DIY-Drywall
Basics
Facing a DIY-drywall project?
If so, you've probably never thought twice about
what types of (also called wallboard) you might use in one room vise
another. You may have realized that now you need to figure out what
size, thickness and type you'll need to properly complete your project.
If that's the case you've come to the right place. I'll try to explain
what's out there and what you should be looking for. Check it out...
Standard Drywall...
is basically a finishing material for interior walls. It's made of a
gypsum plaster inner core
covered on both sides by thick paper. Once you've framed your walls,
installed the electrical, plumbing and put in the insulation, you cover
it all with wallboard. That's the easy part!
Now you have to cover the seams with drywall tape
and compound and create a smooth (seamless) appearance (that's the hard
part). All that's left is to prime and paint it or put on a textured
finish. That's it in a nut shell for DIY-drywall but keep reading to
learn a few things you may not have known.
Drywall
Varieties
-
DIY-drywall... Most common type
is the regular fire-coded
4x8 ft. or 4x12 ft. sheets... but you can find it in 10 ft. and 14 ft.
lengths as well. It comes in 4 different thicknesses: 1/4 inch, 3/8
inch, 1/2 inch, or 5/8 inch. The most common thickness is 1/2 inch. Use
5/8 inch if you want more of a sound barrier... even double it up for
added privacy. Use 3/8 inch for repairing old plaster walls beyond
repair... simply put the 3/8 inch wallboard right over the old plaster.
Use 5/8 inch thick panels on ceilings or where you have studs that are
24 inch on center.
-
Curved
surfaces use a special 1/4 inch panel that
can be bent around curved shaped corners.
-
Moisture resistant"Greenboard"
(due to it's green color) is treated to be more water resistant and
should be used where
there's moisture such as in a bathroom or climates with high humidity.
Since fiberglass isn't a known food source for
most molds it does the job. It doesn't claim to be "mold-proof" but
it's certainly better than paper. The surface is rougher than regular
drywall and may require a "skim-coat" of compound to smooth it out but
it still cuts with a traditional razor knife and can be hung with
regular drywall screws and nails. This product will be even harder to
finish and inexperience will be harder to hide so hire a professional
to finish this stuff especially if you want it skim-coated.
-
Sound-proof wallboard
is thick and heavy and used
between areas of your home of office that need added privacy such as a
bedroom.
-
Cement Board is a
rigid material made of Portland cement and a fiberglass mesh providing
a great substrate for ceramic
tile. It is extremely hard and durable enabling it to withstand the
abuse of prolonged exposure to moisture because of it's resistance to
mold and mildew. If it does come into contact with water... it won't
rot, disintegrate or swell. The main reason you need to use this under
ceramic tile (especially in a bath or shower) is cause grout joints can
not be considered "water-proof"! They will eventually fail and water
will seep behind the tile. If you have regular wallboard there... it
will eventually fail. The Cement board comes in 1/4 inch, 1/2, inch or
5/8 inch. For residential walls and ceilings you should use 1/2 inch or
5/8 inch; for floors and countertops... 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch depending
upon your sub-floor and the transition to adjoining floors.
Adventurous DIY'ers
who plan to do all the finish work
themselves need to check out Mike Bell's online drywall school. Learn
how to finish drywall and even how to do complicated decorative
finishes... Drywall School.com
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