Walls, Ceilings

Whether you do-it-yourself or hire someone to do the work for you, it's important to know the basics of drywalling.

First, always make sure you have another person working with you. A 4-by-8 sheet of half-inch or 5/8-inch drywall does not weigh all that much, but it is unwieldy to carry and maneuver, and you are more likely to knock the edges into walls and floors, necessitating repairs.

Secondly, drywall the ceiling first.

Why start with the ceiling?

Because the panels can be cut easily to fit in place, and the wall panels will fit so that they can support the ceiling edges.

Depending on the dimensions and the source, regular drywall can run from $5 to about $10.

By dimensions, I mean thickness in inches (5/8, 1/2, 3/8 and 1/4) and size of the sheet in feet (4-by-8, 4-by-10, 4-by-12, 4-by-14, and 4-by-16, or 54 inches by all those lengths).

Depending on your location and local building codes, regular drywall, even the thickest, might not be enough. You might need fire-rate drywall if the local code calls for it. If you are working on a bathroom, you will probably need moisture-resistant wallboard.

The gypsum in fire-rated board has additional materials to delay the spread of fire. Moisture-resistant drywall has properties designed to handle moisture and humidity.

Hang drywall sheets horizontally rather than vertically, because you use fewer sheets that way. And always try to stagger the butted seams.

How do you know how much material you need?

Say you have 100 square feet of ceiling or wall you need to cover and want to use 4-by-8 sheets. You'll need four sheets of drywall, 14 pounds of ready-mix joint compound, 35 feet of tape, and 168 drywall nails or 90 drywall screws.

Contractors always recommend adding 10 percent to 15 percent to the estimate, to compensate for waste.

Many contractors prefer nails to screws for securing drywall. But for do-it-yourselfers, who tend to make more mistakes, screws are easier.

First, because drywall screw heads are slotted, if you err, you can use your drill to remove the screw.

Second, in older houses, banging nails into walls often can dislodge other things, which means more repairs. Screws provide a kinder, gentler method of installation.

When you install full sheets of drywall across a framed wall of what you hope are studs that are 16 inches on center, you should work from the top down.

This not only means that you are working from the finished ceiling -- after all, that was the point of doing the ceiling first -- but you have the exact location of each stud.

By snapping a chalk line from the installed drywall to the bottom of the wall along the stud, you can make sure every screw goes into the stud.

Thickness and stud material determine which screws to buy. If you are hanging 5/8-inch board on wood studs, then 1 1/4-inch coarse-thread drywall screws work just fine.

Make sure you use a dimpler to embed the screws. A dimpler is a bell-shaped attachment with a screwdriver in the middle that you lock into the chuck of a screw gun. It breaks the paper surface to a depth that both holds the drywall to the stud and is easily filled with drywall compound.

Which drywall compound? The most versatile is all-purpose, which can be used for every coat. It's the one with the green cover, and comes in 4 1/2-gallon containers.

And what kind of joint tape?

Drywall contractors are masters at paper tape. But the introduction of self-adhesive fiberglass joint tape has leveled the playing field. Stick it right on the joint, smooth it, and apply the coat of joint compound.

For corners, professionals can use paper. Do-it-yourselfers should buy metal corner bead, which can be cut to fit.

Cutting drywall is a snap, literally. Try to do as little as possible, however, because the ends of the sheets are tapered to accommodate taping and joint compound.

You'll probably need the aid of a T-square and a pencil.

Work on the finished side of the standing sheet of drywall (the whiter side). Use a utility knife to score along the pencil line, then fold the sheet along the score.

Run a utility knife along the fold to score it, then fold the sheet in the opposite direction for a clean snap. Make sure the knife blade is sharp.

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