Finding Competitive Drywall Prices
When you are doing home repair, improvement or remodeling, you cannot ignore the need for drywall, but drywall prices can seem out of control or prohibitive. Over the course of the year, drywall prices can fluctuate and even the course of the drywall can change the drywall prices you will find. You should not have to settle for expensive drywall sheets. The article that follows will help you to find competitive drywall prices.
Step 1 - Amount of Drywall
When you are looking for great drywall prices you need to know how many sheets of drywall you will need. If you only need a sheet or two then the chances of you getting a good deal is not likely. However, if you require multiple sheets, then you can expect a bulk or wholesale discount which can save you money.
Go to the area you are planning to install drywall and take out your tape measure. Measure the length of the wall and the height then multiply those two numbers together. The final result will give you the square footage of that room. You now have to determine the square footage of the drywall sheets.
Drywall is generally 4-feet wide so you know you will need drywall sheets that are the height of your ceiling and 4-feet wide. If your ceiling is 6-feet high then the drywall sheet is 24 square feet. Divide that number by the room's total square footage and you will have the number of drywall sheets you need. Always round up and always add on a few sheets in case some get broken.
Step 2 - Collect Resources
Take out your phone book and start looking up phone numbers. The normal reaction is to take down numbers of the local home improvement stores. This is a great starting point because there are so many and they will generally meet or beat the prices of their competitors. Do not, however, stop there. Also locate phone numbers for lumberyards as they also sell drywall. Think outside of the box and write down numbers of contractors and drywall specialists.
Step 3 - Put Your Resources to Work
It's never easy to pick up the phone and call someone but if you want decent drywall prices you'll have to get over that initial fear. Use the list of numbers and begin with the usual suspects by calling the home improvement stores. Get their general price per sheet then ask if they have price breaks for large orders and where that break occurs and what the price is per sheet.
Write down all of the information and call the other large stores. If they price match or beat competitor prices then use your previously recorded drywall prices to start haggling. Call the other resources as drywall professionals may sell you their extra sheets of drywall at their cost in order to unload excess sheets instead of having their money tied up in materials. The same applies to contractors.
