I am in the process of drywalling my home. After having read about the subject I am confident I can accomplish the job.
From my understanding the longuer the sheets the less seams.
How do you carry without braking them sheet of drywall that are over 8 feet long.
thank for the help
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Replies
P, you need to carry 12 footers two at a time so they brace each other.
;~)
Mike
Get another to help you carry them! Good luck if your an apprentice in hanging rock!
A couple of young backs and a dry wall lift.
no sense struggling with some thing a machine or a young buck can do!!Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
You do it with 1 finger and a phone book. Look under drywall contractors. Pick the one you like and use the 1 finger to dial the phone.
Save your back and will probably save your asss as well.
Gabe
The wife and I installed 132 sheets of 5/8" x 10' in our second floor. For the ceilings I made "T" shaped props to support the sheets while installing the screws. 5/8" sheets won't easily break.
If you order your board from a supplier of drywall and related items, they will deliver and stock the rooms for you. Some lumber yards also provide this service and, believe me, it's worth the small extra expense. You just have to know how much and what size goes to each room, tell the delivery guys and then get outa the way.
If it's a big project there is a hydraulic, radio controlled stocking machine that can take board off the truck and move it right into the building to placement you'd marvel at.
Where is the house? I would be very tempted to sub out the work. If in mid NJ I have a great crew for you to use. If d.i.y. then install vertical with sheet to reach floor to ceiling and rent a drywall hoist to do the ceiling. order the sheets from a local supplier and let them stack in the house. Get a self feeding screw gun as this will save you alot of metal splinters and you can drywall screw one handed.
Nigel USA,
I'm in mid Jersey too, come on, it's guys like you who give the rest of us a bad name. Vertical installation on wooden studs - your gotta be out of your mind. The job will crack in a year, all the seams will stick out, worst freaking way to drywall. Half the boards will be hanging off - are you gonna check each stud to make sure it ain't twisted, ain't curved - do you plane each stud for true level? Your supposed to leave a screw or nail 3/8" of the end - how do you do that when standing them up? You put them tight, dat right? Bet you do, you know that wood shrinks on it's width, and it will, a wooden stud contains 19% moisture, so your boards are real tight - here's comes ridging or cracking! Man, I'd hate to see one of your jobs in a year!
In the last 15 years I have yet to see a problem with the drywall direction that has caused the things you expect to happen. If I look close at the horizontal installation in my house is looks bad, with 4' piece at the top, 4' at the bottom and a strip in the center to give a "lump" that runs around the entire room. Vertical is much easier to finish as the tapered edges work for you. Butt seams make "hills" . I would rather have full plaster given the chance.
I agree, vertical installation is a better job. In commercial work vertical is the norm. Most housing I've seen is horizontal, I do not know why though. Lack of butt seams vertically installed is one feature, plus when running baseboard there is no bevel edge to contend with.
If you have a 9 foot wall, leave the one foot rip on top near the ceiling; same thing goes with a 10 foot high wall, just leave the 2 foot piece on top.
USG in their Gypsum Construction Handbook states it better to horizontal. We've gone over here many times! On wood studs to stand them up - just too many negatives. Tell me, what do you do when a stud say on a 9 foot high wall is not straight or has a slight curve to it. Say that the stud is 1/2" not straight - how do you screw or nail each side so that the screw/nail is not on the edge of the boards? That vertical seam will never ever be flat, it will have a ridge in it. It happens on steel studs, put a 14 inch knife against it and watch it see-saw.
How do you hang the boards on ceilings? Don't tell me they are parallel to the joists?
It all comes down to what degree of quality one wants.
In commercial steel studs and when glueing to masonry, always vertical.
When doing residential wood studs 8 foot walls always on horizontal.
When doing residential wood studs 9 ft. plus, better vertical.
Now you both win and you both lose.
Also a regional thing.
Gabe
so the screws will pop if vert?
And not if horizontal?
