One of the most common questions we get as a drywall contractor in San Diego is:
“How much does drywall installation cost?”
The short answer is: it depends on the scope, not just the size of the home. Below is a clear breakdown to help homeowners, owner-builders, and GCs understand what goes into drywall pricing—and why square footage of the house alone isn’t enough.
Drywall Repair vs. New Drywall Installation
Before talking numbers, it’s important to separate repairs from new installation.
- Drywall repairs (patches, water damage, texture blending) are usually priced per repair or per day, not per square foot.
- New drywall installation (custom homes, additions, ADUs, full remodels) is typically priced per square foot of drywall, not per square foot of the home.
This blog focuses on new drywall installation pricing.
Standard Drywall Installation Cost: ~$3 per Sq Ft
For most standard residential projects, the average cost to install drywall is:
$3 per square foot of drywall
This pricing typically includes:
- Hanging drywall
- Two coats of joint compound
- A standard texture finish (orange peel or light hand texture)
- Corner bead on outside corners, windows, and edges
- Taping, sanding, and basic cleanup
What’s typically excluded at this price:
- Corner bead on doorways and closets
- Smooth or semi-smooth finishes
- Specialty details or architectural features
This pricing works well for:
- Standard homes
- ADUs
- Additions
- Remodels without complex ceiling heights or detailing
Custom & High-End Homes: ~$4 per Sq Ft
For higher-end custom homes, pricing is usually higher due to complexity, access, and finish expectations.
$4 per square foot of drywall is a realistic expectation
Custom homes often include:
- Higher ceilings
- Multiple ceiling elevations
- Skylights
- Kerf or specialty corner beads on doorways and closets
- Smooth or semi-smooth finishes
- More detailed layout and prep work
These details increase labor time, material use, and quality control—especially when smooth finishes are requested.
Why Home Square Footage Is NOT the Same as Drywall Square Footage
A very common call we get sounds like this:
“How much would it cost to drywall a 2,400 sq ft home?”
The issue is that 2,400 sq ft is floor space, not drywall.
Drywall pricing is based on:
- Wall lengths × wall heights
- Double-sided walls
- Ceilings
- Soffits
- Drop ceilings
- Pony walls
- Stairwells
- Architectural features
In many homes, the total drywall square footage is 2–3 times the floor square footage.
👉 When contacting a drywall contractor, it’s important to calculate the actual drywall surface area, not just the size of the house.
Production Drywall Pricing (Why It’s Lower)
In large production or multi-family projects, drywall pricing can sometimes be as low as:
$2.50 per square foot
However, these prices often exclude:
- Covering and protection
- Trash hauling
- Detailed prep
- Texture samples
- Quality control and punch-list work
These projects are typically high-volume and speed-driven.
As a company focused on custom homes and detail-oriented finishes, we generally opt out of production drywall work.
Average Drywall Material Costs
On a typical custom home, materials alone average:
$0.80 – $1.00 per square foot
This includes:
- Drywall sheets
- Screws
- Corner bead
- Staples
- Joint compound (mud)
- Taping tape
- Sandpaper and sanding blocks
- Plastic and construction paper
- Masking tape
- Trash bags
- Delivery and stocking
For this pricing to stay accurate, there needs to be a realistic volume of material.
We typically see this range hold true on projects using approximately 60–300 drywall sheets.
Final Thoughts
Drywall pricing isn’t about shortcuts—it’s about understanding scope.
If you’re planning a project:
- Know that drywall is priced by surface area, not floor area
- Understand that finishes, ceiling height, and details matter
- Be cautious of pricing that seems too low to include proper prep and cleanup
A good drywall contractor will take the time to explain what’s included—and what’s not—before giving you a number.
