Installing drywall is easy enough for a homeowner, as long as there’s someone to help; the heavy sheets are difficult to lift, particularly when doing ceilings. Follow the drywalling tips below to learn how to hang drywall like a pro.
With patience, the right tools and a friend to help you, hanging drywall is not very difficult. Once you’ve learned how to hang drywall, learn how to tape and finish the installed drywall for professional-quality results. The joint work is really easier than it seems and provides very satisfying results.
If you’ve remodeled your home, you know how messy drywall dust can be. Clouds of fine dust can linger in your home and cause cleanup to last weeks after your project is complete. Currently, my basement is under construction, and we’re at the drywall stage. To say it’s messy is an understatement.
Drywall work is hard. The hanging of the large, heavy sheets is mind-numbing. If you decide to do it yourself, you can rent or buy mechanical lifts that hold the sheets up to save your back.
Drywall Alternatives
Wood Planks. Wood planks are an age-old drywall alternative that has certainly stood the test of time well. Veneer Plaster. Lath & Plaster. Plywood and Sheet Wood. Texture Wall Panels. Brick & Masonry. Exposed Concrete Block. Cement Board.
The process isn’t complicated. It takes just a few tools—a small and a large drywall knife and a swivel-head pole sander—to finish drywall. Here, Paul Landry, of P.L. Drywall in Waltham, Massachusetts, shows us how to mud and tape drywall, using premixed joint compound (a.k.a. “drywall mud”) and drywall tape.
Drywall is a flat panel made of gypsum plaster sandwiched in between two sheets of thick paper. It adheres to metal or wood studs using nails or screws. Sheetrock is a specific brand of drywall sheet. These terms are often used interchangeably.
Hanging Drywall From the Top Down
Hang drywall on the ceiling first, then the walls. Check the ceiling for bowed joists using a 4-ft. level. Irregularities less than 1/8 in.
Drywall should NOT touch the floor. Allow for floor and wall expansion without cracking the drywall by keeping a 1/2-inch (1.27-cm) space between them. This space also aids in preventing moisture from seeping if the floor floods.
Drywall installation costs $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot, depending on the ceiling height, drywall type, and level of finish. Drywall costs $0.50 to $0.80 per square foot for materials. The labor cost to hang and finish drywall is $1.00 to $2.70 per square foot. The cost to drywall a 12×12 room is $580 to $1,800.
Final Thoughts. In short, drywall should be hung horizontally on residential buildings and vertically on commercial buildings. In the case of either, support beams should always run perpendicular to the wall studs at a distance of 24 inches (61 cm) apart.
Drywall butt joints should always be staggered. This makes it easier for taping and finishing and increases the overall strength of the entire wall.