Do the screws know which way the drywall was laid.....'cause as far as I can tell ....the same amount of screw is touching the same amount of wood no matter how ya stand the drywall.
Here's a visual.....stand your drywall any way ya like....now screw it tight...
Now....lay on the floor..on your side.....same screw....same screw to wood contact.....just the drywall is now "vertical" as opposed to horizontal.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
lots of great answers but i didn't hear anyone mention in the back of the truck yet. get some 10 or 12 foot 2x4s to lay down in bed of truck to support drywall
Jeff,
A wood stud is 1 1/2" wide! You are supposed to leave at least 3/8" from the edge of the board - why, because if the screw is on the direct edge of the board, it's not holding the rock. Yes, a screw will hold into the wood well whether the board is vertical or horizontal, but that's not the question. The important concern is how well that screw holds THE SHEETROCK!
Ever put a nail on the edge of a piece of wood? Sure ya have, well how well does it hold. It does not hold, cause moving the wood slightly will result in the failure of the bond between the screw and the board. When you install trim, do you [put the nail on the edge of the wood or do you nail it off the edge as in installing base board - do you put the nail at or 1/4" FROM THE EDGE OF THE WOOD. iF YOU PUT THE NAIL 1/4" FROM THE EDGE, the wood will splinter. Same thing happens to sheetrock!
Do this excperiment yourself! Get a piece of sheetrock, put a screw on the edge of the board and then pull the rock - wow, look how easy it comes out. Put a screw 3/8" from the edge of the rock and then pull it - much harder isn't it.
Little math: wood stud is 1 1/2" wide, and you should leave 3/8" from the edge, this leaves 6/8" on the stud to place the TWO boards (3/8" for each board). Now when the stud is not level by 3/8", on one of the boards you don't have any space to screw the board. Bad rocking! As the wood shrinks and it will, that screw on the edge is not holding.
OK, so maybe you use glue and screw when you install verticall, but the glue will ooze out, then taping is difficult. On horizontal, it's not a priblem cause the glue is off 2" from the edge of the board.
Any type of fastener on the edge of wood, sheetrock, metal on anything else does not hold as well if the fastener if off the edge!
As studs are hardly ever perfectly straight, installing vertically is not the best way, and in my opinion, very poor drywall work.
Say you have a wall 30 feet long and the studs are not perfectly 16" from each other, say the first one 1/8" off, then as you down the wall installing vertically, you run out of space on the stud to install one of the boards.
I think you guys are all being suckered into a fight! The original post was a joke I'm sure.....I mean a guy read a book, and is going to hang his whole house, but..by the way...how do you carry it?
Unless you live on an island, the rest of the whole freakin' country has it delivered to the room it goes in...am I wrong? I thought that's what people who dropped out of school or burned their brains with drugs did...delivered drywall, and stocked roofs with shingles....delivery is cheap.....DUH.
And all this talk of 9' ceilings....that's what 54" drywall is for. Everyone can get it, it's just a matter of time.
And these days, nails and screws don't hold drywall, glue does.....try it, glue some , screw it, wait a few days, remove screws and try to rip it off the wall........try to remodel rooms we did in the 70's...see that black glue that won't let go? Drywall loses it's paper back, but glue keeps the studs from being useable again right?
You guys are fighting machinist tolerances on stud width, just apply more GLUE.
The original post was not a joke. The only reason I am drywalling my home myself is because no one is available to do the job. I had bids made and contractors cancel because they get bigger jobs and ARE NOT INTERESTED IN A SMALL JOB. The only one that was interested call me to postpone the job until next summer. He just got he says a job for $500,000. So the little guy gets kicked around.
Would you wait for a year for someone to do a job. I sure would not.
I live in the Pittsburgh suburbs if you feel confident you can find someone who do the job in the next few weeks contact me at : [email protected].
I'll answer your Q, you pick the sheet up and become one with it, it isn't a big deal. I did my own house myself, 12/14/16 ft sheets, and I didn't break one. I did use a lift, and that has only been mentioned here as often as subbing it out.
