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Drywall Calculator
Estimate drywall sheets for a room's walls and ceiling, plus screws, joint tape and joint compound.
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How to use it
- Enter the room size and wall height.
- Choose whether to include the ceiling.
- Subtract doors and windows (roughly 20 ft² per door, 15 ft² per window).
- Pick the sheet size you plan to buy.
How it works
Sheets = (wall area + ceiling − openings) × (1 + waste) ÷ sheet area. Rules of thumb for finishing per 1,000 ft² of drywall: about 370 ft of joint tape and about 140 lb of ready-mixed compound; screws about 32 per 4 × 8 sheet. Larger sheets mean fewer seams but need two people.
FAQ
How many sheets of drywall for a 12 × 12 room?
With 8 ft walls and the ceiling: about 17 sheets of 4 × 8 including 10% waste (one door and two windows subtracted).
What thickness should I use?
1/2 in for most walls and ceilings in homes; 5/8 in fire-rated (Type X) where code requires, e.g. some garage walls.
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