Boards, screws, joint compound and tape

Wall & boards

m
m
%

Assumes screws at a standard pattern, with typical compound and tape coverage for taped joints.

Estimated materials

Board area
Boards needed
boards
Screws
Joint compound
kg
Joint tape
m

About Drywall Estimator

The drywall estimator turns a wall into a shopping list: boards, screws, joint compound, and tape. Enter the wall area directly or from length and height, subtract openings, choose whether one or both sides get boarded, pick a board size, and set a wastage percentage for cuts.

The consumable rates are the ones the trade uses for taped and finished joints: about 14 screws per square meter (a standard fixing pattern on studs), 0.5 kg of joint compound per m², and 1.5 m of joint tape per m². Board count is the net area with wastage divided by your chosen sheet size, rounded up to whole boards.

Use it to estimate a partition, a garage conversion, or a whole-room reboard before the builders’-merchant run — free, live in your browser. The figures assume standard single-layer boarding; fire- or sound-rated double layers simply mean running the numbers twice.

How to use Drywall Estimator

  1. Choose the input mode: enter the wall area, or compute it from wall length and height.
  2. Subtract door and window openings in m².
  3. Select one side or both sides to board, and pick the board size.
  4. Set a wastage percentage for offcuts.
  5. Read the boards, screws, joint compound, and tape quantities.

Frequently asked questions

Net wall area (times two if boarding both sides), plus wastage, divided by the area of one board, rounded up. A 20 m² wall boarded one side with 5% waste needs 21 m² of board — eight 1.2 × 2.4 m sheets.

The estimator uses about 14 screws per m², which is roughly 40 screws for a 1.2 × 2.4 m sheet — consistent with screws every 300 mm or so on each stud. Screw spacing requirements vary with board type and framing.

Plan on about 0.5 kg of compound and 1.5 m of tape per square meter of boarded surface for taped, three-coat finished joints. Skim-coating the entire surface uses several times more compound.

5–10% covers straight walls; go higher for rooms with many openings, angled cuts, or short walls that fit sheets badly. Offcuts are rarely reusable, so realistic wastage keeps you from a second trip.

The tool estimates the areas you give it. For a ceiling, enter its area as the “wall.” For double-layer fire or acoustic systems, double the board figure and remember the second layer needs longer screws — check the system manufacturer’s specification.

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