Drywall, (or sheetrock, plasterboard, or whatever else you may want to call) necessary part of room construction or renovation that can be either contracted out or done personally. The material comes in long sheets that need to be screwed or hammered into the walls. This can be a tricky proposition for most “do it yourself,” DIY, types as the material can easily break when installing and cutting is needed to fit the material in particular parts of the wall.

If you choose to contract this kind of job out, look to pay in the $1 per square foot range. This isn’t an exact price as the it will vary by locale and the people installing it. You may be able to save some money  by buying the actual drywall, screws and other materials before hand.

If you’re looking to just get the materials and DIY than look to pay anywhere around 40 to 50 cents per square foot of drywall. Additional tools may be needed that aren’t already in the tool box. Some sort of hand-sander is needed to even out or smooth the edges of the material. Box cutters are easier to use than a handsaw as well for cutting the material, cut the surface paper along a straight edge, break the sheet behind the cut, and then cut the other side along the edge. A number of screws and an electric screwdriver will be needed to hold up the wall. You could also use nails and a hammer instead of a screwdriver. A paste will also be needed to cover the screw or nail heads and the edges of the drywall sheets. Disregarding the electric screwdriver, these specific materials could cost you as much as $40 or more depending on the quality, size of the job and what you already have.

There is also the possibility of help being needed as the materials can be heavy and needed to be held into place until they can be bolt to the wall or ceiling. One or two extra people would be handy for this kind of job and if they except beer or food as payment it won’t effect the overall drywall prices you’re already paying.

Doing this as a DIY job has certain consequences that add to the job as well. The likelihood that you have experience is small and thus the amount of perfection you want will dictate a certain percentage added to the cost. For instance, without careful planning it’s easy to have spot or holes in the wall that needs to be filled by partial sheets of drywall. Because it needs to be cut, one slip up can ruin an entire sheet if the mess up is big enough. To account for these screw ups, or any other problems you may have, add about 20% to the final budget of the supplies.