If you need a drywaller, ask in the help wanted section of this forum. You can also go to a drywall supply yard and ask, even if you have to get hangers and tapers separately. You are better to focus your energies on other things that need to be done, and wait for a pro to finish for you. Even is you have to wait, you will be ahead of the game. Even if the "pros" fit you in nights and weekends.
I did my house because I am anal, you aren't doing yours for the right reason. You also need to know, No taper will finish if you hang the rock, and no one will bail out if you spork the taping.
Have at it. What other books have you been reading?
Thanks for today's best chuckle...Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Well why didn't you say your location in the first place? Jeff Buck is in your area and knows all the contractors, good and bad, and I'm sure he can steer you in the right, and easier direction. Better yet, just sub it out to him, word has it he just finished a job from hell and would'nt mind an easy one for a change......or I could be totally wrong.
Or
You wanna see Jeff sweat.
;).
Excellence is its own reward!
Got the email ....
I'm on the case.
Im back to my senses .....avoiding drywall like the plague.....
But am gonna pass along the name/number of a buddies new best friend when it comes to drywall subs.
Hoping to make the guy my next best friend by giving him all my drywall work from now on too!
Word on the street is ....it's a 2 man crew that'll do both big and small jobs ....finishes better than the big guys ....and charges a few bucks less. Sounds like the drywall guy of my dreams.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
If you go to buy a used car, how many do you look at?
My experience is that it takes a couple of years and lots of asking around to find the best subs. If you are looking for someone to do one project, you'd better start talking to other people(such as builders, rental owners, etc) who regularly hire subs in order to get names of people who have already performed well for someone else.
Hang in there. If you are acting as GC on your own home, then do the GC's work and get out there and find the right rocker.Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Keith C,
When I did the addition to my house, made it a nice vaulted ceiling too, I glued the heck of it, removed the glue a few days later and it was wonderful. I try telling that to new customers - but ya know, change is hard to come by.,
Yep, 54" is the way to go on 9' too if can get them, if not why in the world put a rip in the middle, why not on top. All this comes down to a little common sense; as in standing board up on wooden studs...I just wanted to explain why it's not the best way to do it.
zano,
people put the rip in the middle for ease of finishing. you can stand on the ground and finish the joint.( with automatic tools etc). finishing a joint in the air is a little harder.
i know everyone is going to say that you got to get up there to do the corner but you don't, with taping tools that joint is done from the ground with a corner taper.
if the joint is going to be anywhere i would put it near the floor ( 12" from the deck, then a 4x then a4x), but i would just go to the extra effort to order 54" and have it delivered and staged. just think of all the seams you will have saved.
james
and i almost forgot, if i were to put the seam in the center i would use drywall one size smaller to run the rip, this creates a big 1/8" recess that you could fill with setting type compound and skim with topping.
a note to the original poster, if you rent an airless or have your painter apply the prime coat look into tuff hide, it will make even a half assed job look mutch better.
james
I wasn't trying to bust anyones balls, just observing the insanity.
I think railroading drywall is insane, but sometimes it has to be done, like when a carrier truss changes directions of the ceiling in the middle of a room, or hips goof up the ceiling. As a everyday practice on walls....just seems like alot of extra taping to get away from a butt.......learn how to tape them well and get over the fear.
KeithC
I agree with you totally! I did ask previously that if they stand then up on walls do they also parallel run them on the ceilings - no replies yet? All I'm saying is that since a wooden stud is 1 1/2" wide - one cannot adequatly secure the two boards.
JamesC,
I never want to have a seam 12" from the floor - that to me is so much harder to finish then one up near the ceiling - that's what stilts are for. Of course, guys who use auto boxes, well it is difficult, but true artists always work by hand ;-)
If you have a twisted or warped stud, no matter which way you hang the drywall you will get a lump in the wall. So before you hang make sure the wall is fairly even. Some cracks due to wood shrink and movement should be expected what ever way you hang the sheets. I can only say I've had great success with vertical hanging. Ceiling I hang at right angles to the joists.
