How Many Sheets of Drywall Do I Need? (Room and House Chart)
A 12 by 12 ft room with 8 ft walls needs 17 sheets of 4 × 8 ft drywall for the walls and ceiling with no waste, and 19 sheets once a 10% waste allowance is added. The 10% is an example allowance for this page, not a figure from a source; you set your own in the calculator.
Estimates for planning, not professional advice. Read the full notice.
Work it out for your own sizes
Count sheets for my roomExample to try: Length 12 ft, Width 12 ft, Wall height 8 ft
Sheets by room size and by house size
Sheets of drywall for walls and ceiling together, by room size and by house size, at two sheet sizes and with the waste allowance
| Room or house | 4 × 8 ft, no waste | 4 × 8 ft, 10% waste | 4 × 12 ft, 10% waste |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 12 ft room, 8 ft walls | 15 | 17 | 11 |
| 12 × 12 ft room, 8 ft walls | 17 | 19 | 13 |
| 12 × 14 ft room, 8 ft walls | 19 | 21 | 14 |
| 14 × 16 ft room, 8 ft walls | 22 | 25 | 17 |
| 1,000 ft² house, square, one story | 63 | 70 | 47 |
| 1,500 ft² house, square, one story | 86 | 95 | 63 |
| 2,000 ft² house, square, one story | 108 | 118 | 79 |
Estimate for planning, from what you entered and the product data shown. Check product labels and your supplier before you buy.
Room rows count four walls and the ceiling gross, with openings not taken off. House rows assume a square one-story footprint and count the outside walls and the ceiling only, so interior walls are left out. Walls are the same height in every row.
What changes at your size
Taller walls add area to every wall, a longer sheet covers more area per sheet, and a larger waste allowance raises the count in steps of whole sheets. Doors and windows are not taken off here; the drywall calculator can take them off. The counts here divide the area by the area of one sheet. The drywall calculator also counts a cut layout, row by row, and orders the larger of the two, which can be higher.
Questions
How many sheets of drywall do I need for a 12 × 12 ft room?
The table counts that room's four walls and ceiling at two sheet sizes, with and without a waste allowance. Open the drywall calculator with your own wall height and openings for your count.
How many sheets for a 10 × 12 ft room?
The first row of the table gives it for walls and ceiling together. Board on the ceiling alone or the walls alone is a choice in the drywall calculator.
How many sheets for a house of 1,500 ft²?
The house rows state their assumption: a square one-story footprint, outside walls and the ceiling only. A house with interior walls and several rooms needs more, so count room by room in the calculator.
Calculate it for your project
Enter your own sizes to get the amount to buy or the layout figures, with the working shown and a page to print.
Open the drywall calculator