Installing Drywall

A drywall board is made of a layer of gypsum plaster which is sandwiched between two thick sheets of paper or fiberglass. It is available in the form of large sheets of various thickness. Today, drywall is much more popular than the plastered walls. It covers up the imperfections of the interior walls of the house really well. Besides, it is fireproof and water resistant. To improve the visual appeal of the interiors of the house you can add texture or apply paint to it. Cost of drywall materials is not that high and its price range vary in between $300-400 for a room of 600 square feet. However, cost of installing drywall is higher than the cost of materials. Therefore, if you take up the task on your own, you can save yourself a lot of money.

Drywall Installation Instructions

Select drywall of suitable length and thickness. A thinner variety of one-fourth inch of thickness is more suitable for the walls. Keep the sheets longer and this will give you minimum number of joints. So, drywall finishing will require lesser amount of time. Other tools and materials needed are drywall screws, drywall tape, fine grit sandpaper, joint compound, drywall saw, utility knife, drywall lift, hammer, etc. The main steps are as follows:

Preparation
You have to make holes on the drywall for electrical outlets and fittings on the walls. Take the measurements of the size of these items and their position on the wall, mark it on the drywall and cut it accordingly. Use a T-square and a trimming knife and score the drywall as per your requirement. Thus one side of the drywall sheet will get snapped. Now, take a sharp knife an cut the paper on the other side of the drywall. Another important preparation work is installation of furring strips on the ceiling. This is done to obtain a leveled surface for installing drywall on ceiling.

Ceiling
When it comes to installation of drywall, most people are concerned about how to install it on the ceiling. After all, working on an overhead position is no joke. For your convenience, use a drywall lift to raise the drywall sheets up to the ceiling. Take the first sheet to any one corner of the ceiling, put it on the joist lengthwise and fix it up with the drywall screws. The screws should be placed at a gap of 6 inches. Then take the next drywall sheet and install it following the same technique. Continue until the entire ceiling area is covered.

Walls
Drywall can be installed on the walls both horizontally as well as vertically. When the height of the ceiling is less, then it is advisable that you install drywall horizontally. This will keep the number of drywall joints to minimum. For a room with a ceiling at a height of more than 8' 5" vertical installation is advisable. While installing horizontal boards, hang the upper panels first. Hold the first drywall board against the ceiling and secure it firmly to the wall stud. Then fix drywall screws to the studs at a gap of 7 inches in order to secure the board further. Follow the same technique to install the remaining boards.

Finishing Drywall Joints
After hanging the drywall, you will find that the areas near the drywall joints have uneven surface. Drywall finishing is important to make these areas leveled. The main steps of drywall finishing is application of mud or joint compound, taping drywall joints and corners and sanding drywall. Cover up the uneven surface of the drywall seams with joint compound. Then cut a piece of drywall tape as per the length of the joint and place it over the applied joint compound. Apply a thin layer of mud over the tape and allow it to dry overnight. Similarly, all the holes formed after installing drywall screws should be filled up with mud. After 24 hours, apply the next layer of joint compound and spread it wide up to 10-12 inches and let it dry. In all, you have to apply three coats of joint compound. Once the joint compound is cured thoroughly, you have to sand the drywall with fine grit sandpaper to remove the coarseness of the mud. Finally, secure the outside corners with metal corner beads. For installing a corner bead, attach it to the underlying wall stud with nails and apply a layer of joint compound over it.

Once the drywall is installed, you can apply primer and paint to it. Do not use screws or nails on drywall for hanging pictures, shelves etc. as the hole will widen up in no time loosen the nail or screw. Installing drywall anchors is a safer option for you which will stay in its position without causing any damage to the drywall boards.