Zano
It seem like you are having a hard time convincing people of the benefits of installing rock horizontally. Here are a few points that were not mentioned. When I install the ceiling the perimeter is not screwed to the framing to allow for movement the the longest sheet of rock that can be installed in that room is installed horizontally pushed up against the ceiling. The importance of this is the straight edge of the rock makes a perfectly straight ceiling line because the ceiling rock is resting on the horizontal sheet. This gets rid of all ups and downs of the ceiling framing. Another important point is that your horizontal joint is at 4 feet which for most people is not eye level meaning you are not looking across the joints and the sunlight is not shining across them. Butt joints are a pain but if they are planned and finished properly they will not be noticeable. Ceilings are full of them. And I find jointing a horizontal is much easier. Of course there are places when vertical is better like when the wall is less then 4 feet wide but at least 80% of my hanging is done horizontally.
course there are places when vertical is better like when the wall is less then 4 feet wide but at least 80% of my hanging is done horizontally.
Yep, vertical sure is better in closets; especially linen closets! But, that's about it! Using drywall glue and hanging them horizontally also makes for a level wall and ceiling.
Vertical on wooden studs! Geez, I'm with you there. Who does that?
One other point is that having more vertical seams to tape means a higher likelihood of a nice pattern of stripes from floor to ceiling, when the light hits the walls and casts a shadow on the not-so-good seams that were taped!
Any particular brand of self feeding screw gun that you've had good luck with?Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
senco self feeding cordless. lowes has them for $150 including cut out tool. toughest thing was getting an extra batt. no more metal splinters!! Take the price to HD and they will beat it by 10%.
Thanks for the tip....and BTW, nobody understands where Zano's coming from. ;)Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
In some places I will go horizontal but only when the rock is longer than the wall being covered. Just hate the butt joints. I think there is an 18volt version coming out but the 14.4 is fine. 1.25" screws are plenty long enought and there is a trick when screwing corners as the working parts can drag on the wall surface.
Are you sure it's worth it? I was going to do my own drywall, but decided to get a couple of quotes, just to see how much I was saving. I hired it out. The job was done in 3 days and done right, including texturing the walls and it's quaranteed. I saved my back, my marriage and the backs of several friends. The cost was well worth it. It was done in 3 days, I would be still be trying to get the mud and joints right 3 weeks later!
I plan to build my own home with the next five years and have always said that I would NEVER tape it. Not that I could not do it and to a fine job, but it would take me a year to finish. It is a learned art.
As for hanging it, I thought about it too, but how much can that cost?
What is a fair price to pay for hanging, taping, texturing? Price/sqft? Any contractors?
Well I just read the USG drywall installation manual http://literature.usg.com/pdf/J371.pdf
And on page 6 (I think) it tells you you can hang sheets in either direction (dependent on stud spacing) lots of tips on finishing too. So its up to you and which way works out best.
Back to the carrying part....
A buddy showed me a job site trick a ways back...
guess it'd work for drywall if ya didn't snap it in half in the process.....works great for full sheets of 3/4 ply when there's a stack of a hundred or so in the driveway and the addition is around the back of the mansion....
working from the top of the pile.....slide a sheet off ....tiping one end down to the ground ....so the sheet's standing 4' wide and 8' tall......
now turn around and back into it.....reach back to grap with both hands...bend the knees a bit....grasp tight....and stand.
You'll be amazed at how light a full sheet of 3/4 can feel ...and how well you can walk this sheet all around the job site....
of course..under stuff over 8 ft high. stairs don't work so well either...but up one or down one step is no problem.
Just work the stack down......hardest part at the end is bending down to flip the bottom sheets up into place.
