Cost to Drywall 500 Square Feet:
$750 to $1,750 Installed
The first job size where the published per-square-foot rate actually delivers what it promises. A single large bedroom, a primary bath, a home office. Here is the real labour, material list, timeline, and bid range for 500 sqft of drywall surface.
What 500 Sqft of Drywall Covers in Real Rooms
500 square feet of drywall surface is the goldilocks scope for residential remodels. It is the surface area of a single large bedroom (12x14 feet with 8-foot ceilings produces 532 sqft including the ceiling and accounting for one door and two windows), a generous primary bathroom (a 10x12 with full ceiling produces 472 sqft), a home office with a single full-wall rebuild plus the adjoining ceiling, or a small basement section roughly 250 sqft of floor area including its ceiling.
In bidding terms, this is the size where contractors stop applying minimum-visit fees and start pricing as a real job. A 500 sqft scope is enough work for a two-person crew to spend a full day on site hanging, then return for two to three follow-up visits to mud and sand. Crews like this size because it pays well and runs predictably. You will get more competitive bids on a 500 sqft job than on either a 100 sqft job (too small to be worth bidding) or a 5,000 sqft job (the small operators cannot crew up for it).
Sheet Count and Materials at 500 Sqft
One 4x8 sheet of drywall covers 32 square feet. For 500 sqft of surface with a 10 to 15 percent waste factor, the right purchase is 17 sheets. Buy them in two bundles of nine (most stores sell drywall in bundle-of-eight increments, but you can buy individual sheets to top off). At $12 to $15 per sheet for standard 1/2" board, the sheet cost alone is $204 to $255.
| Material | Quantity for 500 sqft | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2" drywall sheets (4x8) | 17 sheets | $204 to $255 |
| All-purpose joint compound | 1.5 buckets (5-gal) | $22 to $40 |
| Paper tape | 1 roll (500 ft) | $5 to $10 |
| Drywall screws | 1 x 5-lb box | $10 to $16 |
| Corner bead (8-ft sticks) | 3 to 6 sticks | $6 to $24 |
| PVA primer | 1.5 gallons | $30 to $50 |
| Total materials | $277 to $395 |
Pricing reflects Home Depot and Lowe's national snapshots, April to May 2026. For full per-component pricing including premium sheet types, see materials cost.
If your 500 sqft job is in a moisture-prone area (basement, bathroom, laundry), substitute moisture-resistant board for $0.10 to $0.20 per sqft premium, which adds $50 to $100 to the materials total. Same swap if you are doing a garage or apartment party wall where 5/8" Type X fire-rated board is required by code, that adds about $0.25 per sqft. Full pricing on moisture-resistant and 5/8" Type X pages.
The Bid Spread on 500 Sqft Explained
A $750 low bid and a $1,750 high bid for the same 500 sqft scope is normal. Both are honest, both are competent, both produce the same Level 4 finish. The difference is the contractor's labour rate, overhead, and finish-cycle policy.
The low-bid contractor is typically a small two-person outfit with a pickup truck, no shop overhead, and a hang-three-coats-sand-go finish cycle. They bring their own ladders, mix mud on site from powder, and finish the job in two visits. The high-bid contractor is a specialty drywall company with a small office, three crews, insurance overhead, and a hang-three-coats-sand-touchup-sand-final cycle that produces near-Level-5 quality with Level 4 contract language. Same finished wall, more attention to detail, more visits, more cost.
Mid-bid contractors are the right answer for most residential 500 sqft jobs. They have enough overhead to carry insurance and warranty, enough crews to schedule you in within a week, and they are not pricing for the Beverly Hills market. Look for an outfit that has been operating in your area for at least five years and has online reviews mentioning specific neighborhoods.
One tell that separates a good bid from a bad one at this size: the good bid is a single-page document with scope, finish level (Level 4 per GA-214), materials specification (1/2" standard or whatever applies), exclusions list, payment schedule, and warranty period. A bad bid is a phone-call estimate followed by a verbal "around $1,200." The same $1,200 in writing is a contract. Verbal is a quote that can drift up to $1,800 once you have demolished the existing wall and have no leverage.
