Drywalling

[fishhuntwork]

I'm drywalling my basement and really not looking forward doing it. I installed can lights for the ceilings and just have the basic electric boxes on the walls. Is there any tips on doing it? I have thought about hiring a drywall company to come in and do it. My taping skills are not very good so someone else will be doing the taping.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Make sure all of your screws are sunk below the surface of the rock! the tapers always love screws that arent sunk! Dont sink them half way through the rock though they just need to be sunk so you dont feel any of the screw head when you run your finger over it.

Cutting the outlets and cans out is much easier and faster with a roto zip, but if youve never used one it could take some getting used to.

Obviously, the tighter you get your long seems and butt joints the better.

Also, for the ceiling i would recommend snapping a line and running your first row off it. If the first row is srtaight this will make the rest of the ceiling much easier! (long seems will be tight and butt joints square)

Same with each wall you do, make sure first sheet goes on level... sets the rest of the wall.

Hopefully you have some help and/or a lift for the ceiling!

GOOD LUCK!

[cavalierowner]

First off, measure, measure, measure for those openings! There is a way to do it with a Rotozip, but it can be a bit of a challenge the first time. What I was taught years ago to check for too high screws or nails was to run a drywall knife over all the screws and listen for "clickers"; you will hear the knife if it touches a screw. I would suggest renting a drywall lift for the ceiling for sure or even the walls if you don't have some help. With the drywall lift you can take your time positioning the sheet without breaking a sweat. I once rocked a vaulted ceiling with 12' sheets all by myself!

I'm with you on hiring the taping; I don't know what it is with taping, I never could get the hang of it. You may have to look around a bit for a taper, I found that there are a few companies out there who don't want to tape a DIY drywall job.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Put 5/8 rock on the ceilings, 1/2 on the walls. You can by a tool for your drill that stops you from sinking screws too deep, 10 dollars or so. By or borrow a 4 foot square for cutting. Keep a loose electric box handy to trace out the size of the box to get the size correct. Put ceiling up first so the walls are shoved up tight and holds ceiling rock up. Make sure you have adequate backing in corners for screwing. You can get a mud that makes less dust, not sure the brand name but it is worth it, sanding makes a lot of rock dust. Fiber tape is easier to put on than regular paper tape. That is all I can think of right now.

[amateurfishing]

just did this last fall

as stated above: 5/8 for ceiling (do b4 walls) & 1/2 inch b4 walls, did entire basement by self with family helping out,got all of ceiing & 1/3 of walls done with help, wife & i had to finish rest oursef over 1 month period. highly recommend drywall lift for ceiing (person hired to mud & tape for us lent us his for free if he got the job which we did)

but when all was said and done with drywall & delivery purchase, beers, pizza, mistakes, drywall screw sinker (@ $10/ea and breaking 4) water gatorade, snacks, family hotel rooms, etc. $$$$$$$ adds up fast. bang for your buck in hindsight for my endeavor would have been having someone else deliver & hang in 1 day and have taping/mudding done in a week (especially with 3 small kids) ran into drill problems, bit probems, measuring mistakes, cutting mistakes, and so on. all in all our mudder/taper did a fantastic job to hide our issues, cant even tell i did the drywalling, but if time is $$$ to you and your time is more important and want it done fast & clean, i would highly consider having it hired out, especially if ur a novice. if u got time to waste, dont mind running to store periodically for tool issues, etc. then have at it & be a good learning experience. ps. doing it myself did end up getting me a new toy or 2 in drills, etc. also if you do yoursef, highy recommend that you have extra battery/charger or 2, worst thing in the world is everything going great and have to wait to hang the rock cause drill batteries cant keep up and charge.

[K_Josh87]

if drills are an issue, buy an electric one and be done with it. They are plenty cheap enough, adjustable, and MADE to do what you are doing... I think regular ones can be had for 60 bucks or less for decent name brand tools, and my self feeding senco I believe was only 120 bucks, and has saved me that plus more in labor in the couple rocking jobs i have done...

[fishhuntwork]

What is the easiest way to carry down 55 sheet of 4x8x1/2 drywall?

[delcecchi]

Those guys still stand around outside Home Depot?

Know the local HS Football team? Put a want ad in your favorite online place?

