Drywall Calculator

About this calculator

This calculator divides total wall (and optionally ceiling) area by the coverage of a standard drywall sheet — most commonly 4×8 feet (32 sq ft) or 4×12 feet for fewer seams — and rounds up to a whole number of sheets, adding a waste factor of about 10% to cover cuts around outlets, windows and doorways.

Contractors and DIY renovators pricing out drywall for a room use this before ordering, since sheets are sold individually and running short mid-job means a second trip and potential batch/texture mismatch, while over-ordering means paying to haul away unused boards. It also factors in that larger sheets reduce the number of seams that need taping and mudding, which affects labor time as well as material cost.