Drywall / Gypsum Board Calculator
A full drywall material list: boards, screws, tape, compound, bead and ceiling channels.
Walls and ceilings
One row per size: a wall is length × height, a ceiling length × width. Add both sides of a partition as two walls.
Doors and windows taken off the walls
Boards
Framing and fasteners
Tape, compound and corner bead
False-ceiling framing optional
Use the spacings and lengths in your ceiling system’s installation guide. Main channels run along the room’s length; cross channels run across them, and the boards are fixed to the cross channels.
Prices optional — for a costed list
Fasteners, compound and tape are priced per pack or roll, so give their pack size or roll length too.
Material list
| Item | Quantity | Cost |
|---|
About the Drywall / Gypsum Board Calculator
Make a complete drywall (gypsum board, plasterboard) material list for a room or a whole job: the boards for the walls and ceilings with the doors and windows taken off, the screws or nails at the maximum spacing for single-layer boards, the joint tape, the joint compound at your product’s coverage, the corner bead for outside corners and, if you build one, the channels and hangers of a false ceiling. Add prices and it becomes a costed list you can copy or download.
Use US boards (4 × 8, 4 × 10, 4 × 12 ft) or metric ones (1200 × 2400, 2500 or 3000 mm), a different board for the ceilings if you like, and your own stud and joist spacing. Nothing you type leaves your device.
How to use it
- Choose metric or US units. Add a row for each size of wall (length × height × how many) and for each ceiling (length × width); add both faces of a partition as walls.
- Add the doors and windows — their area comes off the walls.
- Pick the board size (or type another), and tick a different board for the ceilings if they use longer or thicker boards. Keep about 10 % waste for cuts.
- Choose screws or nails and enter the stud and joist spacing. The fastener spacing fills in with the maximum for that framing; type your own if your system asks for closer fixing.
- Enter the joint compound coverage from the product’s data sheet and, if you want packs and rolls, the pack size and the tape roll length. Count the outside corners for corner bead.
- For a suspended ceiling, tick false-ceiling framing and enter the room, the channel spacings and the lengths the channels come in.
- Optionally open Prices, then copy the material list or download it as CSV.
Examples
Walls 2 × 12 ft and 2 × 10 ft, 8 ft high · ceiling 12 × 10 ft · studs and joists 16 in · screws
332 ft² of walls → 10.4 boards + 10 % = 12 boards · ceiling 120 ft² → 5 boards · 28 screws per wall board, 35 per ceiling board → 423 screws · 170 ft of tape · 4.1 US gal of compound at 9 gal per 1,000 ft²
Nails at 8 in on the walls and 7 in on the ceiling
49 nails per wall board and 56 per ceiling board → 719 nails
Studs at 600 mm, ceiling framing at 450 mm, screws at 300 mm
35.91 m² of walls → 14 boards · 12 m² of ceiling → 5 boards · 25 screws per wall board, 35 per ceiling board → 458 screws · 59.9 m of tape · 17.7 L of compound at 0.37 L per m²
Mains at 1200 mm, cross channels at 450 mm, hangers at 1200 mm · perimeter channel 3 m, mains and crosses 3.66 m
20 m of perimeter channel = 7 pieces · 3 main lines of 6 m = 6 pieces · 13 cross lines of 4 m = 15 pieces · 12 hangers
How the quantities are worked out
- Boards: the area to board ÷ the area of one board, plus the waste allowance, rounded up — walls and ceilings separately.
- Fasteners: on each board, the framing members under it × the fasteners along each member, counting both ends: members = ceil(board length across the framing ÷ framing spacing) + 1, fasteners per member = ceil(board width ÷ fastener spacing) + 1. A 4 × 8 ft board on 16 in studs with screws at 16 in has 7 × 4 = 28. That count is multiplied by the boards’ worth of area (cut pieces get fasteners in proportion).
- Joint tape: each board edge is either shared with the next board or meets a corner, so the joints are about half of all the board edges: area × (1 ÷ board width + 1 ÷ board length). For 4 × 8 ft boards that is 375 ft per 1,000 ft² — the same figure National Gypsum gives for its paper tape.
