Enter your room size and pick your panel to get the USG Sheetrock sheets, screws, joint compound and tape for the job. Sized for standard 4×8 and 4×12 ft panels.
Openings (deducted from walls)
Boarded area
45.6 sq ft
Screws
~64
Joint compound
~6 lb · 475 ft²/box
Joint tape
~17 ft
This is the standard drywall calculator set up for USG Sheetrock panel sizes. It sizes both the boarding and the finishing from your room dimensions:
wall area = 2 × (length + width) × height
ceiling = length × width (if you board it)
panels = ceil( (wall area + ceiling) × wastage ÷ panel area )
screws = panels × 32
compound = boarded area × 0.64 kg/m²
tape = boarded area × 1.2 m/m²
It treats the room as a closed box and lets the wastage allowance cover the offcuts around doors and windows - or add each opening to deduct it exactly. Boarding more than one room? Add a room for each and the panels, screws, mud and tape total into one order. All math runs in exact metric internally, so switching units never changes the answer.
| Panel | Size | Area | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheetrock 1/2 in | 4 × 8 ft | 32 sq ft | Walls and ceilings in most rooms |
| Sheetrock UltraLight 1/2 in | 4 × 8 / 4 × 12 ft | 32 / 48 sq ft | Lighter board, easier overhead |
| Firecode 5/8 in (Type X) | 4 × 8 ft | 32 sq ft | Fire-rated walls and ceilings |
| Mold Tough 1/2 in | 4 × 8 ft | 32 sq ft | Bathrooms and damp areas |
A 12 ft × 12 ft room, 8 ft ceilings, walls and ceiling boarded, 4 × 8 ft panels, 10% wastage:
Work out the area to board - the walls (room perimeter × ceiling height) plus the ceiling if you are boarding it - then divide by the panel area and add wastage. A 12 × 12 ft room with 8 ft ceilings and the ceiling boarded is about 528 sq ft; with 4 × 8 ft panels (32 sq ft each) and 10% wastage that is 19 panels. Enter your room above for the exact count.
Sheetrock is USG's brand of gypsum drywall panel - the original, and often used as a generic name for drywall. It comes in standard 1/2 inch panels in 4 × 8 ft (32 sq ft) and 4 × 12 ft (48 sq ft), 5/8 inch Firecode (Type X) for fire-rated assemblies, lightweight UltraLight panels that weigh up to a third less, and mold-resistant Mold Tough panels for damp rooms. The calculator handles any of them - the area per panel is what matters.
Allow roughly 0.6 kg of joint compound per square metre of board for a taped three-coat finish - about one box of USG Sheetrock All Purpose or Plus 3 ready-mix per 475 sq ft of board - plus one roll of joint tape for a typical room. The calculator returns the compound and tape totals from your boarded area. USG Plus 3 is lighter and sands easily for finish coats; all-purpose is fine for bedding tape.
About 32 coarse-thread drywall screws fix a 4 × 8 ft panel to wood studs at 16 inch centres - a screw roughly every 12 inches in the field and 8 inches around the edges, with ceilings fixed more densely. USG recommends the screw heads sit just below the surface without breaking the paper. The calculator multiplies your panel count by 32 as a buy estimate.
USG Sheetrock UltraLight panels weigh up to 30% less than standard 1/2 inch board, which makes them much easier to lift and hang overhead on ceilings and when you are working alone - with the same 4 × 8 ft footprint. They cost a little more per sheet. The panel count is identical to standard board, so the calculator's figures apply; the choice is about handling, not quantity.
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