Minimum # of screws to hold up 1/2″ ceiling drywall
kyrral
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I want to tack up a ceiling using 2 guys and then let one guy finish while waiting on an inspection (rather than just waiting).
Replies
6
Or, just build yourself a drywall hoist. 1 man job.
I've seen folks get away with 2, on an 8-foot board. But I'd use the lift.
Try Google!
Just search 'drywall nailing schedule' and you'll find all sorts of nice diagrams, showing various nail / screw schemes.
Or, you could just 'wing it'. However you do it, if the screws are more than 8" apart, you're doing it wrong.You'll probably use about 40 screws per board. This count is NOT affected by whether you use glue, or not.
Am I 'for real?" Well, I have seen inspectors show up with sticks marked to check screw spacing.
Reno, note that he's just talking about "tacking" the boards up, to be finished later.
Yea, Right
I note the OP also said "waiting for inspection." Those screws need to be in before the inspector gets there.
I work alongside drywall guys all the time, and the boards are 'tacked in place' for only a few moments - not for any particular length of time. How many screws? Well, if you don't have enough, you'll find out - within moments- as the board comes crashing down. It's not that hard to pull a screww all the way through the rock. If I was doing this alone, I'd have big, fat fender washers on those first few screws- to be removed once all the other screws are in.
This wrestling match ... holding the board up while the screws are set .... is where a lift, or braces, or some device that will hold the boards firmly in place really pay off. Otherwise, unless you've practiced with someone quite a bit, you'll want several guys to hold it in place while the screws are set - and you might as well set a bunch of screws at once.
The ceiling is also -typically- covered before the walls are, and the wall sheets then butted to it. This will help support the edges of the ceiling panels.
I note that the schedules also tell you to start from the center and work out ... not quite what you'll be doing if you just tack the corners down.
The implication of "waiting
The implication of "waiting on an inspection" is that something other than the drywall was being inspected, and the individual waiting might thus be engaged in a productive activity -- finishing the drywall fastening -- while waiting for the inspector to show up.
Baloney
I cannot imagine any inspection that would cause you to 'wait,' while at the same time allow you to hang drywall. There are three possible choices: The drywall will conceal what's being inspected, the drywall is what's being inspected, and the drywall doesn't matter.
If you can hang drywall, then hang it. There's only one 'count' of screws that matters - the count the schedule calls for. The screws can't be mudded over before the inspection. Nor will the inspector say "looks good- go ahead and put in the rest of the screws.' Instead, you'll get 'call me after the screws are in, and you're really ready for inspection!'
The practice I've seen rock crews follow has them 'filling in' the screws AS they hang the rock. Hang a board, finish screwing it, hang the next board, etc. I've never seen them hang a job with 'minimal' screws, then go back and fill in the rest.
The sheets are also held in place until many of the screws are in - not just a few. The 'other' guy holds the board up until he has to step aside to make room for the guy with the screw gun. At no point is the board left dangling by a few screws.
Drywall is heavy. Screws are small. The stuff is hanging over your head. How many chances do you want to take?
So you've never had to wait an hour for an inspector to show up??
I've certainly had to wait an hour or more for an inspector to show up. However, I wouldn't count on that time to be able to finish my job.
Drywall hoist
What is it? Any pics
what is what - drywall lift?
pic of my hombuilt one, < $10 welded up out of scrap heap parts.
I put up a ceiling in a room when I was younger by myself with a homemade wooden T-post.. It's harder than it looks, and it looks hard. Yours looks a lot easier.
Thanks: Yep, went pretty easy, and was hanging 5/8 firecode board also.
Over at BT3 if I put that pic up I'd get scrammed for hanging the wall before the ceiling, eh ?
Did take me most of a day to weld up the lifts and fit my ATV winch to it so it was motorized too.
Wait For Inspector?
Absolutely - all the time. The most recent time was last Thursday; the crew had rocked and insulated, and needed inspection before they could close the other side of the walls in.
The point is, you call when you're ready for inspection .... and you're not allowed to continue to the next step until the inspector signs off on the job.
If you want the framing / rough inspection, you better not be hanging drywall when the inspector comes! His first directive will be to remove the drywall, so he can inspect!
If he's coming to inspect the drywall, you better have ALL the screws in, per the schedule.
If the inspection is completely unrelated ... say, for the plumbing in another area ... we're right back to 'what's the point?
Does the OP want to have two guys on the clock tacking up all the rock ... call for inspection ... send one guy home ... and have the remaining guy finish screwing in the rock while he waits for the inspector to arrive? Good luck with that; if it was a practical way to do things, I'm pretty sure I'd see it done that way. I never have. It's always fastened as they go along. This spaeks volumes, as typically you have to call today for inspection tomorrow (it's the building department, not the fire department!) - it would be simple to hang it all in the morning, then only have one guy there for the afternoon. Delays? Well, he can work all night, if need be.
I've seen it done with 6 but 8 will certianly do.