- Joint compound: the board area × the coverage you enter.
- Corner bead: each outside corner gets whole lengths of bead (no joints along a corner).
Fastener spacing
For a single layer of gypsum board, National Gypsum’s construction guide, which tells installers to follow ASTM C840 and Gypsum Association GA-216, gives these maximum spacings: - Screws: 12 in (305 mm) on ceilings; on walls 16 in (406 mm) where the framing is 16 in on centre, and 12 in where it is 24 in on centre. - Nails: 7 in (178 mm) on ceilings and 8 in (203 mm) on walls. - Fasteners at least 3/8 in (9.5 mm) from the edges and ends of the board.
The calculator fills in that maximum for your framing (in millimetres it rounds down to the nearest 5 mm). Fire-rated, sound-rated, multi-layer and many metric partition and ceiling systems specify their own, closer spacings — use the system’s figures where they apply.
Joint compound coverage
Coverage depends on the compound and on how many coats you apply, so the calculator uses the figure on your product’s data sheet. As a guide, National Gypsum’s construction guide lists about 9 US gallons (123–140 lb) per 1,000 ft² for its ready-mixed all-purpose compound and about 45–55 lb per 1,000 ft² for its setting-type powders. Nine gallons per 1,000 ft² is about 0.37 litres per m².
False-ceiling framing
A suspended (false) ceiling has a perimeter channel fixed round the walls, main channels hung from the slab at one spacing, and cross channels fixed under them at a closer spacing, to which the boards are screwed. With the walls carrying the edges, the calculator counts ceil(span ÷ spacing) − 1 lines of each, and hangers along each main channel at their spacing. Runs longer than one length are joined from stock lengths, and offcuts are reused where they fit. Spacings, lengths and fixings differ between ceiling systems — take them from your system’s installation guide.
Limitations
- Board numbers come from the area with a waste allowance, not from a sheet layout. Many short walls, soffits and returns waste more; tall walls need boards long enough for your layout.
- Fastener counts are for single-layer boards at the spacing you enter; adhesive, double nailing and fire-rated systems change them.
- Joint compound and tape depend on the finish level and the number of coats; the coverage is only as good as the figure you enter.
- The false-ceiling estimate counts channels and hangers only: connectors, wall angles at changes in level, light fittings, bulkheads and access panels are not included.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How many sheets of drywall do I need for a 12 × 10 ft room?
With 8 ft walls and one door, the walls are 352 ft² − 20 ft² = 332 ft², which is 10.4 sheets of 4 × 8 ft; with 10 % waste, 12 sheets. The 120 ft² ceiling needs another 5.
How many screws per sheet of drywall?
A 4 × 8 ft sheet on studs 16 in apart with screws at 16 in has 7 studs under it and 4 screws along each: 28. On a ceiling with screws at 12 in it is 7 × 5 = 35; on framing 24 in apart with screws at 12 in, 5 × 5 = 25.
What is the right screw spacing for drywall?
For one layer: at most 12 in on ceilings, and on walls at most 16 in where studs are 16 in apart or 12 in where they are 24 in apart. Nails: 7 in on ceilings, 8 in on walls. Fire-rated and many metric systems ask for closer spacing — follow them where they apply.
How much joint compound do I need?
Multiply the board area by your compound’s coverage. National Gypsum lists about 9 gallons of ready-mixed all-purpose compound per 1,000 ft², so a 452 ft² room takes about 4.1 gallons.
How much joint tape do I need?
About 375 ft per 1,000 ft² of 4 × 8 ft boards, or area × (1 ÷ width + 1 ÷ length) for any board size — 1.25 m per m² for 1200 × 2400 mm boards.
Can it estimate a gypsum false ceiling?
Yes: tick false-ceiling framing and enter the room and your system’s channel spacings and lengths. Add the ceiling under walls and ceilings as well, for its boards and screws.