Drywall for a 2,000 Sq Ft House

Where the board goes in 2,000 sq ft

• Ceilings: 2,000 sq ft, 28% of the typical one-story total.
• Outside walls: about 183 ft of perimeter at 8 ft, less 12% for windows and exterior doors, is 1,285 sq ft, 18% of the total.
• Interior walls: 240 linear ft at 0.12 ft per sq ft of floor, boarded on both faces, is 3,840 sq ft, 54% of the total. An open plan has about 180 linear ft and a plan with many rooms about 320.
• Sheets: 7,125 sq ft plus 10% waste is 7,838 sq ft, or 164 sheets at 48 sq ft and 245 at 32 sq ft.

Split the same 2,000 sq ft over two stories with 8 ft ceilings and the smaller footprint has more outside wall per square foot of floor: 1,818 sq ft of it, against 1,285 on one level. The two-story total is 7,658 sq ft, 176 sheets of 4x12.

The footprint shape, opening share and interior wall density are our planning assumptions, not measured data. For an order, measure room by room with the main calculator.

4x8 or 4x12 for a 2,000 sq ft house

For the typical one-story plan, 4x12 board is 164 sheets and 4x8 is 245: 81 more sheets to carry, lift and fasten for the same 7,125 sq ft. At about 51 lb per 4x8 sheet of 1/2 in regular board, the 4x8 order weighs about 12,495 lb, so a house this size goes on a delivery truck rather than a trailer.

Labor for 2,000 sq ft of house

At the site's national planning range of $1.20 to $2.50 per sq ft of board to hang and finish, the typical one-story plan comes to $8,550 to $17,813 in labor. The open plan's 6,165 sq ft is $7,398 to $15,413, and the many-room plan's 8,405 sq ft is $10,086 to $21,013. Two stories with 9 ft ceilings, 8,365 sq ft, runs $10,038 to $20,912.

Checking 2,000 sq ft against the rule of thumb

Drywall finisher Myron Ferguson, writing in Fine Homebuilding, multiplies living-area floor space by 3.5 for 8 ft ceilings and 3.82 for 9 ft ceilings, and figures the garage separately. For 2,000 sq ft that is 7,000 and 7,640 sq ft; this model gives 7,125 and 7,766 for a typical one-story plan, ratios of 3.56 and 3.88. The U.S. Geological Survey put an average new 2,000 sq ft home at about 6,144 sq ft of wallboard in 2001, about 3.1 times the floor area, which would be 6,144 sq ft here. A garage, a bonus room or vaulted ceilings are not included.

Mud, tape and screws for 2,000 sq ft

For the typical one-story case: about 998 lb of all purpose joint compound (16 pails of 4.5 gallons), 2,636 ft of paper tape (6 rolls of 500 ft) and 7,625 screws.