Drywalling

[nofishfisherman]

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!

A wonder bar and block of 2x4 works pretty well for this. Frankly I don't think there's a job that the wonder bar can't do.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone. Some good mudding tips that I'll be sure to put into practice.

[bottomdweller]

I am no pro, but Ive done my fair share of hanging and mudding.

I would advise also not to run vertically. Stagger your sheets, use twelve footers where possible. Also I only use the sticky tape on the seams. butt joints and corners use the regular tape. Also on butt joints take a knife and bevel the seams and before you even tape run mud in and fill in the joint with a quick drying mud, makes a better bond, and helps from cracking. Go slow, dont get in a hurry! be patient and it usually ends up being a nice job

On your screw holes, fill them three times, each time in a different direction. After they dry and your are ready for your next round take a trawel and knock down any high areas. Nothing worse than seeing where there was a screw

good luck

[nofishfisherman]

What is the typcial issue with hanging vertically versus horizontally?

Given my room dimensions hanging vertically will give me fewer total joints and zero butt joints on the walls.

Unless there is some sort of overwhelming benefit to hanging horizontally it seems vertical makes the most sense in my individual case. Also 12 footers are out of the question, there is no possible way to get them into the basement.

[soldoncass]

Your basement door must be in a hallway, with a "tee" arrangement? 12 foot by 1/2 inch sheets will go down more places than most people think, because they bend. If you really can't get 12 footers down there(it is a possibility), then that really isn't a choice for you. Many DIYSELFER'S just don't want to deal with the longer sheets, not knowing that they make the job quicker, easier(for 2-3 guys), easier to tape, less tape and mud.

I don't know what your plan looks like, but it is rare to have many walls(between windows and doors) longer than 8-9 feet. Everywhere possible put the joints above and below windows and doors.That cuts down the length of the joints. Just make sure they are near the middle of the window/door, on a stud(NOT by the edge, so the joint will interfere with the casing corners).

It is way easier to tape one 12' horizontal joint at a comfortable 4 ft height than 2 vertical 8' joints from shoe tops to 8' high.(assuming a 12' long wall)

You can do it however you like, but I can tell you that pros do it horizontally....novices do it vertically , because they "think" it will be easier.

[nofishfisherman]

My house was built in the 1940's with a narrow stairway to the basement, at the bottom of the stairs there is only a small landing area and its a complete U turn to get into the basement. I've carried my fair share of 12 footers and i'm aware of the bend they can make, including finding the breaking point on the odd occasion. I've never seen a 12 foot sheet of drywall make as sharp a turn as would be needed. However, I can certainly see the logic of using them when possible.

When I've mudded in the past I've always found butt joints to be the trickiest part of the process. I figure if I can avoid them all together I'll be ahead of the game.

[soldoncass]

I can imagine that your stairway is kinda steep also? Older houses like yours, sometimes have more open stairways....just treads, no risers....or open sides, no walls. If your's is like that ,sometimes it is possible to pop the treads out and drop the sheets straight down, eliminate the turn completely....or slide them down sideways (if no walls on sides). Those two options require about 4 guys to get them down there, instead of 2. Only using 8' sheets on the ceiling will give you many butt joints. In the older houses the floor joists were usually spaced 16 inches....if they are regular 1/2" rock will be fine. If yours are spaced farther apart, you can now get "sag-resistant 1/2" rock that works up to 24" centers....5/8 " rock is becoming a commercial use only item. I'd recommend 1/2 " rock for everything, just get the proper kind for your spaces.

The other thing to watch is ....make sure the wall rock does NOT TOUCH THE FLOOR. Leave a about 1/2" space under it. I once had to cut out and replace the bottom 4' under a stairway, because the rock was tight to the concrete, and it sucked up moisture....mildew went all the way up to the horizontal joint. That wasn't fun , so a word to the wise.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

What is the typcial issue with hanging vertically versus horizontally?

Nothing at all really. Uses a little bit more mud, thats about it. As long as the seems land on studs you are fine for your do it yourself project Nofish. I wouldnt worry about it.

If you are doing everything yourself with no help, including carrying sheets down stairs and hanging, 8ft sheets hung vertically is the easiest way and there is nothing at all majorly wrong with that.

