# How can I measure a new house?



## Nancy06 (Oct 14, 2009)

I need to measure a new construction house to order the right amount of board to be hang, H/O did not give us the SF.


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2008)

A professional Drywall Contractor will measure the job himself/herself. I've found only one supplier (who also does insulation and gutter) who will measure for rock. But they charge .01-.02 to do so and are likely to be 12 sheets off either way as it is a salesperson doing the measuring. Personally, I'd never let anyone else measure my jobs.

If you are not using a Drywall Contractor and trying to save $, shame on you. Take your plan to Home Depot and brace yourself for the ensuing problems.

PS: This site is for drywall professionals, go to DIYTalk.com


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## drywallnflorida (Sep 19, 2008)

Hire a professional to come and do it right!!


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## Nancy06 (Oct 14, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> A professional Drywall Contractor will measure the job himself/herself. I've found only one supplier (who also does insulation and gutter) who will measure for rock. But they charge .01-.02 to do so and are likely to be 12 sheets off either way as it is a salesperson doing the measuring. Personally, I'd never let anyone else measure my jobs.
> 
> If you are not using a Drywall Contractor and trying to save $, shame on you. Take your plan to Home Depot and brace yourself for the ensuing problems.
> 
> PS: This site is for drywall professionals, go to DIYTalk.com



I work for a contractor company, but my boss wants some more ideas about measuring houses, not just blue prints....


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2008)

I always use a tape measure.


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

Nancy06 said:


> I work for a contractor company, but my boss wants some more ideas about measuring houses, not just blue prints....


If you don't know how to figure that one out you are in the wrong business. sorry to say it don't take a rocket scientist to figure out simple math...


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## Custom Drywall Svc. (Oct 31, 2008)

yup.


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## Mcex-boarder (Oct 12, 2009)

Their is no quick easy answer,you to be a pro to understand board counting a house,depending on your region,the board lengths and types vary,8,10,12,14,etc,also their is aqua,or are you using dencshield,you may be using cd board on the ceiling,or 5/8,you need to know where to span your plates when counting,also you do a lot of sheet splitting on a pro board count,if it's vaulted get a pro to count and install,if their is a lot of stairwell work, get a pro,if it's a simple 10 by 10 room in a basement,just measure the walls and ceiling,then get a pro,if it is not done properly the taper will just want more money to fix,get a pro,


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## Nancy06 (Oct 14, 2009)

Mcex-boarder said:


> Their is no quick easy answer,you to be a pro to understand board counting a house,depending on your region,the board lengths and types vary,8,10,12,14,etc,also their is aqua,or are you using dencshield,you may be using cd board on the ceiling,or 5/8,you need to know where to span your plates when counting,also you do a lot of sheet splitting on a pro board count,if it's vaulted get a pro to count and install,if their is a lot of stairwell work, get a pro,if it's a simple 10 by 10 room in a basement,just measure the walls and ceiling,then get a pro,if it is not done properly the taper will just want more money to fix,get a pro,



:thumbup: Thank you!!!!!


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2008)

A real contractor would have known without asking someone on the internet.


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## Bevelation (Dec 20, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> If you are not using a Drywall Contractor and trying to save $, shame on you. Take your plan to Home Depot and brace yourself for the ensuing problems.


Up where I am, DW contractors pretty much don't exist. The GC or HO has to find boarders/tapers seperately and they in turn do the take-off.If you order too much board, you can always return it, provided it doesn't get stepped on and dirty. Sometimes leftover board looks like it went through a DDR competition.


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2008)

Seems to be a trend here to do away with the DC. These penny pinching misers will have their day when it comes to getting somebody to do the warranty work. And the suppliers nail them for .03 more than us. :lol:

They're getting their due now anyway. Big bunch of our work is owner/builders (the owners now doing away with the builder/GC). And we charge them extra for it, as now have to educate each client individually vs. working for the same dozen or so builders.


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## S&SDRYWALL (Oct 21, 2008)

square footage x4 /54

1900 on main floor, 1900 basement, 3800sq x4 /54 = I would order about 280 4.5x12 sheets. Take back what you dont use


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

what the hell...... seriously?


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## S&SDRYWALL (Oct 21, 2008)

Been using that equation for years my man!


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## joepro0000 (Jun 14, 2008)

Nacey,

Use the blueprints, theres a scale on there. Very simple to figure out board count. I do about 5-8 estimated a day on digital prints. Send me the prints, and i'll give you a material count for a small fee.


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> I always use a tape measure.


 good advice while you are at it use one of them there metric tapes...and it will all work out :whistling2:


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## Custom Drywall Svc. (Oct 31, 2008)

Whitey97 said:


> what the hell...... seriously?


******,

I too utilize the 'formula' method....

BUT,

I in NO way stock a house with it.

However, the formula is useful to cross check your actual physical and plan measurements for bidding and before stocking, etc.....

Trust me, it works......however '4' is not the standard multiplier i use. It depends on the circumstances for the house.