I'd not suggest this in gale force winds either ...ya might take off ....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
The question was CARRYING as was pointed out as least once. Carrying on a 8' truck? I use several "bed extenders" like 2/4's on edge. Strap it down tight or sliding is a problem. Use 2 people to get it on/off truck. Store and hand carry on edge. I have carriers that hook the bottom edge and keep your fingers from board contact. Met several guys that did nothing but move and place rock. Most were on workers comp because of joint injuries. Delivery much easier. Installation a whole different story. You will need cardboard shims. Without something to extend your arm length you will undoubtedly hit the top of a door and have unwanted attention drawn to your back.
I have tried both vertical and horizonal with staggered ends (butt joints). Personnally, its ceiling first (love that 5/8's), then walls horizonally (no bump--edge is tapered) usually about 1/2" off floor. Cut outs for electrical sometimes easier if something like lipstick used to mark edge of box and aligned sheet pushed against it. You won't like it but if circumstances dictate...when done you'll see every little mistake--even with textured surfaces. Watch a pro, compare how you did things, pick up your jaw off the floor and you'll remember this thread--night and day! Go for it! Hanging rock and finishing gyp rock two different things. :) Thor
He asked pros, but your post was entertaining.
I guess I'll just take this PROFESSIONAL contractor's license, kiss off the last 30 years of experience, and take up misreading emails full time. What ARE you referring to?
I dunno, maybe the lipstick thing, maybe I posted to the wrong person?
What do I know, I just got FHB for xmas, and none of this stuff seems to be too hard. I'll toss some lipstick in my toolbox though, never know when you can use some. Thanks for the tip.
That lipstick thing made me roll my eyes a few, trying to figure it out - like why would anyone want to have to mud or paint over greasy lipstick on the wall.
but now I went back to re-read and i think he means something like putting it on the box and slapping drywall up against it for marking instead of using a tape measure.
Myself, I can do without handling the stuff twice - once to mark and once to cut. I got one of those dust making cutout tools..
Excellence is its own reward!
> ....I got one of those dust making cutout tools.
Watchout for the depth setting. There are wires back there in the wall! -
Don't laugh ... it's happened!! (grin)
...........
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Rather than lipstick you can dip a cuetip in paint or mud and stick it in the recepticle holes to locate the cutouts.
Jeff:
That's my favorite method in old age!
That's the only way I can carry a 5X10 sheet of 125#/sheet 1.8 cm baltic birch (did see Nathan carry one 5X10 like a sheet of 4X8, one hand under and one over, but then he's about 6'8" too)
NigelUSA,
On page 104 of the USG Gypsum Construction Handbook under "Perpendicular vs. Parallel Application:, it states: " Perpendicular application generally is preferred because it offers the following advantages".. and then it goes to list the advantages.
However. USG fails to address the problem of crooked, twisted and bent out of shape wooden studs. Drywall failure is caused by wood shrinkage and that's what you must consider when either standing them up or horizontal.
I understand where you are coming from, but its not the drywall's fault when the cracks happen. IF the frame has been built right and is dry or is a re-model (had many years to dry) then you should be ok. But vertical gives a better finish due to the lack of butt seams.
NigelUSA,
True - the infamous butt joint! Hate those uglies! But tell me, do you ever have a high foyer or family room that is say 18 feet high, if you do, how do you stand the boards up? If you do manage to stand them up, then how do you confront the vertical butt joints? What about on ceilings - do you also parallel them? And if a ceiling is more than 16 foot long, how again do you confront the butt joint?
As far as butts, do a research here on "butt joints", you will find a variety of ways to make them flat or you can ask me to drop by one of your jobs and show you how to make them flat, then you can become equal to the highest drywall work around these parts :-)
Zano, when the wall get that big and the job is that many sheets, in comes the sub-contractor and he gets the job done.
Up to 10' high then I will stand them up and have a small space at the bottom for expansion and contraction. Ceilings get the biggest piece that will span the room. (love the drywall hoist) Long side at 90 to the joists. Like the book says in so many words "what works best for the job" I grew up in England where the wall are still plastered and most are very flat. I miss the plasters.
Are they really still doing all the walls with plaster in the UK? The old fashioned way with wood lath--or is it rocklath?
