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Stud Calculator

Count the studs, plates and corner framing for a wall run at 16 or 24 inch centres, including openings.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented in United States units and terminology, and each formula’s basis is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-26 · v1.0.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax
19.5 ft
Schematic, drawn to the proportions you entered — not to scale on screen.

Studs required

22 studs

Check your inputs

Counts framing at the stated spacing with standard allowances. Headers, trimmers over wide openings and any engineered posts are not included and must come from the drawing.

Field studs
15 studs
Opening framing
3 studs
Corner framing
4 studs
Plate material (single bottom, double top)
58.5 ft

With the figures above, the studs required comes to 22. Behind that figure, field studs is the biggest single quantity at 15 studs; start there if the total looks wrong. The method behind this is well established, though site conditions and material batches will move it somewhat. This is presented for United States. Building in another market? Change the selector above and the units and terminology follow.

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.

Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.

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.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • IRC R602.3 — stud spacing and size for load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls
  • AS 1684.2 (AU) and BS 8103 (UK) give equivalent stud spacing rules for timber-framed construction

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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.

Frequently asked questions

16 or 24 inch centres?
16 in (400 mm) for load-bearing walls and wherever the finish needs the extra support — it is the safe default. 24 in (600 mm) uses about a third less timber and is common for non-load-bearing partitions and in advanced framing, but it needs the sheathing, the finish and the code to all be rated for it.
Why three extra studs per opening?
A standard opening needs a king stud each side running full height, plus a jack (trimmer) each side carrying the header. That is four, less the one already counted in the field spacing — three is the practical net figure for a typical door or window.
Does this include the header?
No, deliberately. Header size depends on the span, the load above and the species, and the span tables that answer it are jurisdiction-specific. Getting it from a calculator rather than from the code table in force would be the wrong way to size a structural member.
How much plate material do I need?
Three times the wall length, shown in the breakdown — a single bottom plate and a double top plate. Buy in the longest stock that suits, because plate joints have to fall over a stud and staggering the two top plates is what ties the run together.