I will not say how i determine what the multiplier i will use is however...i feel i've already said too much as it is!

Trade secrets!


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## D's (Jan 15, 2009)

I think the GC could rely on the floor SQF x multiplier factor to know if he's getting a fair price. I use that too to give people a ballpark estimate. A drywall contractor needs to get out the tape(I use a measuring wheel) to establish lineal ft x height + ceilings + details + etc... for a quote, and then draw up an accurate board count to stock appropriate lengths of board to minimize waste.

If you go through the "formula" technique enough times you'll develop a pretty good sense of what influences the multiplier. I'm still pleasantly surprised when I ask a builder the floor SQF plus a couple of questions and quickly pick out a number, just to then spend several hours doing the measuring and math and end up with the same number. 

D's


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## Quality1st (Aug 1, 2008)

*Formula*

From 3.4 for 8ft cut up box structures all the way to 4 for big sheeters with massive heights. 4 is alaways a bit long though.Get it rigjt and you,re alaways within 6 shts.


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## Custom Drywall Svc. (Oct 31, 2008)

D's said:


> ...I'm still pleasantly surprised when I ask a builder the floor SQF plus a couple of questions and quickly pick out a number, just to then spend several hours doing the measuring and math and end up with the same number.
> 
> D's


completely agree.


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## mds120 (Nov 22, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> Seems to be a trend here to do away with the DC. These penny pinching misers will have their day when it comes to getting somebody to do the warranty work. And the suppliers nail them for .03 more than us. :lol:
> 
> They're getting their due now anyway. Big bunch of our work is owner/builders (the owners now doing away with the builder/GC). And we charge them extra for it, as now have to educate each client individually vs. working for the same dozen or so builders.



Darren makes some good points here. It is highly possible the place the builder will buy his materials (bypassing the drywall contractor) will charge him more than he charges drywall contractors. Lack of control over every step after that will add more costs and potential for problems. In the end, a builder hiring different subs for each step will cost more.

Measuring a house involves more than just how much board to order. I will not take time to elaborate on that, but the drywall guys know what I'm talking about. For example, how do you get the board in the house?

A positive piece of advice is that if there is a lack of drywall contractors in your area, more are willing to travel right now. Suggest getting a contractor within 50 miles of where you are.


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## canodrywallc (Nov 17, 2009)

nancy 06 here is another suggestion hope works .house lenght x with x 5 divided 48=sheet needed plus 10% waste .ill recommend to ask yahoo answer next time .


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

canodrywallc said:


> nancy 06 here is another suggestion hope works .house lenght x with x 5 divided 48=sheet needed plus 10% waste .ill recommend to ask yahoo answer next time .


holy crap with that formula you must waste a whole lot of sheetrock , should be less than that I wont give the exact number but with a multiplier such as 5 you just added another 20 percent or more ... unless you have a really cut up house with a lot of high walls... I think you would overbid yourself right out of a job. Go measure it up or do a take off from the prints is the only way to get an accurate count.


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## rebel20 (Jun 4, 2009)

silverstilts said:


> holy crap with that formula you must waste a whole lot of sheetrock , should be less than that I wont give the exact number but with a multiplier such as 5 you just added another 20 percent or more ... unless you have a really cut up house with a lot of high walls... I think you would overbid yourself right out of a job. Go measure it up or do a take off from the prints is the only way to get an accurate count.


 
Silver your right on that most takeoffs are thumb rule 3.8 x floor space


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## alltex (Jan 31, 2009)

I count sheets physacly and usualy hit it within 2 or 3 sheets per 100.or a tape measure works too.prints are pretty easy too.ido have a formua too ,but its a secret ,ha,ha.(floor space times 3.5 divided by 48 = # of sheets. on 8 ft. work.)never use it ,don,t trust it.


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## canodrywallc (Nov 17, 2009)

*lazy formula*

I never said it was a true Albert Einstein formula could been out of business 20 years ago
nothing beats figuring out in the blue print or fiscally right in side the house 
mesurring tape,pencil,construction master V,steno note book and away we go, don't like throwing away board so i am right every time.

I do get clients who just want to know sheet count,and material needed to tape politely will hand out this formula W X LX5DIVIDED BY 48/32 PLUS 10 TO 15 % or just walk around the project & guesstimate:whistling2:
like they said this is not my first rodeo.done it /did it/and will do it 4the rest of my life and good luck NANCY06:thumbsup:


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## taprfix (Aug 18, 2011)

S&s look's like they've been most helpfull.i've been in the business for 25 years.they're stearing you in the right direction.


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## Captain Drywall (Aug 15, 2011)

Here's a cartoon i made that reminds me of this thread


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## thefinisher (Sep 2, 2011)

We use a formula which basicall is the square footage x 4-4.5 (depending on ceiling height)/ by 48. This is always too much. My dad counts our houses up and uses a wheel to measure all the ceilings from the floor, then he eyeballs all the sheets for the walls. Sometimes you just have to be good.


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