Drywall takeoff for wallboard suppliers. Partitions and ceilings, by type.
Drywall takeoff for wallboard suppliers turns a contractor's plans into what a wallboard yard puts on a quote: wall area by partition type and height, board by layer and face, studs and track by the foot, finishing materials, and ceiling grid and tile from the reflected ceiling plan. On the rest of the page: the partition and ceiling recipes as a calculator, what a wallboard order holds, our view on partition types, and a CSV of the recipes.
Try the order-list calculatorClients include
Can a wallboard supplier get a material list from the plans?
Yes. Ruh measures partitions by type, height, layers and faces, and ceilings by type from the reflected ceiling plan, then turns them into material: board by the square foot and layer, studs and track, screws, tape and compound, and grid, tees, hanger wire and tile. It ships with 24 drywall and ceiling recipes, all open to edits, and no charge for the first takeoff.
- drywall and ceiling recipes to start from
- 24
- material lines in the drywall and ceiling recipes
- 102
- one set of walls and ceilings, taken off free
- 1st takeoff free
How much board does a partition take?
Two square feet of 5/8 inch Type X per square foot of wall in the app's starting recipe for a single-layer partition, plus 10 percent waste, with 0.75 feet of stud and 0.2 feet of track. Enter wall or ceiling area for the full list, no prices included.
1. Pick a starting recipe
Partition type A: 3-5/8" 20ga studs at 16" o.c., one layer 5/8" Type X each side, level 4
Order list for 6,000 square feet of Partition type A: 3-5/8" 20ga studs at 16" o.c., one layer 5/8" Type X each side. A sample input: change it to the quantity on your set.
| Material | Per SF | Quantity | Waste | With waste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Steel stud 3-5/8" 20gaHow it is builtStuds at 16 in o.c. are 0.75 LF of stud per SF of wall | 0.75 LF | 4,500 LF | 10% | 4,950 LF, incl. 10% waste |
Steel track 3-5/8" 20gaHow it is builtTop and bottom track at a 10 ft wall height | 0.2 LF | 1,200 LF | 10% | 1,320 LF, incl. 10% waste |
Gypsum board 5/8" Type XHow it is builtOne layer each side | 2 SF | 12,000 SF | 10% | 13,200 SF, incl. 10% waste |
| Drywall screws | 0.02 LB | 120 LB | None | 120 LB |
| Joint tape | 0.74 LF | 4,440 LF | 10% | 4,884 LF, incl. 10% waste |
| Joint compound, ready-mix | 0.014 GAL | 84 GAL | 10% | 92.4 GAL, incl. 10% waste |
Each line is the measured quantity times the recipe’s factor. Lines the recipe marks as whole units, such as sheets, boxes and hangers, are rounded up before waste, the way the app rounds them. Round the with-waste figure up to whole pieces when you build the order.
What this cannot tell you: board counts by sheet length. Board comes in square feet with waste, so the order still has to be split into 8, 10 and 12 foot sheets. Wall heights the sections do not give are held for a person, never assumed, and the starting recipes figure track for a 10 foot wall, so edit them for other heights.
What does a wallboard order carry?
Wallboard orders start at the partition schedule. The rows trace each part from the set to how it is measured to the materials it adds.
| Part of the order | Where it is on the set | How it is taken off | What it becomes on the order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partitions | Plans, the partition schedule and wall sections | Square feet by type at the given height | Studs and track by the foot, board by layer and face, screws, tape and compound |
| Rated and acoustic walls | The partition schedule and rating notes | Square feet by rating | Type X board, sound batts, acoustical sealant and head-of-wall firestop where shown |
| Gypsum ceilings and soffits | The reflected ceiling plan and details | Square feet, soffits by face | Suspension grid, hanger wire, board and finishing |
| Acoustical ceilings | The reflected ceiling plan and ceiling schedule | Square feet by panel and grid type | Panels, main and cross tees, hanger wire and anchors |
| Perimeter trim | The reflected ceiling plan | Linear feet | Wall angle and fasteners |
| Corner bead and joints | Elevations and details | Linear feet | Corner bead and control joints |
Typical practice, not a standard. Every set has its own partition types and heights, which is why the schedule and sections are read instead of assumed.
What do yards get wrong about wallboard quotes?
Our opinion: A wallboard quote should start from the partition schedule, not the floor plan. The same wall line can be one layer of board a side or two, a 20 gauge stud or a 25, insulated or not, and each type changes every line on the order. In the app's starting recipes a single-layer partition takes 2 square feet of board per square foot of wall, and a double-layer partition takes 4. Measure wall area by type at the heights the sections give, and the board count follows the drawings instead of a guess.
What it does and does not do
What it does today
- ✓Measures partitions by type, height, layers and faces from drawing PDFs
- ✓Holds wall heights the set does not give for a person
- ✓Turns wall and ceiling area into board, framing, finishing and grid lines
- ✓Prices from your own price list first, with the source on every line
- ✓Exports as PDF, CSV or JSON
What it does not do
- Board counts by sheet length
- Purchase orders
- Reading a reply or a quote back into the list
- Links to your ERP or point-of-sale system
Your first drywall takeoff is free.
Choose a set your yard already has for quoting. There is no charge for the takeoff, and you can download the recipes as a CSV to check them first.
In a customer’s own words
“Ruh helped us win a job during the demo, so we saw value before we even became a client.”
Ben MorlinJ&S Excavation- takeoffs delivered to 29 contractors across 15 trades
- 45
- US, Canada and the UK, Jun to Oct 2026
- starting recipes in this supply line, yours to edit
- 24
- 102 material lines between them
- for every output, the material list included
- PDF, CSV
- and JSON for your own systems
Questions wallboard suppliers ask
Answers for wallboard and ceiling yards.
What is drywall takeoff for suppliers?
Drywall takeoff for suppliers is measuring the partitions and ceilings on a set of plans by type so a wallboard yard can quote the board, framing, finishing and ceiling materials. Ruh measures, converts and applies your yard's prices, and the yard approves the list.
Does it count sheets by length?
What if the wall height is not on the drawings?
What drawings does a wallboard takeoff need?
Send a set. Check the partition types.
Send one set and lay the free board, framing and ceiling list beside your own.
