How-To-Drywall...
Easy Day For The Handyman DIY'er
How-To-Drywall is easy... well, the hanging
drywall part
of the job is pretty easy. The most difficult part is finishing butt
ends which I'll save for another page.
If you've reached this page and need to know some drywall basics,
return
to DIY-Drywall page
to catch up.
Moving on, let's talk about how to install drywall.
Installation is pretty basic but you're going to
to need a few basic drywall-tools
to work with. Some are for drywall-installation and the rest are used
for finishing it. Not shown on this page are specialty tools used for
producing textured finishes which I'll leave for another topic.
I've gone back and forth (in my head) about how to
hang drywall on a
wall. Do I hand it vertically or horizontally? You may be tempted to
hang sheets vertically on
walls and if your walls are 8 foot and a single sheet fits floor to
ceiling, then that will eliminate the any butt joints on your
walls.
If
I've lost you than know this, only the long ends of drywall boards are
tapered. When two boards are flush to one another, that creates a
depression in the center which makes taping and finishing easier since
all you're doing is filling the depression with mud.
The
UN-tapered or short ends of drywall will be on the floor and ceiling so
hence... no need to finish them. If your walls are taller than 8 feet,
then you may want to hang it horizontally and again... use the longest
piece
possible. This will save you valuable time when it comes to taping and
finishing the work. Longer sheets will have less butt joints that must
be
finished. I've made the mistake of using 8 foot pieces for everything
since I was working alone and picked up my materials instead of having
them delivered.
I thought I was saving money by picking it up
myself (I couldn't haul the large 12 foot pieces) but I lost time when
it came
to finishing all the extra butt joints. Vertical seems are also harder
to
finish cause you have to stretch to reach the tops and stoop down to
reach the bottom. Long horizontal seams are easy to reach. To use the
longer pieces you're going to need a helper... pay'em if you don't have
a friend or family member to help. You'll thank me later.
How-To-Drywall reminder... Handle it gently, the
wall
board is fragile and can break easily if it's dropped or hit. Also...
stack it flat if you don't plan on installing it right away.
Breakin It
Down...
-
STEP 1. Drywall
is made to fall on studs that are 16 or 24 inch on center. Before
cutting panels, measure the framed walls to be sure the edges will fall
on a stud. When you're ready, score the panel with a utility knife and
snap-break the wall board along the cut... then slice the backside to
complete the cut.
-
 STEP
2. Marking/Cutting for outlets: Always mark a box's
location on the floor to avoid accidentally burying them. Measure from
a side wall and from the floor to mark and cut the panels. Another
method is to use a rotary tool to cut the drywall once it's in place.
The center of an outlet (say a recessed light) is marked on the panel
by an "X". A rotary tool is used to pierce through the panel in the
center of the outlet... the tool is then moved to the perimeter of the
outlet and the tool cuts out the exact location using the outlet itself
as a template.
-
STEP 3. How-To-Drywall for
hanging
panels... Installing drywall ceiling panels are
difficult to hang by yourself. Rent a drywall lift to help you out.
They rent for about $25 a day. Once you have the panels set into
position... simply screw or nail them into position. Space fasteners
about 10 to 12 inches apart. You can apply construction adhesive to the
studs to make a stronger, continuous bond less likely to pop nails or
screws.
-
STEP 4. When
hanging the bottom panels, use a panel lifter to raise the wall board
panel off the ground... this will make drywall-installation easy as it
pressed the bottom piece snugly against the piece mounted above it.
Simply screw or nail it into position when you're ready.
That's a about as easy as it gets...
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