Drywall Calculator
Drywall is sold by the sheet. Enter the area you're covering and the sheet size, and this gives the number of sheets plus rough screws and joint compound.
Drywall sheets
17sheets
- Screws (approx)
- 528 screws
- Joint compound (approx)
- 3.8 gal
How it’s calculated
Sheets = total area × (1 + waste) ÷ sheet coverage, rounded up — a 4×8 sheet covers 32 sq ft, a 4×12 covers 48. Add about 10% for cuts and offcuts. Screws run about 1 per square foot on walls (ceilings are denser — add ~30%); 1-1/4-inch coarse screws run roughly 310 to the pound. Ready-mix joint compound is about 1 gallon per 100–150 sq ft — more for a full skim or Level-5 finish.
Worked example
480 sq ft with 4×8 sheets (32 sq ft) and 10% waste: 480 × 1.10 = 528 ÷ 32 = 16.5 → 17 sheets. Plus ≈528 screws (about 1.7 lb) and ~3.8 gallons of compound.
FAQs
- What size drywall sheet should I use?
- 4×8 sheets (32 sq ft) are the easiest to carry and the DIY default; 4×12 sheets (48 sq ft) cover more with fewer seams but are heavy and awkward in tight spaces. Ceilings and pros often favor the larger sheet.
- How much waste should I add?
- About 10% covers normal cuts and offcuts. Add more for rooms with lots of windows, doors, or angles, where you trim more pieces.
- Are the screw and compound numbers exact?
- No — they're planning estimates. Screws run about 1 per square foot on walls (ceilings denser — add ~30%), and a pound of 1-1/4-inch coarse drywall screws is roughly 310, so ~528 screws is about 1.7 lb. Compound runs ~1 gal per 100–150 sq ft, more for a full skim or Level-5 finish.
Sources
- Sheets = area × (1 + waste) ÷ sheet coverage, rounded up (4×8 = 32 sq ft, 4×12 = 48 sq ft). Screws ≈ 1 per sq ft on walls (+~30% ceilings), ~310 1-1/4-in coarse screws per lb; joint compound ≈ 1 gal / 100–150 sq ft (more for skim/Level-5) — planning figures, verify against the product.