Plasterboard Thickness, Sheet Sizes and Weights: A Spec Reference
Standard plasterboard in Australia comes in 10mm, 13mm and 16mm. As a working figure, 10mm runs around 6.5 to 7.5 kg per square metre, 13mm around 8.5 to 9.5 kg, and 16mm around 11 to 13 kg, varying by brand and board type. Sheets are 1200mm wide and most commonly 2400mm, 2700mm, 3000mm, 3600mm or 4200mm long.
This is a reference page rather than a decision guide. If you are still choosing between the two most common thicknesses for a job, our post on 10mm vs 13mm plasterboard covers that decision properly. What follows is the numbers themselves: thicknesses, sheet sizes, weights, and the handling and ordering implications that come out of them.
What thicknesses does plasterboard come in?
Three thicknesses cover the overwhelming majority of Australian work. Specialist products exist outside this range, but if a specification names a thickness it is almost certainly one of these.
- 10mm: the standard for residential walls at 450mm or 600mm stud centres, and the lightest board to handle. The default for most house lining in South East Queensland.
- 13mm: the standard for ceilings, for walls at wider framing centres, and the base thickness for most fire-rated and acoustic products. Noticeably stiffer than 10mm.
- 16mm: used where a tested fire or acoustic system calls for it, in commercial partitions, and in high-traffic or impact-resistant applications.
Thickness is not a quality grade. A 13mm sheet is not a better version of a 10mm sheet. It is a different structural product with different span capability, different weight and a different price, and using it where 10mm is specified adds cost and load without adding compliance.
How much does plasterboard weigh per square metre?
Weight matters for three reasons: whether a ceiling frame can carry the board, whether your crew can lift the sheet, and whether the delivery is within the truck and site handling limits. Published figures vary between manufacturers and between board types within a range, so treat the table below as a planning guide and check the technical data sheet for the exact product on your order.
| Thickness | Approx. weight per m2 | Approx. weight, 1200 x 2400 sheet | Approx. weight, 1200 x 3600 sheet | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10mm standard | 6.5 to 7.5 kg | 19 to 22 kg | 28 to 32 kg | Residential walls at 450mm or 600mm centres |
| 13mm standard | 8.5 to 9.5 kg | 25 to 27 kg | 37 to 41 kg | Ceilings, wider framing centres, commercial walls |
| 16mm standard | 11 to 13 kg | 32 to 37 kg | 48 to 56 kg | Fire and acoustic systems, commercial partitions |
| 13mm fire-rated | 10 to 12 kg | 29 to 35 kg | 43 to 52 kg | Tested fire-rated wall and ceiling systems |
The practical takeaway from that table is that a 1200 x 3600 sheet of 16mm board is roughly a two-person lift at around 50kg, while a 1200 x 2400 sheet of 10mm is comfortably a one-person carry at around 20kg. On a multi-storey job with a stair carry, that difference decides whether you order longer sheets or accept an extra joint.
What sheet sizes is plasterboard supplied in?
Width is effectively fixed. Australian plasterboard is manufactured 1200mm wide, which suits framing at 450mm and 600mm centres so that sheet edges land on a stud. Some specialist and ceiling products come 1350mm or 600mm wide, but 1200mm is the working assumption.
Length is where the choice is. Common stocked lengths are:
- 2400mm: the standard ceiling height sheet, and the easiest to handle and transport.
- 2700mm: for the raised ceilings common in newer South East Queensland homes.
- 3000mm and 3600mm: for high walls, stairwells and voids, or laid horizontally to eliminate butt joints across a long wall.
- 4200mm and above: available for specific applications, usually on indent rather than off the rack.
Choosing sheet length is really a decision about joints. A butt joint is the hardest joint to finish flat because there is no recess to bed the tape into, so it sits proud and needs a wide feather to disappear. Ordering to the wall height, or running longer sheets horizontally, removes those joints entirely and makes the finishing pass faster. That is usually worth more than the freight and handling premium on the longer sheet.
- Wall height and ceiling height, so we can match sheet length and cut out joints
- Framing centres, because they drive the minimum thickness
- Total wall and ceiling area in square metres, not sheet count
- Whether any wall carries a fire or acoustic rating, which changes both board and quantity
Why is 13mm usually specified for ceilings?
A ceiling sheet has to span between battens or joists while carrying its own weight against gravity, with nothing behind it for support. A wall sheet is held vertically and has gravity working down its face rather than across it. That difference is why the same board performs differently in the two positions.
Manufacturers publish maximum framing centres for each thickness in each orientation. As a general pattern, 10mm board is limited to closer ceiling centres, while 13mm handles the wider batten spacing that most ceiling framing is set out at. Fitting 10mm to a ceiling framed for 13mm is one of the more common causes of visible sag between battens, and it shows up months later once the board has taken up humidity, which in coastal South East Queensland is a matter of when rather than if.
Weight is the other half of the story. Because 13mm board is heavier, a ceiling framed for 10mm may not be suitable for a 13mm upgrade without checking the framing. Substituting upward is not automatically safe either.
How many sheets come on a pallet?
Plasterboard is supplied banded in packs of two sheets face to face, and stacked into pallet lots for delivery. Pack and pallet quantities vary by thickness and length, because the limit is the total weight the pallet and the handling equipment can take rather than a fixed sheet count. A pallet of 10mm 2400mm sheets carries considerably more sheets than a pallet of 16mm 3600mm sheets at the same gross weight.
For ordering purposes this rarely matters, because we work in square metres and sheets rather than pallets. Where it does matter is site access and unloading: a full pallet needs either a forklift, a crane truck or a solid level drop area, and that has to be settled before the truck leaves the yard. Our post on planning a delivery to a tight job site covers what to tell us when access is difficult.
Turning these numbers into an order
Once you know the thickness, the sheet length and the area, the quantity calculation is straightforward, and our guide on how much plasterboard you need sets out the formula and the wastage factors to apply to walls and ceilings.
Bayside stocks the full range across standard, fire-rated, moisture-resistant and acoustic board at four South East Queensland branches: Morningside, Redlands, the Gold Coast and Caboolture. Standard 10mm and 13mm in the common lengths are held at every branch. Longer lengths and 16mm are best confirmed by phone before you drive out, since stock moves quickly on those lines. Call the trade counter on (07) 3245 4488 and we will tell you what is on the rack today.
Need a thickness and sheet length sorted for your job?
Give us the wall heights, the framing centres and the area, and Bayside Plasterboard will come back with the sheet schedule and current stock across our four South East Queensland branches.
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