Walls
Drywall a room
Room size, ceiling yes or no, and a level 4 or level 5 finish.
This prices hanging and finishing new drywall in one room. Wall area uses the same openings as the paint calculator: perimeter times height, minus 21 square feet per door and 15 per window. Add the ceiling if you are boarding it. Material is half-inch board, compound, tape, screws, and corner bead, with 12 percent waste.
Labor is a level 4 finish, the normal paint-ready wall. Level 5 adds a skim for gloss paint and strong light, and it raises labor by about 22 percent. Crews bid drywall by the square foot of board, and so does this page.
The rate is a new hang on open studs or a full re-board, not a patch. Texture matching, insulation, and paint are separate. Wet bathroom walls that need cement board belong on the bathroom page. Use this one for a bedroom, a basement room, or a ceiling that is coming down. Figures are 2026 US national averages.
2026 US national average
Typical total
$1,841
Materials $562Labor $1,279
- Low
- $1,274
- Typical
- $1,841
- High
- $2,718
Breakdown
Each line is the typical column, rounded to the nearest dollar. The low and high totals use the low and high price of every line.
Board, mud, tape, and bead
492 sq ft net · 12% waste · 551 sq ft bought
$562Mat $562 · Labor $0
Hang and level 4 finish
Paint-ready smooth wall. Texture matching is not included.
$1,279Mat $0 · Labor $1,279
- Walls use the same opening sizes as the paint calculator: 21 sq ft per door and 15 per window.
- Ceiling adds 144 sq ft.
- This is a new hang on open studs or a full re-board, not a patch. Insulation and paint are separate.
- Wet bathroom walls that need cement board belong on the bathroom remodel page.
Worked example
A 12-by-12 room with 8-foot walls, one door, and one window has 348 square feet of wall. The ceiling adds 144. The page opens with that ceiling on and a level 4 finish.
Board and mud, including 12 percent waste, are $562 on the typical column. Hang-and-finish labor is $1,279. The typical total is $1,841, with a low of $1,274 and a high of $2,718.
Choose level 5 if the room will be painted with a gloss or sit under a skylight. The labor line rises and the board price does not. Turn the ceiling off if you are only boarding the walls.