Calculators
Drywall cost calculators
Materials, hang-and-finish labour by level, removal, textures, repairs, DIY vs pro, time and whole-house budgets, with sourced ranges.
Drywall is priced three ways: per sheet, per square foot, and by the job. Contractors quote per sheet or per square foot hung and finished, and the finish level, the ceiling height, the texture and your region move the number by a factor of two. These calculators keep materials and labour on separate lines, use published cost surveys and Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data as the defaults, and always give a range rather than one figure.
Every default has a source and a year in the assumption table on the page. Prices change, so treat the results as the frame for a quote, then put the real quote into the cost per square foot calculator to see where it lands.
9 calculators
Drywall Cost Estimator
A low-to-high cost for a drywall job from the board area, your sheet price, the finish level and your region, materials and labour apart.
Hang & Finish Labor Cost Calculator
Labour to hang and finish drywall per sheet and per square foot, by finish level, ceilings, height, texture and region.
Drywall Removal & Disposal Cost Calculator
What tearing out drywall or plaster costs, the weight of the debris, the dumpster it fills and the asbestos question.
Drywall Texture Cost Calculator
What orange peel, knockdown, hand or popcorn texture costs installed or DIY, and what popcorn removal costs.
Drywall Repair Cost Calculator
What a contractor charges for nail pops, holes of each size, cracks and water-damaged sections, and the DIY materials.
DIY vs Pro Drywall Calculator
Hire it all, hang it yourself and hire the finishing, or do it all: the cost of each at your time value, and the break-even.
Drywall Time Calculator
Hours of work and calendar days to hang and finish a job, by crew, finish level and drying time.
Whole-House Drywall Budget
A drywall budget for a whole house from its floor area, layout and ceiling height, with the board area and sheets.
Drywall Cost per Square Foot Calculator
Turn a drywall quote into a price per square foot and per sheet, and see where it sits against published ranges.
Guides for this topic
DIY drywall: hang it yourself, hire the finish?
Hanging drywall is heavy but learnable in a weekend. Finishing it so it disappears under paint takes years. That is why the middle option is so common.
How long joint compound takes to dry, coat by coat
Twenty-four hours between coats is true at 70 °F and 70% humidity. In a cold basement it can be five days; in a warm, dry room, an afternoon.
Drywall repairs: patch kits, California patches, or a new section
The size of the hole decides the repair. A nail hole takes a fingertip of spackle; a fist hole takes a patch; a water-stained ceiling takes a saw.
Drywall textures: orange peel, knockdown, popcorn, and how much material
A texture hides small flaws and changes how a room looks and sounds. Each one has its own material, tools and coverage, and old ones come with a warning.
Drywall vs veneer plaster: cost, time and finish
Veneer plaster is the modern plaster: hard, smooth and decorated the day after it goes on. It costs more than drywall, and here is how much more.
Hanging drywall: ceilings first, then walls, and why
Every hanger does the ceiling first. The reason is structural, not habit, and the same logic decides the order of every row on the walls.
How to read a drywall quote (and compare two)
Two drywall quotes can differ by half and both be fair, if they price different jobs. The trick is making them price the same one.
Removing old drywall and plaster: weight, dumpsters and asbestos
Tear-outs are quick and heavy. The planning is mostly about weight, and, in older homes, one test before the first swing.
Sanding drywall: grits, tools and keeping the dust down
Sanding is the messiest hour of the job and the one that decides how the paint looks. Less of it, done with the right grit and tool, is the goal.
What drywall contractors charge: per sheet, per square foot, by finish level
Drywall is priced per sheet or per square foot of board, and the finish level moves the price more than anything but the region. These are the sourced ranges.
Questions people ask
- How much does it cost to hang and finish drywall per sheet?
- Published cost surveys put professional installation at roughly $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot for standard 1/2 in board hung and finished to Level 4, which is about $50 to $110 per 4 × 8 sheet including materials. The low end is simple rooms in lower-cost regions; the high end is high ceilings, Level 5 and metro labour rates.
- What does drywall cost per square foot?
- Materials alone run about $0.40 to $0.70 per square foot of wall for board, screws, tape and compound. Labour to hang is typically $0.50 to $1.00 per square foot and finishing to Level 4 another $0.80 to $1.50, so a complete job is usually $2 to $3 per square foot and more for Level 5 or textured ceilings.
- How much does drywall removal cost?
- Published cost guides put tear-out with haul-away at roughly $1 to $3 per square foot, more for plaster and lath, which is heavier and slower. A 1,000 sq ft tear-out of 1/2 in board is about 1,600 lb of debris, inside a 10-yard dumpster. In a house built before 1980, test for asbestos first.
- What does a textured ceiling cost?
- Published guides put sprayed orange peel at about $1.25 to $1.95 per square foot installed and knockdown at about $1 to $2 or a little more; hand textures cost more. Removing an old popcorn ceiling runs about $1 to $4 per square foot, or $3 to $7 if it contains asbestos (Fixr).
- What do drywall repairs cost?
- HomeAdvisor puts the average drywall repair at about $610, with most jobs between about $300 and $925. Small holes are often $50 to $200, fist-sized holes $150 to $300, and water-damaged sections $400 to $800 or more. The repair cost calculator prices by type and count.
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