ESTIMATING YOUR DRYWALL AND FINISHING NEEDS
Use our Calculator Quantity To determine how much drywall you need, follow these steps:
Measure your walls corner to corner (length). Do not subtract for openings: windows, doors, etc. Measure your walls floor to ceiling (height). Do not subtract for openings: windows, doors, etc. Multiply the length by the height to find the square footage. Measure the ceiling and multiply the length by the width. Add the square footage of your walls and ceiling to determine the total square footage. Divide the total square footage by the square footage of a single sheet of drywall (see chart) to determine the number of drywall panels required. Certain types of drywall come in limited sizes. Please keep this in mind when calculating the number of drywall panels required (see below).
| Drywall Panel Size | Square Footage |
| 4 x 8 | 32 |
| 4 x 9 | 36 |
| 4 x 10 | 40 |
| 4 x 12 | 48 |
Type Certain applications will require a particular type of drywall by code or for better performance. Different types of drywall vary in size. Please keep this in mind when calculating the number of drywall panels required (see above).
| Application | Type | Size |
| | |
| Ceilings (for joist spacing greater than 19” | Ceiling Drywall | 4 x 12 |
| High Moisture Areas (bathrooms) | Moisture Resistant Drywall | 4 x 8 |
| Tile Backer | Denshield | 4 x 5 |
| 4 x 8 |
| Curved Walls | Flex Drywall | 4 x 8 |
| Sound Performance | Sound Resistant | 4 x 8 |
| Mold Resistant | Dens Armour Plus | 4 x 8 |
| High Traffic Areas | Impact Resistant | 4 x 8 |
| FireResistant | 5/8" Fire Rated Drywall | 4 x 8 |
| 4 x 9 |
| 4 x 10 |
| 4 x 12 |
| 1/2" Fire Rated Drywall | 4 x 8 |
* Please note: Refer to your
Local Building Code for a complete listing of required materials for specific applications.
Drywall Related Products To determine the amount of drywall compound (mud), joint tape, and nails and/or screws you need, enter your drywall square footage into the calculator:
Paper Bead – This product comes in various lengths to suit various ceiling heights. Determine the height of your ceiling and count the number of outside corners. For example, if your ceiling height is 8’ and you have 4 outside corners, you will require 4 8’lengths of paper bead. Or, simply measure the lineal footage of each outside corner and add together to get the overall footage required.