Sample Bid: Single Bedroom Drywall, 12x14 with 8-ft Ceilings
This is an illustrative bid for a Midwest single-bedroom rebuild (existing drywall removed, framing intact, new drywall hung and finished to Level 4). It is not a real customer bid, but it reflects realistic line items and pricing.
| Line item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Materials (sheets, mud, tape, screws, bead, primer) | $320 | Standard 1/2" board |
| Material delivery | $60 | Local lumberyard, 17 sheets |
| Hang labour (8 hours, 2-person crew) | $320 | One day on site |
| Finish labour (12 hours, 1 finisher over 3 visits) | $420 | Three mud cycles, sanding pass |
| Cleanup and dust control | $50 | Plastic sheeting, HEPA vacuum |
| Debris disposal | $80 | If demo included, separate fee |
| Subtotal | $1,250 | $2.50 per sqft effective |
That $1,250 sits right at the national midpoint. Slide it to the high side ($1,750) by adding Level 5 finish (+$0.55 to $1.20 per sqft on the 500 sqft, so +$275 to $600), adding texture (+$0.35 to $0.75 per sqft for orange peel or knockdown), or substituting moisture-resistant board. Slide it to the low side ($750) by hanging the sheets yourself before the finisher arrives, eliminating the demo line, or using a handyman-tier contractor in a low-COL state like Mississippi or Arkansas.
Timeline: Four to Five Days, Not Two
One of the most common surprises on a 500 sqft drywall job is the calendar. The active labour is 12 to 16 hours, which feels like a long weekend. But the joint compound between coats needs to dry, and that adds three days of waiting. A reasonable schedule:
- Day 1, morning: Crew arrives, stocks materials, hangs all 17 sheets. Tape and embed first coat over joints and fasteners by end of day.
- Day 2: Drying. No crew on site.
- Day 3, afternoon: Crew returns, applies second coat of mud (wider, feathered). 2-hour visit.
- Day 4: Drying. No crew on site.
- Day 5, morning: Third coat (thinnest, widest, "skim" pass). 1-hour visit.
- Day 5, afternoon: Wait two hours, then sand. 2-hour visit.
- Day 6 (you, not the crew): Prime and paint.
Faster timelines exist. Setting-type joint compounds (the "hot mud" sold in powder bags, mixed on site) cure in 20 to 90 minutes instead of overnight, which can compress the schedule to two days. The trade-off is that hot mud is much harder to work with and requires a skilled finisher. Most residential 500 sqft jobs use all-purpose pre-mixed mud and accept the four-to-five-day window.
DIY 500 Sqft: Possible But Not Recommended
DIY is doable at 500 sqft for someone who has done at least one previous 100 sqft drywall job. Materials are $280 to $400. Tool needs add another $50 to $100 if you do not own a taping knife set and a pole sander. The time investment is the real cost. Plan on 16 to 24 hours of active labour spread over two weekends. That includes the four-coat mud cycle and the careful sanding pass.
The biggest reason most homeowners do not DIY at this size is the lift-and-cut work. Hanging a sheet on a ceiling solo is unsafe (the sheet weighs 50 to 85 pounds). Cutting around outlets and switches precisely takes practice, and a botched cut produces a visible gap that needs back-blocking. The finishing is also unforgiving at this scale: a 500 sqft surface has 40 to 60 linear feet of taped joints, and getting all of them to disappear under paint takes a level of practice most homeowners only develop over multiple projects.
The hybrid that works best: you (or your handy neighbour) hang the sheets over a weekend, then hire a drywall finisher to tape, mud, and sand. Finisher-only labour for 500 sqft is $400 to $700. Materials are your $280 to $400. Total $680 to $1,100, splitting the difference between full DIY ($380 to $500) and full contractor ($750 to $1,750). The full DIY vs pro page has the decision framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many sheets of drywall do I need for 500 sqft?
17 sheets of 4x8 standard 1/2" drywall. That covers 544 sqft, giving you a 9 percent waste margin. If your job has many outlets, windows, or odd corners, buy 18 sheets.
What is the typical timeline for 500 sqft of drywall?
Four to five calendar days. Active labour is 12 to 16 hours spread across three site visits. The waiting is for the joint compound to dry between coats.
Do I need a permit for 500 sqft of drywall replacement?
Depends on jurisdiction. Most US localities require a permit if the job involves more than one structural wall or 100+ sqft. A single-room rebuild with no framing changes is often permit-exempt; check your city building department.
Can I DIY 500 sqft of drywall myself?
Yes if you have done a smaller job before, no if this is your first time. The hang is forgiving. The finish is not. Most failed DIYs are visible joints that show through paint, requiring expensive re-do.
Is 500 sqft a big job or a small one for a contractor?
Mid-size. Big enough to bid seriously, small enough that any reasonable drywall contractor can crew up for it in a week. Three competitive bids is realistic. Five is excessive.