[CAMAN]

Two guys and a case of beer.

[cavalierowner]

What is the easiest way to carry down 55 sheet of 4x8x1/2 drywall?

There is no easy way to do that unless someone else is doing it If you have a large enough window in the basement that you can get to from the outside, you may be able to bring the sheets in through the window. If you can take out the operable sash, that can help too. Just be sure to protect the frame so you don't damage it.

Just out of curiosity, no 12' sheets?? 12' sheets (while heavier and a bit harder to handle) can minimize butt joints. While the wall sheets can be run vertically, it's stronger to run them horizontally and will be much easier to tape.

[Tom7227]

hire it out. it will be done in about 2 days and you can get on to something that is more important.

[Ballyhoo]

Make sure you have a taper lined up before you start as like somebody else said many guys will not tape a job that they didn't hang. A poor job of hanging rock makes a tapers job twice as hard.

If you want to try taping yourself, buy the stick on tape. It is gridded so it holds the mud better. that way you don't need a banjo. it takes a little more mud to cover up the tape but you can end up with a quality job in the end.

I did my own basement with some friends and some beer. Made the mistake of bringing the beer out too soon and a couple of the outlet holes and seams got bigger than needed to be. Keep the beer for after the job is done.

[NoWiser]

There is no "easy" way to carry or hang drywall. I've done pretty much everything in the construction industry from masonry and cement work, to electrical, to roofing, and everything in between. Out of everything, I hate drywalling the most, by far. Dust in your eyes, sore arms and shoulders from holding sheets in place, missing studs and rafters with the screws. I absolutely hate it. I sheetrocked the addition to my house just before the 4th of July last summer. It was about 700 square feet. I hurt my neck doing the ceiling and couldn't turn my head to look over my left shoulder for almost 6 months.

Then again you may be like my buddy and not mind it, but I think he is on drugs or something Good luck if you give it a shot! Make sure you spend the couple of extra bucks and get the lightweight stuff!

[SkunkedAgain]

I hung all of the drywall in my basement remodel. Everything turned out great and the taper/mudder that I hired didn't mind that I did the work. In an a down economy, they are always happy to have work. The only thing that I goofed on was that I didn't stagger the vertical seems on my drywall, which could lead to premature cracking.

[nofishfisherman]

I'll be drywalling my basement in the next week or so and have one quick question.

Due to some duct work and soffits and generally low ceilings the bulk of my walls are under 8 feet tall. I am debating if I should run the drywall vertically here so that I can just trim one short end of the sheet or if I should run horizontally and trim the long bottom edge of the bottom sheet. I think if I run it vertically I'll end up with less joints and I won't have to worry about staggering the long horizontal joints.

Obviously I'll make sure any vertical joints land on a stud.

I've done a little drywalling before on a small bathroom remodel. I hung and taped it myself and plan on doing the same in the basement. I did use the sticky mesh tape and that made things easier. The final product turned out decent. It just took a lot of patience and the willingness to put on an extra coat or two of mud and to do alot more sanding than a pro would likely have to do.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Nofish- I would just run them vertically and eliminate any butt joint or low seem in that area. Sheet rock is not run for strengthening walls very often... Its for fire proofing and finishing! The difference in strength from vertical to horizontal is minimal and you dont have to worry about strength on energy walls in a basement!

This also eliminates butt joints which are a pain to tape. I would much rather tape a recessed seem from floor to ceiling then a couple butt joints.

[nofishfisherman]

Thats what i was thinking. Not worried about any added strength, just looking to make taping/mudding as easy as possible.

[soldoncass]

Just like any job, there are many different ways to do things....there is the "professional way", which has been proven to be best,quickest,less call-backs, most profitable way....and there are the "other" ways. The professional way is to hang the ceiling first (going across the joists, NOT the same direction), then the walls,(horizontally)pushing the top sheet up first tight to the ceiling, then the bottom sheet tight to the first. Always stagger the joints(ceiling and walls). A 12 foot sheet makes for less joints, and less mud. It is up to you if you do it the best way....or one of the "other" ways. Good luck.

[cavalierowner]

Thats what i was thinking. Not worried about any added strength, just looking to make taping/mudding as easy as possible.

