Plate Boards Cost for a Room

The Plate Board Cost for a Room calculator computes the cost of plate boards required for a room based on the length of the four walls and whether the top plate is doubled or single and on the unit price of the boards. Note: top plates are often doubled for load bearing walls. The user can choose from a list of standard board lengths with a default of 10 feet.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

• (L) Length of Room 
• (W) Width of Room 
• (LB) Lumber Board Length used for Plate Boards
• (TP) Single or Doubled Top Plates (double for strength)
• (uP) Unit Price of Boards (See Unit Pricing below)

Plate Board Cost (TC):  The Cost of the Plate Boards required are computed and their cost is returned in U.S. dollars.  However, this can be automatically converted into other currency units via the pull-down menu.

To compute the number of plate boards needed to frame a room, CLICK HERE.

General Information

Plate boards are the top and bottom boards of a wall.  They are used as the anchors to which the studs are nailed.  For non-load bearing walls, a single plate on the top can suffice.  However, a double top plate is required for any wall that bears a load (weight).   It provides additional span strength between the studs.  If you are adding a wall to an existing structure, that typically means that it is not a load bearing wall, but simply a wall used to divide an  area (e.g. new room in a basement).

Unit Pricing

2x4 Price Survey

The 2x4 Lumber Pricing table contains recent lumber prices for 2x4 of a variety of lengths with prices  from Lowes, Home Depot, Menards and potentially other stores based on their web sites.  This table is a repository of pricing data for common lumber (2x4's) as surveyed from the websites of major lumber retailers in the United States.

• 2x4 Price Survey Date: 4/10/24
• 2x4 Price Survey Store: Menards
• 2x4 Price by Length:
  • Price of a 92⁵/₈" 2x4 : $3.65
  • Price of an 8' 2x4: $3.65
  • Price of a 10' 2x4 : $6.34
  • Price of a 12' 2x4 : $7.72
  • Price of a 16' 2x4 : $10.84

All prices are in U.S. dollars and based on searches of nationally advertised prices from the provider's web sites.   Search string: "kiln dried 2x4 lumber" is used in the retailer's website.  

The term two by four (2x4) refers to the rough cut dimensions of construction grade lumber.  However, the typical 2x4 purchased at a lumber yard is actually `1 1/2`" x `3 1/2`".   Nonetheless, the term 2x4 persists.

These values can be used in the Stud Framing Calculator.

NOTE:  Local pricing should ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be used!  These price points are for estimation convenience only, and there is no guarantee on the prices of the product nor of their availability at the stated price.

2x6 Price Survey

The 2x6 Lumber Pricing table contains recent lumber prices for 2x6 of a variety of lengths with prices  from Lowes, Home Depot, Menards and potentially other stores based on their web sites.

This table is a repository of pricing data for common lumber (2x6's) as surveyed from the websites of major lumber retailers in the United States.  

2x6 price survey:

• 2x6 Price Survey Date: 4/10/24
• 2x6 Price Survey Store: Menards
• 2x6 Price by Length 
  • Price of an 8' 2x6: $6.98
  • Price of a 10' 2x6: $10.53
  • Price of a 12' 2x6: $11.52
  • Price of a 16' 2x6: $14.62

All prices are in U.S. dollars and based on searches of nationally advertised prices from the provider's web sites.   Search string: "kiln dried 2x6 lumber" is used in the retailer's website.  The term two by six (2x6) refers to the rough cut dimensions of construction grade lumber.  The typical 2x6 purchased at a lumber yard is actually `1 1/2`" x `5 1/2`".   Nonetheless, the term 2x6 persists. 

These values can be used in the Stud Framing Calculator  and the Joist Framing Calculator.

NOTE:  Local pricing should ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be used!  These price points are for estimation convenience only, and there is no guarantee on the prices of the product nor of their availability at the stated price.

Stud Framing Calculators

• Studs for a Wall: Computes the number of studs (e.g., 2x4s) needed to build a wall based on the length of the wall and spacing.
• Stud Cost for a Wall: Computes the cost of studs in a wall based on the number of studs needed to frame a wall and the unit price of a stud.
• Blocking for a Wall: Compute the number and length of blocking boards.
• Studs for a Room: Computes the number of stud boards required to frame a room based on the length of the four walls.  Note: the stud count includes the extra studs at the corners where the walls meet.
• Stud Cost for a Room: Computes the cost of stud boards required for a room based on the length of the four walls and and on the unit price of the boards.
• Plate Boards for Room: Computes the number of top and bottom plate boards required for a room based on the length of the four walls and whether the top plate is doubled or single.
• Plate Boards Cost for a Room: Computes the cost of plate boards required for a room based on the length of the four walls and whether the top plate is doubled or single and on the unit price of the boards. 
• Room Framing Cost: Computes the cost of studs and plate boards required for a room based on the length of the four walls and and on the unit price of the boards used for studs and plates.