Drywall / Hanging Time Calculator

How the drywall time calculator works

Enter the board area, a production rate, the number of people on the job, their hourly rate and the hours worked each day. The calculator multiplies the area by the rate to get total person-hours, divides by the crew size for elapsed hours, and divides again by the working day for working days. Labour cost is total person-hours times the hourly rate, so adding people shortens the job but does not change the cost.

On the US units side the rate is in hours per 100 ft², the way US estimating books print it, so the formula is H = A × r ÷ (100 × c). On the metric side it is hours per m², and the formula is H = A × r ÷ c. The two are the same rate in different units: 1.8 hours per 100 ft² is 0.194 hours per m², because 1 m² is 10.764 ft².

Where the default rate comes from

The default of 1.8 hours per 100 ft² (0.19 hours per m²) is the labour figure for 1/2 in regular drywall on walls in the Craftsman National Home Improvement Estimator 2018: 0.018 manhours per square foot. That covers cutting board around electrical boxes, fixing it to studs or joists 8 to 12 ft above the floor, joint tape, three coats of compound and finish sanding, by a crew of one drywall installer and one taper. The same table gives 0.024 manhours per square foot for ceilings, which is 2.4 hours per 100 ft² or 0.26 hours per m². Hanging alone, with no tape or finish, is 0.008 manhours per square foot on walls and 0.012 on ceilings.

These are production rates for trained crews. The 2026 edition of the same book suggests adding 15% to 25% for work from a ladder or scaffold, 20% to 50% on small jobs in an occupied home where surfaces need protecting, and 5% to 50% for tradespeople with below-average skills, and deducting 10% where access is open and well lit. A 35% allowance for a small occupied room turns 1.8 into 1.8 × 1.35 = 2.43 hours per 100 ft². Curved work and a Level 5 finish (a skim of compound over the whole surface) also take longer. The best rate is your own: time how long your crew takes on one wall, divide by the area, and use that figure.

A worked example

Take a 12 ft by 14 ft room with 8 ft walls. The walls are 52 ft of perimeter × 8 ft = 416 ft², and the ceiling is 12 × 14 = 168 ft². At the book rates, the walls take 416 × 1.8 ÷ 100 = 7.49 person-hours and the ceiling takes 168 × 2.4 ÷ 100 = 4.03 person-hours, a total of 11.52 person-hours. A crew of two finishes that labour in 5.76 hours, or 0.72 of an 8 hour day. At $45 an hour the labour costs 11.52 × 45 = $518.40.

The calculator uses one rate, so for a room with both walls and a ceiling either run it twice or enter a blended rate: 11.52 hours ÷ 584 ft² × 100 = 1.97 hours per 100 ft². In metric, a 4 m by 3.5 m room with 2.4 m walls has 15 m × 2.4 m = 36 m² of wall and 14 m² of ceiling, which at 0.19 and 0.26 hours per m² is 6.84 + 3.64 = 10.48 person-hours.

Drying time is separate from labour

The hours and working days on this page are hands-on time. They do not include waiting for compound to dry. USG's Sheetrock All Purpose Joint Compound data sheet describes embedding the tape in a first coat, letting it dry, applying a second coat, letting it dry, then a third, with light sanding or scraping as needed once the second and third coats are dry. USG's product page says joint compound dries in about 24 hours at 70°F (21°C) and 70% relative humidity, and slower when it is colder or more humid. Three coats at about a day each mean a single room takes at least three days from taping to sanding, even when the labour itself fits in one. On a larger job the crew can coat one area while another dries, so the drying overlaps with the labour instead of adding to it in full. Setting-type compounds harden by chemical reaction instead of drying. USG's Easy Sand data sheet says they permit same-day joint finishing and, usually, next-day decoration, which is why crews on tight programmes use them.

Choosing the hourly rate

The default of $45 an hour on the US side is the 2026 Craftsman cost per manhour for the same installer and taper crew, from the National Home Improvement Estimator 2026. It is the book's total hourly cost, made up of base wage, fringe benefits, insurance and employer taxes. It leaves out the markup a contractor adds for overhead and profit, so a quoted rate is usually higher. Replace it with the rate on your quote, or with zero to see hours only. The metric side starts at 30 in the currency shown, which is a placeholder for your own figure rather than a published rate.

Using the result on site

Board area is the wall area plus the ceiling area, less large openings such as patio doors and archways. Leaving ordinary doors and windows in gives a slightly higher figure, which helps cover the extra cutting around them. Plan the working day around the drying: hanging and taping on day one, second coat on day two, third coat on day three and sanding once it has dried is a realistic rhythm for a single room with drying-type compound.

Crew size divides the elapsed time only when there is room for everyone to work. Two people make hanging faster because one holds the sheet while the other fixes it, but a small room rarely has space for a third. Enter the productive hours in a day, not the hours on site, since setting up, mixing compound and cleaning tools all take time.

What this tool does not do

In the UK and Ireland many walls get a plaster skim over the board instead of taped and filled joints; that is a different trade and this rate does not cover it. The tool also does not count sheets, screws, tape or compound, check fire or sound ratings, or allow for framing, insulation or electrical work. It does not replace a quote. The drywall calculator and joint compound calculator cover the materials, and a local contractor can confirm the time and price for a specific job.

Using this calculator with other BuildMetricLab tools

Pair the hours with the labor cost calculator to set a price, the project contingency calculator to add a margin for the unexpected, and the painting time calculator for the next trade in the room. All BuildMetricLab tools run in your browser with no sign-up, and every formula is shown on the page so the maths can be checked.