How to Hang Drywall

How To Hang Drywall, Or Not?

Dry ceiling before you drywall. This is literally the top tip when talking about how to hang drywall. Using a long builders' level, check your wall studs for any warped boards. Only straight flat studs will give you a level surface on which to hang drywall. People, especially the female of the species will quickly spot the bulges if you fail to put furring strips on to the frame around items that may stick out beyond your drywall studs. It's all in the eye when learning how to hang drywall.

How to hang drywall sheets is horizontally and from the top, down to the bottom. Be sure to draw an outline grid of your studs on the floor. When you want to find them later for hanging pictures on you really don't want to rely on hammer sonar.

A top tip on how to hang drywall when you are working alone is to hammer four nails in a row into four adjacent studs about 50" inches from the ceiling. This enables you to lift the sheet (lift and manhandle with a straight back and use your legs only) and rest it on the nails. Hang all of the drywall upper sheets before going onto the lower sheets.

The well-dressed drywall hanger will of course have strong toe-protecting shoes. Line up the fixing screws with your floor grid marks and place screws in the dimpled area of the drywall about 2 inches apart. How not to hang drywall is with the dimpled surface facing inward! Later you will level off the dimples with joint compound.

Around the edge of the drywall sheet, place the screws 3/8" in from all edges and space them 7" inches apart. Across the face of each sheet, drive screws into the studs about 12 inches apart. If you miss a stud, and try a bit further over. You can fill the hole with joint compound the drywall hanger's best friend.

The secret of how to hang drywall successfully is to have the right tools. Use a sharp rotary drill for cutting out shaped holes around light fixtures and windows etc. Loosely fasten the board over the light fixture or window, do the cutting then finish fastening the board. Over a window completely fix the drywall around the edge and then cut out the window.

Try to keep cutting of the drywall to a minimum but when you need to cut a sheet down to size be sure to mark the paper surface correctly. Then cut through the paper face with a clean sharp knife. ALWAYS KEEP FINGERS BEHIND THE CUTTING EDGE! Another top tip on how to hang drywall is to lift the panel up from your working surface and snap it downward along your cut line to break through the core.

When hanging the bottom sections of the drywalls, you do not line up the seams of each sheet. Therefore, start the second row with a half sheet. This will give sturdier and stronger drywall. The tapered edges should always butt together. Cut the panels about 1/2-inch short of the floor to allow for any unevenness in the floor or ceiling. The gaps at the bottom of the wall will be covered with your baseboard.

A final top tip on how to hang drywall when on your own is to raise each panel into place with a pair of foot levers. A sturdy piece of clean wood on top of a small wedge will enable you to lever the drywall sheet into position while you drive the first screws or nails.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about how to hang dry wall, please visit Dry Wall Repair Online for current articles and discussions.

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