Stud calculator
This lays a wall out and counts sticks — field studs at your spacing, plus the extras you enter and the plate runs. It says nothing about whether a wall bears a load or what size the studs must be; that is a design question for your plans or an engineer. Confirm the layout against the actual opening before you cut.
Enter the wall length and the stud spacing and the tool works out the field studs, then adds whatever you tell it for corners and openings and totals the plate stock. The field count is the wall length divided by the spacing, rounded up, plus one to close the end.
Worked example
A 16-foot wall at 16-inch centres is 192 ÷ 16 = 12 spaces, so 13 field studs. Add, say, 5 for two corners and a door and you are at 18 studs. The plates are a double top plate plus a bottom plate over 16 feet: 3 × 16 = 48 linear feet of plate stock.
The formula
studs = ⌈length ÷ spacing⌉ + 1 + extras · plate = length × (1 + top plates)
Dividing the length by the spacing gives the number of bays; rounding up covers a partial last bay, and the plus one is the stud that finishes the wall. Plates simply run the length once for the bottom and once for each top plate you set.
Questions
- How many studs do I need for a wall?
- Divide the wall length by the stud spacing, round up, and add one for the stud that closes the far end. A 16-foot wall at 16-inch centres is 192 ÷ 16 = 12 spaces, so 13 studs before you add anything for corners and openings. This tool does that and lets you add the extras.
- What spacing should studs be at?
- Sixteen inches on centre is the common default and what this tool starts with; nineteen-point-two and twenty-four inch layouts are also used. Enter whatever your plans call for — the field is editable, and the count follows the number you type rather than assuming one for you.
- How many extra studs for corners and openings?
- A plain corner takes two or three studs, a partition tee adds one, and every door and window wants a pair of jacks and kings plus cripples above and below. Count those from your layout and put the total in the extras field — this tool spaces the field studs and adds your extras on top.
- How much plate material do I need?
- Plates run the full length of the wall, once for the bottom and once for each top plate. A double top plate over a 16-foot wall is 16 + 16 + 16 = 48 linear feet. Set the number of top plates and the tool totals the plate stock for you.
Related tools
New tools, now and then
We add calculators most weeks. Drop your email and get a short note when a new one lands — nothing else, no selling your address, one-click out.