Drywall Calculator
This drywall calculator turns your wall and ceiling dimensions into how many sheets to buy — 10% waste included, compared across 4×8, 4×10 and 4×12 sheets, plus screw and joint-compound estimates.
Your project
Your materials
Standard industry formulas with waste included. Always confirm quantities with your supplier.
How many sheets of drywall do I need?
Add up every wall's length × height, plus the ceiling if you're hanging it, then divide by the sheet's area and add 10% for cuts around doors, windows and outlets. Longer 4×10 and 4×12 sheets mean fewer seams to tape but are heavier to handle solo. Figure about 32 screws per sheet and roughly 0.053 lbs of joint compound per square foot for a full three-coat tape job.
Worked example. A 12 × 10 ft room with 8 ft ceilings: the four walls are (12 + 10 + 12 + 10) × 8 = 352 ft², plus a 12 × 10 = 120 ft² ceiling, for 472 ft² total. Add 10% waste (519 ft²) and divide by a 4×8 sheet's 32 ft²: that's 17 sheets. Figure about 17 × 32 = 544 screws and roughly 472 × 0.053 ≈ 25 lbs of joint compound.
| Sheet size | Area each | Sheets per 500 ft² | Sheets per 1,000 ft² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 8 ft | 32 ft² | 18 | 35 |
| 4 × 10 ft | 40 ft² | 14 | 28 |
| 4 × 12 ft | 48 ft² | 12 | 23 |
Sheet counts include 10% waste. Screws ≈ 32 per sheet; joint compound ≈ 0.053 lbs per ft².