SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The total area of the drywall ceiling to be fastened.
Use the total plan-view area of the ceiling being sheathed with drywall.
The on-center screw spacing applied uniformly in both directions.
Ceiling fastening schedules are typically tighter than wall fastening — commonly 12 in (about 0.3 m) o.c. both ways — check your local code and gypsum association fastening schedule for the exact required spacing.
Total screws needed
230 screws
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Drywall Ceiling Screw Count Calculator (Fastening Schedule): 230 screws — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Screw count = ceil(ceiling area ÷ (screw spacing)²), applying a uniform grid spacing — ceiling fastening schedules are typically tighter (commonly 12 in o.c. both ways) than wall fastening
Inputs used
- Ceiling Area
- 220 sq ft
- Screw Spacing (Grid, Each Direction)
- 11.75 in
What this calculation does not cover
- It counts screws and says nothing about which screw. Length is governed by board thickness plus the penetration behind it — at least about 16 mm (0.63 in) into wood framing, three threads past the far side of a steel stud — and the point has to match the framing: a fine-thread point spun into timber strips its own hole, a coarse-thread point in steel turns without ever drawing the board tight. Overhead, a fastener that never pulled the board up shows as a sagging joint months later, not on the day.
- No number of screws rescues board that is too thin for the framing it sits on. 12.5 mm (0.5 in) board on joists at 600 mm (24 in) centres sags between them under its own weight, and sags faster once blown insulation is lying on top of it; the answer is thicker board, sag-resistant board, or tighter framing. Tightening the fastening schedule instead just puts more screws into a curved ceiling.
- Where the board is set in adhesive the schedule is a different one. Bonded ceilings are fastened at a wider spacing than screw-only ceilings because the adhesive carries the field, so the spacing entered above has to come from the schedule for the method actually being used — take the wider spacing and then skip the adhesive, and the ceiling ends up with half the fasteners it needs and nothing holding the field.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Part of bigger jobs
This trade is one line of a job takeoff. Run the whole job and every other trade comes back with it, off the same measurements.
Or plan the space itself: measure it once, doors and windows included, and this figure comes back worked out on that space, with what goes with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- Screw count = ceil(ceiling area ÷ (screw spacing)²), applying a uniform grid spacing — ceiling fastening schedules are typically tighter (commonly 12 in o.c. both ways) than wall fastening
Cite this page
Your workspace
Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.
Tools and safety for this job
To hang plasterboard and cut board around openings and boxes. Generic types, no brands, no prices.
Protection this work requires
- Joint-compound dust is very fine and travels: a P1/FFP1 mask is the minimum, and a damp-sponge finish avoids most of it.
- Boards, blocks and bagged material cause most lasting back injuries on small sites: two people or a lifter for full sheets, and never a bag on one shoulder up a ladder.
- Knives cause more site injuries than any power tool: cut away from your body, change blades often, and wear cut-resistant gloves to EN 388 level C for repeated cutting.
Show the 9 tools this job needsHide tools
Essential
Cordless drill/driver
Drywall saw
Tape measure
Utility knife
Recommended
Board lifter
Combination or framing square
Drywall screw gun
Optional
Oscillating multi-tool
Panel lift
Also needed as materials: drill and driver bits, oscillating blades, replacement blades.
what each drywall tool is for, and the spec that decides which to buy where one does.