Drywall calculator
Sheets, profile and screws for a plasterboard wall or ceiling.
Fill in the fields and the result will appear here automatically.
Provides an initial plasterboard budget for sheets, profile and screws. Sheets depend on total area across all layers, sheet dimensions and chosen allowance. Profile and fasteners use explicit rough coefficients, not a specific system layout. Cutting plans, openings, joint lengths, fire performance and acoustic requirements are not calculated.
How it works
Formula and logic
Purchased area B = A·n·(1+w/100); sheets = ⌈B/(sheet length·width)⌉. n is an integer from 1 to 3 and w ranges from 0 to 50%. Profile is estimated as A/s + A/(3 m), where s is the chosen spacing in metres. Screws = 60·purchased sheets: layers are already counted in sheets and are not multiplied again. The 3 m and 60 coefficients do not establish system components or installation requirements.
Example
40 m² in one layer of 2.5 by 1.2 sheets with 10 % allowance comes to 15 sheets.
Fields and units
- Area to cover — m²
- Sheet length — m
- Sheet width — m
- Layers — unitless
- Stud spacing — m
- Allowance — %
How to use
- — Enter one surface area; layers are specified separately.
- — Enter actual sheet dimensions, layer count and an allowance of 0–50%.
- — Specify profile spacing and check the budget against your chosen system layout.
Method and limitations
- Calculation method
- Formula and logic
- Limitation
- Profile and fasteners use explicit rough coefficients, not a specific system layout. Cutting plans, openings, joint lengths, fire performance and acoustic requirements are not calculated.
FAQ
Why is the allowance applied per layer?
The model applies allowance to total area across all layers. Joint layout and each layer’s actual waste are not planned separately; check them against the system and layout.
How exact is the profile figure?
It is a rough A/s + A/(3 m) estimate. The second term is a fixed model allowance, not noggins every metre. Corners, openings, tracks and stud layout need a separate plan.
Why sixty screws per sheet?
60 is the retained budget coefficient per purchased sheet, without a normative basis. For example, 44 sheets across two layers give 2640 screws, not 5280. Actual fasteners come from the system documentation.
Is the frame at 600 mm always right?
No. Spacing is your input, not installation approval. Even though A/s changes by a factor of 1.5 between 600 and 400 mm, the total profile estimate does not: it also contains A/3.
Does this include filler and tape?
No. Joint length is unknown without a layout, so compound, tape and their quantities are not calculated.