Drywall Calculator
Enter your room dimensions and get sheet count, materials and a Niagara cost range. Useful at the planning stage, whether you are hiring out or doing it yourself.
Your estimate
- Wall area
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- Ceiling area
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- Total board surface
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- Sheets needed
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Materials
- Drywall screws
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- Joint tape
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- Joint compound
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- Corner bead
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Installed cost in Niagara
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Supply, hang, tape and Level 4 finish. A budget figure, not a quote — ceiling height, complexity and access all move it. See the full cost guide for what drives the range.
Get a real quote for this roomHow the numbers are worked out
Board surface, not floor area
Wall area is the room perimeter multiplied by ceiling height. Openings are not subtracted, because the offcuts from a door or window are rarely reusable and subtracting them tends to under-order.
Materials per 1,000 sq ft
Roughly 320 screws, 370 linear feet of tape and 140 lb of all-purpose compound for three coats. These are working averages used across the trade.
Cost range
$2.00 to $3.50 per square foot of board surface, which is what we actually quote across Niagara for supply, hang, tape and a Level 4 finish.
Planning a whole project? See residential drywall installation, taping and finishing, and which finish level you need.
Questions about the calculator
How much waste should I allow for?
Ten percent is the standard allowance and it is what this calculator uses. Rooms with lots of small walls, angles or openings can run to fifteen percent, because every cut leaves an offcut too small to use elsewhere.
Which sheet size should I choose?
Longer sheets mean fewer butt joints, and butt joints are the hardest seams to finish invisibly. If a 12 foot sheet spans your wall in one piece and you can physically get it into the room, use it. Access is usually what decides this, not preference.
Why does the calculator not subtract doors and windows?
Deliberately. Openings get cut from full sheets and the offcuts are rarely large enough to use, so subtracting them tends to under-order. Treating them as solid wall is closer to what you actually buy.
Is 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch right for my ceiling?
5/8 inch on ceilings as standard. It resists sagging between joists over the years far better than 1/2 inch, and the small extra material cost is worth it every time.
How accurate is the cost estimate?
It applies our real Niagara installed range of $2.00 to $3.50 per square foot of board surface, which covers supply, hang, tape and a Level 4 finish. It is a budget figure, not a quote. Ceiling height, complexity and access all move it.
Turn this estimate into a written quote
Tell us what you are dealing with and roughly where in Niagara you are. For repairs, a photo is usually enough for a number without a site visit.