Hanging Drywall

- It just takes a few tools and some basic techniques to install gypsum wallboard.

Hanging drywall is satisfying work. Short of framing a room atop a bare platform, no other construction job transforms a space as dramatically. Even if you're just replacing an old plaster wall, seeing the clean, solid surface of freshly hung drywall gives you a grand feeling of accomplishment.

It Pays to Plan Panel Layout
To save time, effort and material, it pays to hang drywall panels in the right sequence and orientation. Do the ceiling first, then the walls. Place the panels lengthwise horizontally on walls, not vertically. With a horizontal layout, the drywall finisher doesn't have to use a ladder and reach from floor to ceiling every four feet. The long sides are usually tapered, so that joint tape and joint compound (commonly called "mud") can be built up in the finishing process without making a bulge.

If you're doing a ceiling, install drywall with the long sides running across (perpendicular to) the joists. If you're doing a wall, hang the panels so that the long sides run across the wall studs, parallel to the floor.

The short ends of a drywall panel are called butts. They are not tapered, but are the full thickness of the panel. Butt ends of panels must always meet in the middle of a ceiling joist or a wall stud; you need to attach both panels to that piece of wood. Also, butt joints need to be staggered, so they don't make a long seam along one stud or joist. A continuous seam down a wall or across a ceiling is difficult to hide with mud, and it's likely to crack.

As you plan your panel layout, remember that the goal in hanging drywall is to use the biggest possible pieces. This reduces the number of hard-to-hide seams and joints, and makes the most efficient use of the material.

Unless you are incredibly lucky, the giant puzzle you put together will require some custom-sized pieces. You'll almost certainly have to cut some of the drywall panels to fit. Here's how.

Cutting Drywall: All It Takes Is a Sharp Utility Knife
For all its weight, drywall breaks easily, especially if the paper is cut or torn. It will break in a nice straight line if you just score it with a utility knife. If you want to cut across the width of a panel, a drywall T-square will help you do it right. Before you do any cutting, though, put on a respirator mask.

Measure the length of the piece you need, and mark the length on the panel. (For ways to measure accurately and mark cleanly, check out our article on measuring and marking.) Lean the panel lengthwise against a wall, with the good face toward you. Hang the crossbar of the drywall T-square on the top edge of the panel with the 48-inch-long arm hanging down from the mark you made.

Steady the T-square's arm at the bottom with your foot, and run your utility knife along that straightedge, cutting through the paper and lightly scoring the gypsum underneath. Then pull the panel away from the wall and snap the two pieces back, away from the cut, breaking the panel along the scored line. Next, cut through the paper inside the crease on the other side.

To make a lengthwise cut, measure and mark the dimensions of the piece you need. Snap a chalk line down the length of the panel, and then make your cut. Use the T-square again, as a guide for your utility knife, so you get a nice straight line. Change your blade often. You'll save energy and make more accurate cuts.

If your cuts aren't always perfect or a piece comes out just a bit too long, use a Surform® pocket plane or another rasp, to even up your edges and trim them. (You'll soon see why we suggest that you wear a dust mask when you cut drywall!)

Fastening Drywall: Screws Are Better Than Nails
Most drywall today is installed with drywall screws, which hold better than nails and are less likely to "pop" (or bulge out) as the framing under the drywall shrinks or moves. Screws are easy to drive in if you have a screw gun or an electric drill with a drywall "dimpler" attachment. Both screws and nails need their heads set just below the surface, creating a dimple that can be smoothed over with joint compound. Whenever a screw or nail misses the framing, pull it out.

Along the edges of a panel, put screws 12 inches apart and about 3/8-inch in from the edge. In the middle, space them not more than 16 inches apart.

If you're using drywall nails, space them 7 inches apart on ceilings and 8 inches apart on walls.

It Takes Two to Drywall the Ceiling
Drywall the ceiling first. It gets the hardest part of the job out of the way, and the panels on the wall will help support those on the ceiling.

Start by marking the locations of the ceiling joists on the adjacent wall's top plate. That way you'll know where to drive screws or nails after the panel is up. If the adjacent wall is not straight or perpendicular to the joists, snap a chalk line 4 feet out from the wall and use that as a guide for placing your first panel. You can fill in the gap along the wall later.

It takes at least two people to drywall a ceiling, even if you use a drywall hoist. Position two stepladders so you and your partner can each be on one end of the panel. First rest the panel across the top of both ladders, then duck underneath and hoist the panel above you as you climb. When the panel is in place you can use your head to hold it up. Check to make sure that the butt end of the panel covers only half the thickness of a joist, leaving the other half for the next sheet to be attached.

