Guide · plasterboard takeoff

How to do a plasterboard takeoff for a house (with a worked example)

Avo estimating team · Last checked against the sources below on 19 October 2026

A plasterboard takeoff measures walls room by room (perimeter × height, less openings), ceilings by plan area for each level, and the linear items such as square set or cornice — each split by board type, with wet areas on their own lines. Work from the plans, sections and the door and window schedule, and write down every assumption.

What a plasterboard takeoff includes

Walls in m², by board type (standard, water-resistant, fire or acoustic where specified).
Ceilings in m², by level and board type.
Linear items in metres: square set or cornice, window reveals, external corners.
Assumptions and questions: anything you had to decide that the drawings didn’t.

The drawings you need

Floor plans for every level; sections or elevations for ceiling heights; the reflected ceiling plan if there is one (bulkheads, set-downs, voids); the door and window schedule; and the specification or finishes schedule for board types. If a height or board type isn’t shown anywhere, that is an RFI, not a guess.

Walls: room by room

For each room, measure the perimeter and multiply by the ceiling height from the section. Measuring room by room counts each face of an internal wall once for each room it faces, which is what you line. Keep wet rooms on separate lines because they take a different board.

Ceilings: plan area by level

A flat ceiling is the room’s plan area. Group by level and by board: Gyprock, for example, describes its Plus board as suited to ceilings at standard 450 mm joist centres and recommends Supaceil where joists are at 600 mm centres. Raked ceilings and bulkheads need more than plan area — flag them (see the ceilings guide).

Openings: from the schedule, not by eye

Take each door and window size from the schedule and deduct width × height from the wall it sits in. An internal door comes off both rooms it opens between. Doors with no size need a stated assumption — we use 820 × 2120 mm for an unsized internal door and say so.

Worked example

A made-up ground floor with four rooms, 2.7 m ceilings, doors 820 × 2120 mm (1.74 m² each) and windows W01 1800 × 1200, W02 600 × 900 and W03 2400 × 2100.

Made-up example — not a client project. Gross wall = perimeter × 2.7 m. Each door is deducted from both rooms it opens between.
Room	Size (m)	Perimeter (m)	Gross wall (m²)	Openings (m²)	Net wall (m²)	Board
Bed 1	3.6 × 3.3	13.8	37.26	D01 1.74 + W01 2.16	33.36	Standard
Bathroom	2.4 × 2.1	9.0	24.30	D02 1.74 + W02 0.54	22.02	Water-resistant
Living	5.4 × 4.2	19.2	51.84	D03 1.74 + W03 5.04	45.06	Standard
Hall	4.8 × 1.2	12.0	32.40	D01 + D02 + D03 5.22	27.18	Standard

Made-up example — not a client project.
Line	Quantity	Unit
Walls — standard board	105.60	m²
Walls — water-resistant board (bathroom)	22.02	m²
Ceilings — standard board (11.88 + 22.68 + 5.76)	40.32	m²
Ceilings — water-resistant board (bathroom)	5.04	m²
Square set or cornice (room perimeters)	54.0	lm
Window reveals (full perimeters: 6.0 + 3.0 + 9.0)	18.0	lm

Checks before you send it

Totals by level look sensible against the floor area.
Every wet room is on a water-resistant line (or the spec says otherwise).
Voids are taken off the ceiling of the room below.
The garage, porch and alfresco are clearly in or out.
Every assumption is written down.