Drywall installation cost, itemized
The walls of a 12 × 10 ft room with 8 ft walls take $275 in board, joint compound and tape at today’s store prices, and each day one drywall installer works adds about $510 to the price, overhead and profit included (U.S. median wage). List your rooms, your city and the installer’s time for the whole job, or type a quote to see how many hours of work it pays for.
Your rooms hung and finished at today’s prices
Each figure says where it comes from: the board, joint compound and tape at stores’ posted prices, the installer’s time at what a drywall installer costs an employer where you live, and the share of the price drywall contractors spend on overhead and keep as profit. The time and the overhead share are yours to change.
Filled in as an example: the walls of one 12 × 10 ft room with 8 ft walls, in 4 × 8 ft sheets, taped and finished to Level 4, installer’s time not yet typed. Type over any of it with your own rooms and the installer’s figures.
The materials priced here, at today’s prices: $275. Each day one drywall installer works adds about $510.
| Part | Cost | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Drywall: 13 sheets | $247 | USG Sheetrock UltraLight, 1/2 in × 4 ft × 8 ft at $18.99 a sheet, Ward Lumber in Jay, NY, . 352 sq ft of walls with 10% extra for cuts, in whole sheets. |
| Joint compound: 1 pail | $24 | USG Sheetrock All Purpose joint compound, ready-mixed, 4.5 gal pail at $23.72, Stine Home + Yard in Sulphur, LA, . USG’s figure: about 10 gallons for every 1,000 sq ft of board, 3.5 gallons here, for three coats over the joints and screws (a Level 4 finish). |
| Joint tape: 1 roll | $4 | USG Sheetrock paper joint tape, 2-1/16 in × 250 ft at $4.15 a roll, Stine Home + Yard in Sulphur, LA, . USG’s figure: about 370 ft for every 1,000 sq ft of board, 130 ft here. |
| Screws: 364 | Not priced | Type W drywall screws, 13 wall sheets × 28, at USG’s spacing of 16 in on walls and 12 in on ceilings, on studs and joists 16 in apart. No store price is held for them here, so they are counted, not priced. |
| Labor | Not added | Type the drywall installer’s time above. Each worker-day adds about $510 to the price, overhead and profit included. |
| Materials at today’s prices | $275 | $0.78 a sq ft of wall. Not yet the job’s price: the labor and the drywall installer’s overhead and profit come in when you type the drywall installer’s time. Not priced, so not in this total: screws. Not counted: taking down and hauling away old drywall, corner bead, insulation, primer and paint, sales tax and delivery. |
What an hour costs: no board maker or public body publishes how long a room takes to hang and finish, so the estimate counts the time you type and no other. Drywall installers in the U.S. earn a median $28.33 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Benefits make up 30.5% of what construction employers spend an hour on pay and benefits (all trades, BLS, June 2026), so an hour of a drywall installer at that wage costs an employer about $41, and an 8-hour day about $326.
Got a quote? Type its total above: the estimate shows how many hours of work it pays for.
What moves the price
- Ceilings. Board overhead is heavier work than walls, and USG spaces the screws closer on ceilings: 12 in against 16 in on walls.
- The finish. This estimate counts a Level 4 finish, the joints and screws covered in three coats. A Level 5 finish adds a thin coat over the whole surface, for walls under strong light or glossy paint: the drywall calculator counts its materials.
- Taking down the old drywall and hauling it away, which this estimate leaves out.
- Access. Stairwells, tall walls and sheets carried up stairs take more people and more time.
- Patching instead of a new wall. A small repair still takes several visits while each coat of compound dries: the drywall repair worksheet lists what to ask.
Before you compare quotes
Ask every installer to price the same rooms, in writing: the board by thickness and sheet size, walls and ceilings, the finish level, corner bead, the removal of the old drywall, and whether the price stops at primer. Then put the quotes side by side in the drywall quote worksheet, or keep every price for the project in a budget worksheet.