If you want to make your mudding and taping as easy as possible, you really don't want to run your sheets vertically, believe me! Think about taping those vertical tapered joints: Start at the top on a stool to reach 8', then immediately off the stool and all the way down to the floor. Read what soldoncass wrote and do it that way. The reason professionals do it the way they do is that it gives the best result and it's the easiest, quickest and cheapest. Buy the 12' sheets to minimize butt joints.

If you decide to hire out the taping, you definitely want to run everything perpendicular to framing or the taper that's hired will charge you more and take your name in vain Trust me, been there, done that many years ago

[amateurfishing]

just did my basement last fall, believe me as a novice/amateur bang for your buck considering time/expertise/$$$/etc. you will get more value for your dollar by hiring it out. they will order, hang, tape/mud, etc, better, faster, quicker, more precise. by the time i had family help and reimbursed for gas, cheap hotel, sodas, coffee, pizza, etc. it was a break even $$$ just took 4 times longer to finish as only had help with ceiling, had to finish walls by self. if u do urself, HIGHLY recommend aquiring sheet rock lift of some kind. good luck

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Cavalier- he is saying walls less then 8 ft... you do it horizontally, which yes is technically the "right" way, you still have to rip THE ENTIRE bottom off the bottom sheet to get it to fit and you still have but joints to deal with. 12' sheets dont always work in a basement, especially when you cant get them down the stairs. So i dont know if the "professional" way you speak of is the "best" way in Nofish's case. vertical seems are really not that hard to tape, done it many times. Sure they might use a little more mud, big deal. Not like its 10 bags more. They are easier then a butt joint, especially for a novice.

Yes if he hires out a crew they would do it that way, but if hes doing it himself, which it sounds like, life will be more difficult doing it the "professional" way. Thats the reason i suggested to run them vertically on the walls. all 8ft sheets, easy to carry and get into the basement and easier to hang, for him by himself, vertically.

[nofishfisherman]

I get what you guys are saying. The pro way may not always line up with what makes sense for a DYI'er

If I run it vertically I won't have any butt joints which is what I'm aiming for and I'll also have less total joints to mud and tape. Also with the ceiling under 8 ft and me being 6'4 I won't be needing any step ladders for the mudding or taping of the walls.

I'll be using 8 foot sheets since theres no way 12 footers are making the turn into my basement. Should be drywalling in the next week or so hopefully so we'll see how it goes.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Would suggest a couple "toe kick" tools also nofish. they go underneath the sheet as your hanging it and you can run them with your feet to pin the sheet tight to the ceiling. you can probably get by with one if your running them vertically and just put it in the middle of the sheet on the bottom. They are very inexpensive and are very handy when sheetrocking by yourself!

Also, when you start mudding after you have all your fiberglass tape spread, I would suggest doing a coat of set fast for the first coat. 210 is better for a novice. spread the set-fast out over the seems and joints first and go heavy in the recess seems, do the screws last when the mud is starting to set up a little. Get a nice heavy coat of set fast on first then use topping for the next couple. Try to keep it smooth, but the topping will smooth out most ripples/ridges. Set-fast does not shrink and will minimize cracking. This is one of the biggest mistakes i see homeowners make when mudding themselves... the just use topping instead of a coat of setfast first, and everything ends up cracking. Before you start sanding all the vertical seems, stick a taping knife thats wider then the recess seem across the seem in a few spots to check and see if the recess is full! If the mud doesnt touch the middle of the knife add another coat in that area! This is about all i can think of for help- good luck

[kerryd15]

If your using buckets of mud, make sure you mix it well first.

check out drywallschool dot com - best thing i ever did.

Use a quick set on first coat- filling the joints- before you tape.You want the joints between the sheets full also helps with ceiling sagging if its not tight.

Mix the first coat the thickest. thinner on each coat after that.

I sheetrocked and mudded my whole house. Had never done it before. Turned out well after 5 years very minimal cracking.

I liked a corner trowel. some don't.

I didn't sand untill the last coat was on. And verry minimal sanding was needed. Just used a little block sander.

[CAMAN]

I haven't seen anyone post it yet but try your best to keep vertical seams away from windows and doors. Cracks can and will form.