and a 4x12 about 48, which matches the common one-screw-per-square-foot check. Joint compound uses the USG planning rate of about 10 gallons per 1000 square feet of board, which works out to one 4.5-gallon bucket per roughly 450 square feet. Joint tape uses the USG rate of about 370 linear feet per 1000 square feet, sold here as standard 250-foot rolls. Treat the mud, tape and screw counts as planning estimates for a standard three-coat finish; ceilings often need more screws per sheet (36 to 40), so ceiling-heavy jobs should round up. Use 10 percent waste for simple rectangular rooms, 5 percent only if you are confident, and 15 to 20 percent for cut-up rooms with soffits, angles or many openings. First-time DIY installers should add an extra 5 percent for the learning curve. Always double-check your room measurements, since the math is exact only when the dimensions are right.
Drywall math is an area problem, not a volume problem. The calculator finds every surface you will hang board on: the four walls (perimeter times ceiling height) plus the ceiling (length times width) if you include it. That net area gets multiplied by your waste factor, then divided by the coverage of one sheet and rounded up to a whole sheet. The finishing materials follow from the same total area: screws at roughly one per square foot of board, joint compound at about 10 gallons per 1000 square feet, and paper tape at about 370 linear feet per 1000 square feet. Each rule comes from manufacturer planning guides, not from counting every joint by hand.
Measure the room length and width along the floor and the wall height from floor to ceiling, all in feet. Enter those three numbers, say whether you are hanging the ceiling too, and pick the sheet size your supplier stocks. Set the waste allowance to 10 percent for a normal rectangular room, higher for cut-up rooms. This drywall estimator updates instantly with the wall area, total drywall area, sheet count, screw count, mud buckets and tape rolls, so you can take the full shopping list to the store in one trip.
The 4x8 sheet is the standard for residential work: 32 square feet, light enough for one person to carry, and available everywhere. The 4x10 (40 sq ft) and 4x12 (48 sq ft) sheets cut down the number of horizontal seams, which means less taping and mudding, but they are heavier, harder to get up stairs, and usually a two-person carry. Use longer sheets on tall walls or long uninterrupted runs where fewer joints pay off; stick with 4x8 for typical bedrooms and DIY projects where handling matters more than seam count.
The standard screw schedule is 32 screws per 4x8 sheet on walls with studs 16 inches on center, spaced about 12 inches apart in the field and 8 inches along edges. Ceilings fight gravity, so they need 36 to 40 screws per 4x8 sheet with tighter spacing. The calculator scales the screw count with sheet size, so larger sheets take proportionally more screws. For mud, plan about one gallon of ready-mixed joint compound per 100 square feet of board, which is why a 4.5-gallon bucket covers roughly 450 square feet and three coats. For tape, plan about 0.37 linear feet per square foot of board and buy standard 250-foot rolls; paper tape for corners, mesh for flat seams if you prefer it.
Ten percent waste is the working default for drywall: cuts around corners, offcuts, broken edges and outlet boxes all eat material. Use 5 percent only for simple rectangular rooms, 12 to 15 percent for rooms with several doors and windows, and 15 to 20 percent for complex rooms with soffits, angles or sloped ceilings. A common question is whether to subtract doors and windows (about 21 sq ft per standard door and 12 to 15 sq ft per window). Many estimators skip small openings on purpose, because you hang the sheet across the opening and cut it out, and the waste piece cannot be reused. This calculator follows that approach and folds openings into the waste margin.
Take a room 12 feet long, 10 feet wide, with 8-foot ceilings, ceiling included, 4x8 sheets, 10 percent waste. Wall area is 2 × (12 + 10) × 8 = 352 sq ft. Ceiling area is 12 × 10 = 120 sq ft. Net area is 472 sq ft, and with 10 percent waste the total is 472 × 1.1 = 519.2 sq ft. Sheets: ceil(519.2 / 32) = ceil(16.225) = 17 sheets. Screws: ceil(17 × 32) = 544. Mud: ceil(519.2 / 450) = ceil(1.154) = 2 buckets of 4.5 gallons. Tape: ceil(519.2 × 0.37 / 250) = ceil(0.768) = 1 roll of 250 feet. That is exactly the calculation the tool runs for any room.
