Drywall Calculator

Leave the room dimensions blank if you already know the net area to cover.
Subtracted from the wall area. Many hangers board straight over openings and cut them out, in which case leave this at zero.
In the same area unit as the room.
GA-216 allows 16 in o.c. on walls and 12 in o.c. on ceilings when screwing to wood framing 16 in o.c.
Coverage differs by compound and by the number of coats, so nothing is assumed. Leave at 0 to skip.
Panels to buy
16
Drywall Calculator
Net area covered
448.00
Area of one panel
32.000
Area including waste
492.80
Panels before the waste allowance
14
Screws per panel
28
Screws
448
Joint tape
192 ft
Panel cost
288.00 USD
Labour cost
0.00 USD
Total installed cost
288.00 USD
Cost per square foot of board
0.64 USD/ft2
Worked out from ASTM C1396/C1396M, Standard Specification for Gypsum Board and 2 other sources.
Joint compound was not estimated: enter the coverage published on your compound’s data sheet, since it varies by product and by how many coats you run.
A materials take-off only. Fire-rated, shear and moisture-resistant assemblies have prescriptive requirements for panel type, thickness, fastener pattern and joint treatment that must be taken from the tested assembly listing and the code adopted where you build.

How this is worked out

7 steps
  1. Area: walls 2 x (16 + 12) x 8 = 448 sq ft = 448 ft2.
  2. Panel: 4 ft x 8 ft (32 sq ft) = 32 ft2.
  3. With 10% waste: 448 x 1.1 = 492.8 ft2.
  4. Panels = ceil(492.8 / 32) = 16.
  5. Screws: 7 framing members across 96 in at 16 in o.c., 4 screws down each at 16 in o.c. = 28 per panel, 448 in total.
  6. Tape: half the perimeter of each panel, 12 ft x 16 = 192 ft.
  7. Cost: 16 x 18 = 288 in panels, plus 448 sq ft x 0 = 0 labour = 288.

Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice.