Project Drywall: How to Install Drywall

Drywall has become a standard for the building industry, both in residential homes and commercial buildings. It is almost impossible to think of a time when drywall was not available or used to create fast, smooth walls. We think of drywall as a "modern" building material but drywall was actually invented in 1916 by the U.S. Gypsum Company, it just took some time for its use to catch on. In 1916, plastering was almost an art form and considered the only "real" method of properly finishing the interior of a building. When dry wall was invented, it originally sold in small "tiles" but within a decade was available in "sheet" form. Drywall got the "dry" because it was a dry method of "plastering" a wall.

Yet, a lot of people saw drywall as a "cheap fix" or lower quality alternative to plaster. But, as with many things, a war created the changes that would bring drywall from the "cheap alternative" to a major building product of our times. With much of the country's labor force busy with war efforts during World War II, and the lack of qualified plasters due to so many young men heading off to war, the need for easy, inexpensive building products gave drywall a place in the construction world.

Drywall is a near perfect building material, not only cost efficient, but also layman friendly. With a bit of knowledge even self building homeowners can hang drywall. For the most part you will not need any special power tools to do your own walls except a drill. The first thing to consider is the thickness you will need as per your local building codes. Drywall comes in 1/4 in., 1/2 in., 5/8 in., and a fire safe 5/8 in. If you are doing a bathroom or high humidity area you will want to use what is called green board drywall. Green board has a green, water resistant paper covering.

You will need a box cutter or utility knife for cutting, hand trowels, 6" and 10", and corner trowel for finish, drywall T-square, sanding screens and standing pad and pole, drywall tape and mud, mud pan, a screw gun/drill, and drywall screws, drywall, and corner bead to start your project.

Drywall is always 4' wide but comes in lengths of 8', 10', and 12'. It is best to use the standard 4' x 8' for those doing their own project as this size is much easier to work with.
Drywall can be hung with either drywall nails or screws. Most professionals suggest using only screws as they are much stronger and hold better, especially on ceilings. Nails will often pop through the finish of your walls at a future time while properly placed screws remain intact.

Your drywall project starts from the ceiling down. When cutting drywall, stand it up horizontally, mark with your square and score along the measurement with your knife. Snap the board at the score then using the knife cut the paper on the backside of the board. If you get imperfections don't overly worry as minor ones can be corrected during the tape and mud time. Hanging the ceiling is best done with two people or you can rent a "lift" to hold drywall up while you screw it into place. You can also build a t shaped support from 2/4's.

Drywall is normally hung horizontally except in commercial buildings or those with metal studs, staggering the upper or lower sheets (with different lengths) so as to not have four corners come perfectly together. On the ceiling the sheets should be hung perpendicular to the ceiling joists. Once the drywall is hung, before taping and mudding, install corner bead. Corner bead is available in the usual galvanized steel or now in plastic. Plastic is simple as it can be stapled on but the steel kind usually is done with a rubber mallet and a crimper made for corner bead.

Now it is time to tape and "float" the walls. Mix your mud up with your drill and a ribbon mixer until it is smooth and has no water separation. There are two types of tape, fiberglass mesh or paper. Fiberglass mesh tape is preferable to paper. Tape over all seams. Check the walls for any screws sticking out then using a 6" trowel, smooth mud over the taped seams, the screw indentations, and the corners. Try not to leave any clumpy edges as you will just have to scrape them later to finish the wall. After this coat of mud has dried it is time to float the walls. Floating the walls is done with the large trowel. You want to cover everything you did before but make it as smooth as possible. You will still see some indentation in the seams after this first float and will need to do it once again. Texture will not hide the indentations so the second float is important. On the second pass feather out from the joints, smoothing off any extra mud.

After the mud is dry use the sanding screens on the pad and pole to lightly sand the mud and smooth out the edges. This part is very dusty and you should use a dust mask while doing it. This is the last step of your drywall project except for finishing with your choice of texture, primer, and paint. Texturing can be done with a roller and the drywall mud, or a trowel and mud, or using one of several types of finishing tools available. Texture is also available that mixes with paint.

Now that you have the basics for a complete drywall project, you can turn any unfinished space into a usable area. Another good feature of drywall is the ability to repair any holes you get in your wall. If the holes are little from hanging pictures you can dab either left over drywall mud, spackle, or even toothpaste in the hole to fill it in prior to repainting (let dry before paint is applied). If the hole is larger, using a box knife cut out to a square shape, cut a piece of drywall scrap to fit, tape, mud (feathering out), sand, and paint. Holes too big for Spackle but too small to cut a new section of drywall to fit, can be repaired by first stuffing the hole with either wadded up newspaper or weather stripping before tape, mud and sanding.

Those who hang drywall professionally have many tricks of the trade learned during many hours of building. If in doubt ask one for suggestions. With almost every home and every commercial building utilizing drywall, these professionals know they will always be working and are not adverse to giving a homeowner bits of advice. Those who do this for a living can create near perfect walls and make finishing walls an art form in much the same way as the plasterers of years past, but there is no reason a homeowner can't create beautiful walls for their own home with a bit of time and patience.

Sources:

How Stuff Works

Suite101

Personal Experience