Drywall 101

Every time you walk into the garage, you glance around and sigh. You're really tired of looking at that unfinished drywall. And you know you can't afford to pay someone to finish it, even if you could find someone to do it. So you've come to the decision that it's time you learn how to put up and finish drywall. After all, it is the garage. If it doesn't look perfect, so what? It will at least be finished. And you might actually learn how to drywall.

Now that you're ready to tackle the job, you might need a few pointers. Oh, and yes, you will need a few tools. But don't panic. They're not expensive and you will have them for the next project you tackle. And after you become a whiz at installing and finishing drywall, you may want to finish out that basement. Just think of the man cave you could build down there. Or maybe it will be the lady cave, depending on just who is doing the drywalling. Just one thing, though, drywall is heavy. It's a job that requires an extra set of hands when hanging it. After it's up, though, if the help leaves, you can finish it on your own. It will just take longer.

Okay, let's talk some basic Drywall 101. Drywall, or sheetrock as it is sometimes called, comes in two sizes. Four feet by eight feet and four feet by twelve feet for larger projects. Most professionals prefer to hang four by twelve foot sheets simply because it covers a larger area, reducing the amount of mudding, or finishing you will have to do. Quite frankly, anyone can hang drywall. The real secret to a great looking job is in the sanding off of the joint compound or mud, as it is commonly called. Experienced drywallers know that you simply want to cover the joints and nail or screw holes with as little excess as possible. You don't want to have to do any more sanding than necessary. It is a tiring and time consuming job.

Four by twelve sheets of drywall are hung horizontally. That way your seam or joint is in the center of the wall. If your ceilings are taller than eight foot, put one sheet at the bottom and one next to the ceiling. Fill in the gap between with a piece cut to the same width. Eight foot pieces can be hung either horizontally or vertically. However, horizontally is much easier when you get to the mudding process.

There is some debate as to which fastener is best to use to atttach the drywall to the studs. Some people prefer to use drywall or roofing nails while others prefer drywall screws. Some actually use both. Some carpenters feel that you should use nails on ceilings and screws on walls. Whichever you use, remember to not break through the outside paper of the drywall. The nail or screw should sink just slightly into the drywall. If you run a trowel across the fastener and it catches, you need to sink it more. If you are using screws, there is actually a bit for your electric or cordless drill that will sink the screws the right depth and then stop. Put it on your list of things to get. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.

If you are drywalling around doors, you will need to purchase enough metal corners called cornerbeads to outline the door. These metal corners provide a measure of strength and protection for the edges of the drywall. They have small holes in them through which you nail them. Don't be stingy with your nails on these corners. Doorways take a lot of abuse over the years so you don't want the edges to give way when kicked or hit.

Check out the edges of the sheets of drywall. You will see that they are indented slightly about two inches from the edge. This indentation is to allow for the joint compound or mud. But before you grab the trowel and start slathering on the mud, there's another basic step. It's called taping the joints.

In the past or old days, taping was a major step in the drywalling process. You had to apply a thin coat of joint compound and then run the paper joint tape down the compound, smoothing it as you went. This was harder than it sounds. The tape would sometimes pop loose and have to be reapplied. Today, there is a new type of tape that looks like netting. The back of this tape is adhesive, meaning you can roll it right over the joint without having to put the compound on first. It sticks very well, leaving you only the job of applying the compound over the tape. The holes in the netlike tape actually allows the mud to adhere to the paper of the drywall.

More modern tools that are now used in drywalling are the inside and outside corner trowels. You will need one of each of these. They save time by allowing you to mud adjacent sides of corners at the same time. In the past, drywallers would apply the mud to one side and then allow it to dry before applying it to the adjoining wall. This kept them from messing the finished side up. Now you can apply the mud and smooth both sides at once with the special corner knive. You will also need at least two regular flat joint/putty knives. One should be at least six inches wide while the other should be at least ten inches. You will also need a mud pan. This pan has a metal edge on each side on which to clean the knives. To do that you simply scrape the joint knive across the metal edge. Keeping your joint knive clean when smoothing out the compound is critical to getting a smooth finish.

The smaller joint or putty knive will be used for the first coat of mud. Yes, I said the first coat. Most drywall requires two to three coats of joint compound to cover correctly. The first coat should fill in the joints from the outer edges of the indentations. It should cover the joint tape completely. The first coat over the nails or screws is pretty easy. Just stick your knive into the mud, wipe the back side against the blade of the mud pan to clean it, and then run the side with the mud over the nail or screw hole. Then turn the knive over and go back over the same hole with the clean side. Most of the mud will come back off, leaving only the indent from the screw or nail covered. This is what you want. It's pretty much wipe on, wipe off.

The second coat of mud should be wider, filling in over the first coat and blending out further onto the drywall. Remember, the ultimate goal is to not be able to tell where the joints are. Therefore, you want the mud to get thinner as it moves away from the joints.

After the first coat has dried, you will need to sand. Purchase one or two, if you can enlist some help, hand sanders and a pole sander which has a long handle allowing to sand from ceiling to floor easily. You will also need to buy sandpaper in different grades or grits. Paper for the first sanding should be of a coarser grade. It will cut through the excess mud faster. The sanding for the first coat should be fairly easy. Just sand off any areas that are way too thick. You will be able to tell this when you start the sanding process. The nail or screw holes should only require a quick light sanding. Remember to wear masks to prevent breathing in the dust while you are sanding.

The sandpaper for the second coat should be of a fine grade or grit. This is especially true if the second coat is your final coat. After sanding you will need to wipe down the walls to remove the drywall dust before you can apply a coat of primer. This is very important for a smooth looking finish when you paint the walls.

Now it's time for a recap of the tools and materials you will need for your drywalling project.

First, if you have to actually hang the drywall, you will need the drywall, a good utility knife to cut the drywall, and a drywall square. You will also need the nails or screws you have decided upon plus either a drywall hammer or a drill and the special bit for dywall screws. Remember to measure and cut out for any electrical openings.

Second, you will need several buckets of drywall compound, rolls of joint tape, inside and outside corner trowels, a mud tray, and at least two different sizes of joint or putty knives.

The last step in the process will require sanding materials. You will need hand sanders, a pole sander, and the different size grades or grids of sandpaper.

Now that you've got all the materials and tools you need, it's time to finish off the drywall. You can do it. It just takes practice and by the time you finish that garage, believe me, you will have gotten plenty of practice.