Trade Toolkit

Tools › Finish Carpentry

Wall layout and material estimator

Square feet, boards and sheets with waste.

Open the Wall Layout & Material Estimator tool

Free. Runs in your browser, no account, and keeps working offline.

What it does

Enter the wall width and height and how many walls, then subtract doors and windows. The estimator gives the net square footage you are covering.

For planks, shiplap or tongue-and-groove, enter the face width and stock length: it gives the linear feet, the boards to buy with your waste allowance, and the course count and length for the cut list. For paneling it gives sheets.

Use it to price a job before you measure every detail, or to check a material order before it goes out.

Worked example

A 12′ × 8′ wall with one 36″ × 80″ door, covered in planks with a 5 1/8″ face, 8′ stock and 10% waste.

Wall
96 sq ft
Less the door
76 sq ft
Plank, linear feet
178 ft
8′ planks to buy
25
Try it with your numbers

Questions

How do I calculate shiplap for a wall?

Take the wall's square feet less the openings, convert to square inches and divide by the board's face width to get linear inches. Divide by the board length and add waste to get boards.

Should I subtract doors and windows?

For material, yes. The estimator subtracts each opening you enter; keep your waste allowance to cover the cuts around them.

How much waste should I add?

Often 10% for plank walls and more for diagonal or patterned work. It is a setting — use what your jobs run.

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