Drywall Calculator: What is drywall (sheetrock)?
Drywall is a construction material that also has other names: plasterboard, wallboard, gypsum panel, sheetrock, or gypsum board. The current version of gypsum board was developed in the first half of the 20th century. Its popularity rose during World War II, when the cost of building materials was very high, and there was a significant lack of qualified workforce. Fortunately, drywall had a low price and was easy to install, even in a DIY setting.
A drywall sheet is a panel made of gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) compressed between two thick sheets of paper. If we add certain materials to the gypsum mixture, we can improve the drywall resistance against humidity, water, mold, sound, or even fire. Drywall is often used to make interior walls or ceilings, as well as surfacing already existing brick or cement walls.
Drywall is an excellent alternative to plaster because it does not require drying – if you have some experience, you can easily finish drywalling the entire house in just a few days. In fact, it is the current standard to finish homes with drywall. Installation is straightforward: all you have to do is cut it to an appropriate size and then nail or screw it in place. Furthermore, even when it gets damaged or dirty, all you have to do is replace the faulty sheet with a new one. It is as easy as it sounds.
Remember that basic types of drywall are not water-resistant. Do not use them in the kitchen or bathroom, as the moisture will cause them to soften, eventually turning them into a gooey paste. Instead, a water-resistant type of drywall, cement board, or tiles should be used in these rooms.
Calculating the area under sloped walls with drywall estimator
With our drywall calculator, you can also incorporate the area of any spaces under sloped walls into the total room surface area calculation. How to do it?
- Firstly, determine whether your room has sloped walls. Sloped walls exist in rooms directly under the roof where there is no attic. Although sloped walls have a rectangular shape by themselves, they also limit the room’s other walls by creating a triangle-like shape on top of them. It may look like this:
- Secondly, measure the height and the base of the triangular space as shown in the picture. Height is marked with
h, and the base is labeled withb. - Now, we can perform our calculations. To get the area of this space, we need to use the equation for the area of a triangle:
area = height × base / 2 - Finally, if there are some more identical triangular spaces in the room, multiply the estimated area of one triangular space by the number of all triangular spaces.
- Watch out! If your room has sloped walls, you should measure the height of your room only to the base of the triangular space under the sloped wall (not to the top of the ceiling).
Remember that there is no need to do all the calculations by hand. Our sheetrock calculator can do it all for you.
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