How Much Drywall for a 12x14 Room?
Drywall sheets
21 sheets
Four walls at 8 feet tall plus a 12 by 14 ceiling: 584 square feet, no openings deducted.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Total area to cover584 sq ft
- Sheet size4 x 8 ft, 32 sq ft
- Waste allowance10 %
Drywall sheets21 sheets
| Area with 10% waste | 642 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Sheets at 32 sq ft | 21 |
| Joint compound, 4.5 gal buckets | 2 |
| Joint tape | 245 lf |
| Screws | 672 (about 3 lb) |
| Corner bead, rough guess | 39 lf |
The material list this produces
| Drywall sheets | 21 |
|---|---|
| Joint compound, 4.5 gal buckets | 2 |
| Joint tape, linear ft | 245 |
| Drywall screws, lb | 3 |
Sheet size compared
Longer sheets mean fewer butt joints and less taping. Same area, three sheet sizes.
| Sheet size | Drywall sheets |
|---|---|
| 4 x 8 ft | 21 sheets |
| 4 x 10 ft | 17 sheets |
| 4 x 12 ft | 14 sheets |
What else matters here
Twenty one sheets at eight foot walls. The number that moves this figure most is not the room size, it is the ceiling height.
At nine foot walls the same room is 468 square feet of wall instead of 416, and at ten feet it is 520. More to the point, eight foot sheets hung horizontally stop covering: two rows gets you eight feet, so a nine foot wall needs a one foot strip, and that strip is a third joint to tape on every wall in the room.
The usual answer on nine foot walls is 54 inch wide board, which is made for exactly this and gives two rows of 4.5 feet with no strip. On ten foot walls, sheets stood vertically at ten feet cover in one piece with no horizontal joint at all. Both are worth asking the yard about before defaulting to 4 by 8.
What this calculator assumes
- Joint compound is figured at one 4.5 gallon bucket per 475 sq ft of board for a full three coat finish. A level 5 finish uses more.
- Tape is figured at 380 linear feet per 1000 sq ft of board, screws at 32 per sheet for 16 inch on center framing.
- Longer sheets mean fewer butt joints, which is less taping and a flatter wall. Use 12 footers where they will fit through the door.
Questions people ask
How many sheets of drywall for a 12x14 room?
Twenty one sheets of 4 by 8 for walls and ceiling, with a ten percent waste allowance and 8 foot walls.
What drywall do you use on 9 foot walls?
54 inch wide board. Two rows cover nine feet exactly, where two rows of standard 48 inch board leave a one foot strip and a third joint on every wall.
Does ceiling height change the sheet count?
Yes, and more than the floor area does. Going from 8 to 9 foot walls adds about 50 square feet of board to a room this size, plus the extra joints.
The drywall calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.