To help hold up the drywall, make a wooden T-brace like the one shown in the drawing. Construct it out of a 2-by-4 with a 1-by-4 crosspiece. It should be a couple of inches longer than the height of the ceiling so it can be wedged up against the drywall.

To ensure that the panel lies flat and doesn't buckle, start drilling in your screws somewhere near the middle of a ceiling panel. You don't have to attach the whole piece before you stop supporting it; three or four fasteners on each side should do.

Until you have lots of practice, it's tough to know where the fasteners should go, especially when you're working in the middle of a panel, two feet from any visible framing.

If you're working on a wall, you might hold the drywall in the space where you are going to screw it on. Then mark the locations of any studs right on the drywall. Set your T-square on one of those marks and make a line down the sheet of drywall. If you drive in screws anywhere along that line you'll hit a stud assuming the studs run uninterrupted, that is. Alternatively, after the panel goes up, you can draw light pencil lines with the T-square to indicate joist centerlines.

Use the first sheet as the start of a row across the room. This straight first row will be your guide for placing the remaining panels. To start the next row, use about a half sheet to create a staggered layout.

Tip From the Pros: Don't force drywall into place it will break. If it doesn't fit, shape it with your rasp or utility knife. You can't use a cracked panel or one that's been scored but not snapped.

Drywall the Walls
After the ceiling panels are hung, mark the locations of the studs on the floor and on the ceiling. While you're at it, mark electric box locations on the floor, directly beneath the boxes. If there are plumbing or electrical lines running through studs, make sure they are protected by nailing plates.

Place the first row of wall panels so that they butt tightly against the ones on the ceiling. Start fastening from the top down, too you literally do hang the drywall. Stagger the butt joints, just as you did on the ceiling.

Two Ways to Make Cutouts
To make accurate cutouts for electric outlets and lights, you can either measure and mark their locations or transfer their outlines directly.

To measure, start from the edges of adjacent panels that are already in place. To avoid puncturing your new drywall panel in the wrong place, make a map or a template on a piece of drywall scrap. For example, if you need to make a hole for an electrical receptacle, use a scrap that spans your good piece of drywall and put your measurements on that. Cut a hole for the receptacle in the scrap and try it to make sure the hole is in the right place. That's your template. Hold it against the sheet you are actually going to screw to the wall and pencil in the outline of the hole. Then plunge in your sharp-tipped drywall saw and cut along the lines. Your opening will be in the right place.

For electrical boxes, which typically protrude from the framing, an easy way to mark the drywall is to smear the outside rim of the box with chalk, crayon or an outdated shade of lipstick. Hold the drywall panel in place and pound it gently with your fist right over the box to mark the cutout. Then take the piece down and cut out the opening from the back.

Remember that cutouts don't have to be exact. If your opening is within 1/2 inch of the size of the box, you can fill the gaps with patching compound after you've hung all the drywall.

A circular cutout for a light fixture is a breeze once you accurately locate the center. Use a drywall circle cutter to mark and score a neat round opening. Just transfer the diameter of the light fixture to the cutter, set its pivot pin in the center of the cutout and spin it once around. Drive a screw or nail through the center point to mark it on the back of the panel, and then score the circumference of the circle. When you rap the circle with a hammer from the front side, it will fall out the back.

Placing Drywall Around Doors and Windows
Avoid placing seams over doors and at the corners of windows. Why? Because the action of these moving parts tends to open the joints, no matter how well they are taped. Instead, attach a full panel across the door or window, and cut out the opening in place. Use your saw to cut along the two sides, and then score the last side and break the piece out.

The Last Step: Corner Beads
Covered with joint compound, the corner bead forms a strong, square outside corner that protects the drywall from being nicked or bruised. Cut metal corner bead with tin snips. Cut one flange at a time and then bend the center tip back and forth to break it. Use nails, not screws screw heads ride too high on the flange and interfere with finishing.

Corner bead comes in 8-foot and 10-foot lengths. Try to cover each corner with a single piece, but if you need more than one, butt and nail them together carefully and put the seam as close to the floor as you can.

Start nailing the bead in the middle of the strip, and put in a nail about every 9 inches. Then, it's a good idea to run this simple check with the blade of a 6-inch putty knife. If you put one point of the blade on the bead and the other straight across on the drywall, there should be a shallow valley under the blade. Run the putty knife along on both sides of the point to be sure that little valley continues for the entire length of the bead. That's where you'll need to pile on joint compound.

Nice work. Now it's time to take a break and read up on how to tape and mud drywall.