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Home Improvement

Drywall Calculator

Estimate the drywall sheets a room needs for walls and ceiling, plus rough joint compound and screws.

Your details

About the Drywall Calculator

Enter the room dimensions and sheet size to get the number of drywall sheets for the walls (and optionally the ceiling), with rough figures for joint compound and screws.

How it’s calculated

Area = wall area + optional ceiling, × (1 + waste%). Sheets = area ÷ sheet coverage, rounded up.

Example calculation

A 14 × 12 ft room with 9 ft walls and a ceiling needs about 22 sheets of 4 × 8 ft drywall.

Frequently asked questions

Bigger sheets or smaller?

Larger sheets (4 × 12) mean fewer seams to tape but are heavy and awkward to handle alone. 4 × 8 sheets are the DIY standard.

Are compound and screws exact?

No — those are rough estimates. Tape, corner bead, primer, and texture are extra, and finishing technique changes how much compound you use.

This is a general material estimate for planning only. Actual quantities vary with waste, offcuts, site conditions, product coverage, and technique. Confirm measurements and coverage rates before ordering, follow local building codes, and round up — running short mid-project is costly.