How on earth can they afford to still do plaster?
Most construction is with brick and block with an air space between. Studing (as in US) is very rare due to the high price of wood. floor joists are often concrete beams shaped like rail tracks with expanded foam for insulation with particle board over. My old house in england was all brick with only the joists from wood and rough sawn too. (great for splinters)
Slightly different tangent - how do you sheetrock a wall with an open beam ceiling? Do you put the rock up to the bottom of the beams and piece in between them up to the ceiling, or do you notch the drywall? Or something else?
Nigel,
I know of a a finisher in England and he's busy as Big Ben, he uses the auto boxes to finish drywall. I got some magazines on the drywall trade and in the UK, most interior walls are steel studded with a stud having a flange of 2 inches, so they stand them up. 2 inches does allow space to adequatly screw two boards but a 1 1/2" - ah ah! Drywall is big in the UK, all over Europe now and even in the Estrer European countries, and I think China uses more drywall than the USA does.
Butt joints seem to intimidate a lot of folks. There are ways to hang the ends (butts) so that they are lower (depressed) than the surface plane. But what a pain. What butt joints are all about is deceiving the eye. Big Bertha (24" knife) and I have deceived many an eye. Texture makes it easier. Now if your hanging rock in a kitchen (which gets my straightest studs) and counters or cabinets kiss that wall it's a little different. Sure you can gouge out the backsplash and then caulk but there are no eyes to deceive in countertops, etc. and my clients are high end. I give 'um what they pay for! Thor
PS I wondered if anybody would pick up on that lipstick comment. Sure I use a "dust maker", or a tape measure, or once my wife decided she didn't like some lipstick. Pick your poison depending on the demands of the individual job. We actually used it on some suspended, overhead, oversized sheets (plenty of hands) and it worked well! Lessee, Passionate Pink or maybe Coral Red was my favorite.
Tyr,
Yes, deception is the key but not with semi-gloss or high gloss paints and not with non-white flats, then they are a problem. This even happens with stand ups on glossy paints..one can see the seams since they are not flat. What bugs me is to see a million dollar house with casing around the window/doors and the casing is curved because of the butt joint...let's not talk about fine homebuilding shall we :-(
Too many variables to list that will affect the price. Things like ceiling type, what thickness of drywall you want, the texture you want etc. There are also regional differences based on the market and demand in your area, and of course the quality of the crew. There is always someone out there willing to do it cheaper. I just finished a 16' x 40' family room with a catherdral ceiling and a unique fireplace and a 12' x 5' bathroom with a closet. My cost was $2,000 which included all materials and a light knockdown texture. This was in So. Calif. I had a lot of difficulty even getting a bid because there is so much work going on here. They were in and out in 3 days and I was grateful to get it done. Good luck.
Experienced, but still dangerous!
Drywall cart or a helper. If its multiple stories, a helper is a must. So is a strong back.
I'm glad you have read as much as you can about drywall and are even coming here for more information. I think you will be able to do the job if you really want to. But do you really want to? I haven't done much drywall, and that's a good thing. I've done enough to know those sheets are HEAVY when you are putting them up on the ceiling over your head.
I would be willing to tackle drywalling a single room by myself, but a whole house? No way. It's a lot of work. I'm sure you can do it, but it will be a lot of backbreaking work. Only you can decide.
If you do decide to do it, get a drywall lift, and get some people to help you. Like others above, I used a t-shaped brace for holding the sheets tight to the ceiling while I screwed 'em in.
Good luck.
Press -
1/2" drywall (what's used most often) in sheets longer than 8' are actually rather flimsy. And since it has very little tensile strength, or compressive strength for that matter, you have to carry it vertically, on edge, and keep it from bending. The longer sheets require at least two people to hang on ceiling since holding it in the middle by yourself, the ends flop down and it's really difficult to control.