Sheet counts turn into budgets with two numbers: materials and labor. In 2026 pricing, installed drywall typically costs $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot total, split into roughly $0.50 to $0.80 per square foot for materials (sheets, screws, joint compound, tape) and $1.00 to $2.70 per square foot for labor. As a worked guide, a 1,000 square foot area needs about 34 sheets and typically lands between $1,500 and $3,500 installed. The finish level moves the price: a basic finish for garages and closets costs less, while smooth Level 4-5 finishes for painted walls add cost per square foot. DIY vs professional installation comes down to finishing skill: DIY hanging and taping saves the labor portion, but finishing is the skill-heavy part, so many homeowners hire a professional for at least the taping. Treat all figures as planning estimates, not a contractor quote.
A 12x12 room with 8-foot ceilings has 2 × (12 + 12) × 8 = 384 sq ft of wall area. With 10 percent waste that is 422.4 sq ft, which is ceil(422.4 / 32) = 14 sheets of 4x8 for walls only. Add the ceiling (144 sq ft) and you get 528 sq ft × 1.1 = 580.8 sq ft, or 19 sheets. Subtracting one door and two windows brings those counts down by about 1 to 2 sheets.
Use about 32 screws per 4x8 sheet on walls with studs 16 inches on center: screws every 12 inches in the field and every 8 inches along the edges, kept 3/8 to 1/2 inch from the panel edges. Ceilings need more, 36 to 40 screws per 4x8 sheet, because gravity works against you. Larger sheets scale up: a 4x12 sheet takes about 48 screws. This calculator scales the screw count with sheet size automatically.
Plan for about 9 to 10 gallons of joint compound per 1000 square feet of drywall for a standard three-coat finish, which is roughly 0.29 to 0.32 gallons per 4x8 sheet. A 4.5-gallon bucket covers about 450 square feet, or roughly 14 sheets. Pre-mixed compound comes in 1-gallon, 3.5-gallon and 5-gallon buckets; buy an extra bucket rather than running out mid-coat, since finish level and texture change the yield.
The planning figure is about 370 linear feet of paper tape per 1000 square feet of drywall, which works out to roughly 0.37 feet of tape per square foot of board. A 500-square-foot job needs about 185 feet of tape. Standard paper tape rolls are 250 feet, so divide your total drywall area by about 676 and round up to whole rolls. Use paper tape for inside corners and mesh tape for flat seams if you prefer it.
Use 10 percent for simple rectangular rooms with few openings; that is the industry default and what this calculator pre-fills. Use 5 percent only for plain boxes you have measured carefully. Go to 12 to 15 percent for rooms with several doors and windows, and 15 to 20 percent for complex rooms with angles, soffits or many cutouts. If this is your first drywall job, add an extra 5 percent for mistakes and bad cuts.
Subtract large openings like double doors, sliding glass doors and open archways, but think twice before subtracting every small door and window. You hang a full sheet across a standard opening and cut it out, and the piece you cut away is usually scrap, so counting it as covered gives you a built-in margin. This calculator treats openings as solid wall and folds them into the waste allowance instead of deducting them.
Use 4x8 sheets (32 sq ft) for standard rooms and DIY work: they are the easiest to transport, carry and cut. Use 4x10 or 4x12 sheets on tall or long walls to reduce horizontal joints and finishing labor, but they are heavier and harder to maneuver, especially up stairs. For walls use 1/2-inch thick drywall; for ceilings use 5/8-inch to prevent sagging, especially with joists 24 inches on center.
Yes for estimating purposes. Sheetrock is a USG brand name for gypsum drywall panels, the same way a tissue brand became the generic name. Sheet size, coverage, screws per sheet and compound rates are all identical regardless of brand, so the sheet count does not change. Other major brands include CertainTeed, National Gypsum and Georgia-Pacific.
At 10 percent waste, 1000 × 1.1 = 1100 sq ft of board, which is ceil(1100 / 32) = 35 sheets of 4x8 drywall. Pair that with about 11 gallons of joint compound (three 4.5-gallon buckets), about 370 linear feet of tape (two 250-foot rolls), and roughly 1100 screws. For 4x12 sheets the count is ceil(1100 / 48) = 23 sheets.
Installed drywall typically costs $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot in 2026, including roughly $0.50 to $0.80 in materials and $1.00 to $2.70 in labor. A 1,000 square foot area needs about 34 sheets and usually lands between $1,500 and $3,500 installed. Smoother Level 4-5 finishes cost more per square foot than basic finishes. These are estimates for planning, not a contractor quote.
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