Newkirk Wallcovering and Painting

How to hang drywall

Alright!, It's time to hang some drywall! This is at least a two person job unless you have a panel lift to hold the drywall in place while you attach it to the ceiling or walls. We unfortunately didn't have a panel lift, so we had two guys holding and one guy with a screw gun and a box full of 1 1/2" drywall screws. Always start with the ceiling as the wall pieces underneath will help support the weight of the outside edges.

Hanging drywall on ceiling

Most standard drywall sheets used are 4'x8'. They do come longer, but those sheets are a real bear to hang on a ceiling. Make sure all of your factory edges but up to each other when you are hanging the drywall. Also make accurate measurements if you have fixtures to cut out in the ceiling (like these canned lights). *** Here's a tip from Uncle Jer: A one gallon paint can is the perfect sized pattern for cutting out drywall for a 6" canned light fixture.

Cutting out space for light fixtures

After you have double checked your measurement for cutting out for the round fixture....

Cutting out space for light fixtures

...take a handheld drywall saw and begin cutting out a nice circle for the canned light to fit through. Using a one gallon paint can as a pattern gives just enough extra space to fit the light through with no problems and be covered by the finish trim ring, which will be installed later.

Hanging drywall on ceiling

On the second row of drywall we staggered the first sheet to come away from the wall about 4 feet. Staggering the drywall sheets adds strength to the ceiling as they are attached to the ceiling rafters. Here, I'm screwing in two factory butt joints that are split evenly over a ceiling rafter.

Hanging drywall on ceiling

Screws, screws, and more screws!!! Across a 4' sheet I'll normally put one screw at each end of the drywall, and through the center two to three sets of two screws evenly spaced across the panel.

Hanging drywall on ceiling

OK!, A couple of hours later the ceiling is up and its time to give those arms a much needed rest before we start on the walls. Looks like all the canned light cut-outs fit perfectly.

Hanging drywall on ceiling

Even the client got into it. Here we have a pretty good shot of the screw gun with a special bit attachment used to screw, countersink, and set drywall screws. These types of bits are worth their weight in gold when it comes to hanging drywall on the ceiling. They really make it easy for someone who doesn't do this type of work regularly, to set the screw just right every time!

Drywalling the walls

Working out of the corner with a full sheet that hits on a stud, we are going to use the same staggering technique we used on the ceiling drywall and apply it to the wallboard.

Drywalling the walls

Not all the corners were plum, so we took measurements of each piece that went into a corner and cut them accordingly for a proper fit. *** A proper fit when hanging drywall is important. When it comes time to apply the tape and joint compound you don't want a bunch of gaps to fill. Even a 1/4 inch gap can eat up a lot of joint compound, not to mention the dry time involved.

Drywalling the walls

Again using the staggering technique...The bottom row of drywall is a little more time consuming only because it usually has more cut-outs. In this office space we had several outlet boxes to cut out.

False wall

The client and I chose to put in a temporary wall with insulation to mask off where the garage door is. We left a 3' space for further storage behind the wall and decided to put an interior pre-hung door in for access. In retrospect, 3 1/2' to 4' would have been more accessible. We'll need to add some type of insulation to the back of the interior door for heating/cooling efficiency. Looks like the drywall is just about finished...

Drywall around windows

Using scraps and smaller pieces of drywall we filled in above and inside the windows. Returning the drywall to the inside of the windows makes for a nicer finished look in a modern space.

False wall

After checking over the drywall to make sure all the pieces were properly screwed into place, we started our base coat of tape and joint compound. Here's a shot of the extra wall we added to block the view of the garage door. That little storage space is going to come in very handy!

Next - preparing for painting.