Average drywall or plaster board cost

Summary: How much does drywall or plasterboard cost, average drywall installation costs and average drywall or plasterboard prices.

Drywall, also known as plasterboard, consists of panels made of plaster which are used to make ceilings and interior walls. The panels are pressed between fibreglass or paper depending on where in a home it is to be used. Fibreglass is the natural choice when mould growth needs to be prevented in damp areas such as bathrooms or kitchens.

Average Cost

Factors to consider

Deciding whether to use plasterboard or wet plastering will depend on what the building construction is to be. Traditionally wet plaster has been used throughout the years in UK homes although the materials used have varied. Plaster was primarily clay, lime render, gypsum or cement. The main problem with wet plastering is its application. Only a skilled plasterer is really able to give a professional finish. Done by an amateur, the finish is often bad and not durable. Also, after drying, shrinkage can cause cracks in the plaster.

Because of these disadvantages, home owners have begun using plasterboard more and more in homes today and its popularity has risen over the last three decades. Its main benefit is because it can be put in place fairly quickly and finished off by skimming over with plaster. Drywall is easy to repair and replace too. If there is a hole accidentally made through moving furniture for example or maybe a plumbing leak calls for a hole to be made in a wall then it is very easy to put right. With a keyhole saw, the right size hole can be made and easily patched up and painted over afterwards.

Costs to consider

It is difficult to calculate the cost of drywall as there are different factors to take into consideration. If you intend doing the job yourself of course you can take out the labour content of pricing up the job. Some basic maths can help you to roughly estimate what the job is going to cost.

Firstly you need to determine the size of the wall to be drywalled. Multiply the height by the length. For instance, if a wall is ten feet high and eight feet wide, the surface to be covered will be eighty square feet. Do the same with all the walls which need to be drywalled. Ceilings can be calculated in exactly the same way. If you add the two amounts together this will be the whole area to be drywalled.

You then need to estimate how many drywall boards will be needed. If the sheets come in 4 feet by 8 feet sizes, simply multiply 4 by 8 to get the square footage. Calculate these sheets into the size of your room to work out the total cost (which of course excludes labour).

There are two different types of edge with plasterboard. The first is straight edge and the other is tapered edge. When the edge is tapered there is a bevel which is used for a flush finish when it comes to jointing materials. Plasterboard comes in different thicknesses, the thinner ones commonly used for ceilings. If you are doing the job yourself, your local DIY shop or builders’ merchant will be pleased to advise which is best for your job.

Drywalling is fairly simple although the sheets tend to be cumbersome. You could learn to do the work fairly quickly although of course a professional will do it faster and always make it look easy. If you have no experience of DIY then it is best to steer clear of this type of job. If done by an amateur there may be a residue of dust that can cover surfaces in the home.

If you do intend on doing the work yourself you may need help to lift the sheets of drywall into place. These need to be screwed into place and this is where another pair of hands is of great benefit. A plasterer will skim over the joins or over the whole thing leaving a smooth and long lasting final finish to walls and ceilings. It is fair to say that you will definitely be pleased with the effect of plasterboard in your home. Even if your home is fairly new you could consider replacing some internal walls with plasterboard to create a better finish to your home.