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Drywall takeoff from floor plans

Drywall is measured as wall length times height plus ceiling area. A floor plan gives you the lengths; the sections give you the heights.

Steps

  1. Set the scale on the floor plan.
  2. Create conditions by wall height and board type, e.g. "Walls 8 ft – 1/2 in" and "Walls 9 ft – 5/8 in Type X".
  3. Use Polyline to trace wall runs. Interior partitions get board on both sides, so trace them under a "both sides" condition or double the total.
  4. Use Area for ceilings.
  5. Count openings with Count if you deduct them.

Convert to sheets

Wall area = linear feet × height. Enter it into DrywallCalc to get sheets, screws, joint compound and tape.

Checking your numbers

A quick sanity check: a typical room needs roughly 3.5 to 4 times its floor area in board once walls and ceiling are included. If your total is far off, check that every wall run is under the right height condition and that interior partitions are counted on both sides. Keep garage, fire-rated and moisture-resistant board in separate conditions because they are priced differently, and export the measurement CSV if you need to show your work to a general contractor.

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FAQ

Do I deduct doors and windows from drywall?

Many estimators deduct only large openings, because offcuts from small openings are rarely reusable.

How do I handle different wall heights?

Use one condition per height so each total can be multiplied correctly.

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