There's been quite a bit of discussion as to whether you should hang the walls vertically or horizontally. Remember, you need to hang the ceilings first. The sheets on the wall provide some support to the edges of the ceiling. It's common practice in my area not to nail or (preferably) screw the ceiling boards close to the walls to allow some degree of movement that normally occurs in the wood framing.
As to the 'direction' of the sheets, most drywall specs I've read (and written) require that the long dimension of the sheet be applied perpendicular to the framing. Thus for walls it would dictate that the sheets be attached horizontally rather than vertically. Personally, I don't see why it would make much difference. If the framing is somewhat warped, bowed or whatever, it's going to telegraph into the wallboard anyway. If the studs aren't plumb, you'll have just (about) as much trouble with the edges of the sheets as with the ends of the sheets. If you hand the walls horizontally, stagger the butt joints. Vertical hanging, as has been mentioned, provides tapered edge joints throughout and thus a smoother wall. Nine or ten foot ceilings require nine or ten foot sheets. Most tapers around here prefer to have the rip (if you're hangning horizontally) placed in the middle of the wall rather than the bottom (*very* hard to finish) or the top (still harder to finish than if it's in the middle.
Just carry the sheets on edge and keep them as vertical as possible. Then, when you're halfway through the project, remember all the advice about hiring it done! (grin)
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Did anyone mention using a panel carrier ? Mine's just a piece of U-chanel with a handle welded on it, but what a difference - you can buy vaiations on these things for under $10..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Just... DON'T carry them. Leave it to the guys who do. I've Never heard of anyone who said, "I wish I had done the drywall instead of hiring someone... it's too easy"
Get the point???
GEt a wheeled Troll from Duluth Trading Company.
No, I don't work for them, just like the tool.
Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
I can do most things, but drywall is one of the things I prefer to sub out. A good hanging crew can hang it twice as fast as your garden variety carpenters. Taping is an art that is best left to a pro. The guys that do it all the time know what works and can do a much nicer job. I always leave out a window on the second floor for stocking the drywall. It needs to be a 5-0 window for 54" sheets. Assuming the drywall is stocked, then carrying it to where you hang it is not easy no matter what method you use. That stuff is heavy.
Only an amatuer would stand up the drywall vertical. Sorry but vertical is just plain wrong. A good taper can make butt joints dissapear.
A good taper can make butt joints dissapear.
It all depends on several factors such as sunlight, how big the windows are, the height of the windows from the ceiling, recessed lights 2 feet off the wall, type of paint..
Say you have a room such as I had once, it was a senior citizen center, you open the door to the room and there's a wall 32 foot long with 2 windows right at the end of it and the wall is painted with a yellowish semi-gloss paint. There ain't a finisher who can make those butt joints disappear unless he skims the entire wall truly level.
Also, when butt joints are left over windows and doors and casing is used - oh no, once again, you can't make that curve on the casing disappear.
This thread has reminded me of a time an x-coworker tried to insult me.....
As we were carrying the new load of drywall from the delivery truck....
he made an unexpected turn .....I had to side step....we almost lost the sheets we were carrying....
He complained...."U ain't real good at carrying this, are ya....?"
This was about the 10th time in 2 days that he tried to bait me into a fight...
I replied...
"Ya know...of all the stuff I wanna to be good at....carrying drywall isn't one of them..."
everyone else but that big ape got the joke!
Jeff
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Well, Jeff this really isn't to you but gets me on the board. Totally different subject but applies here. This treatise on drywall has grown so big that it was taking forever to load it on the laptop during a lunch break. Then I noticed two things. I could select the range of messages I wanted to see...nice... and the thread title. "Best the way to carry drywall"? How about, "The best way...etc. I think this has gone on long enough but one final comment (I changed whether I wanted to know if anyone had posted anything here) Butt joint, vertical, horizontal, trim bowed etc. have you noticed (retorical only) that WE notice joints and the new homeower NEVER does because they are happy to move in and are concerned about how to make the payments, how the brats (long "a") are doing on the grill, etc., etc. Thor (or Tyr)