[upnorth]

I hang full sheets vertically, prefer to have a stud behind all seams for strength have seen a few time where horizontal seams break between studs without backing.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Question for you experts. I am planning on doing a textured knockdown kind of finish, how careful do I need to be taping the seams?

[DREZLER]

You need to do a terrific job.

The heavier the texture the more it hides, but no amount of texture will hide a seam that is not flat. Minor imperfections like bubbles or scratches will be hidden however.

[amateurfishing]

depends on what u mean by careful, you want an excellent tight smooth finish with really nice feathering. i rocked my basement & it was by no means perfect, fortunately i also hired out my taping/mudding/knockdown ceiling job and u cannot even tell i rocked it, BUT we got house brand new in mid 2005 and where builder got lazy is very obviuous with screw heads & bad tape jobs, taper i hired i actaully paid him couple extra bucks to hit a few "bad" tape spots in my house to pull tape seam off and start from scratch again, well worth while if those seems ever become visible they are an eyesore.

[PurpleFloyd]

I have hung drywall both vertically and horizontally and prefer horizontally. Every house that I can remember being built or remodeled save maybe 2 or 3 in 20 years had been done horizontally.

[JeremyCampbell]

I have a painting company and I specialize in drywall hang and tape.Important thing is your first pieces are square.Rent a lift they are 20 bucks.Set your screw correctly and it it ends up a little off don't stress it.The tapers will make it look good.It's a laboring project so keep your work site clean

[fishhuntwork]

I got my basement drywall hung and taped and mudded. Now its time to put on a first coat of paint. What kind of paint should I use, I know they make paint specifically for new drywall. Should I use a sealer/ primer or one or the other. My ceiling is a knockdown and the walls are flat. I will be rolling it on. Any help would be great, thanks like always.

[amateurfishing]

we did kilz primer, worked great, also spend $100 on a "paint machine" that just plugs into gallon cans with roller. $$$ well spent for us to prime entire basement and paint our knock down ceiling as well. lots of saved time not having to go back to paint tray

[nofishfisherman]

Well I got my basement drywalled and just did the final sanding on the third coat of mud last night. I ended up having help from my dad with hanging most of the drywall and we ended up hanging the walls vertically and it worked well. I was able to get all of the joints nice and tight which made taping and mudding easier.

I did all of the mudding and taping by myself and it took me a week of working nights and a weekend to get it done, overall I'm happy with it. There are probably a few minor imperfections but the joints came out nice and you can only feel a slight rise as you move your hand across the wall, once its primed you'll never be able to see the seems. If I had to do it again I'd still do the mudding myself but that would be about the biggest mudding/taping job I would want to do on my own.

Primer goes on tonight.

[fishnowworknever]

Well I got my basement drywalled and just did the final sanding on the third coat of mud last night. I ended up having help from my dad with hanging most of the drywall and we ended up hanging the walls vertically and it worked well. I was able to get all of the joints nice and tight which made taping and mudding easier.

I did all of the mudding and taping by myself and it took me a week of working nights and a weekend to get it done, overall I'm happy with it. There are probably a few minor imperfections but the joints came out nice and you can only feel a slight rise as you move your hand across the wall, once its primed you'll never be able to see the seems. If I had to do it again I'd still do the mudding myself but that would be about the biggest mudding/taping job I would want to do on my own.

Primer goes on tonight.

Nice job.

Sure seems like a lot of extra work to hang them vertically.

Commerical is vertical residential is horizontal/railroad. Either way works but vertical = more seams and more prone to cracking.

I hung drywall for 5 years, never once did we hang vertical in a house. I assume you had to add 2x4 backers in-between some studs?

[nofishfisherman]

Running them vertically may have been a little more work but it actually gave me far fewer seams to deal with. It also eliminated all butt joints on the walls. I calculated the seam length done both ways before I started and running vertically eliminated quite a bit of seam length. It helps that I'm dealing with a low ceiling in the basement that is under 8 feet.

I didn't have to add any 2x4 backers. The walls were framed 16 on center so that puts a stud at the center of every seam when run vertically.

[old goose hunter]

Anyone know what I can expect to pay per square foot to have my basement

drywall taped. I have done it myself many times, I am slow and do not

care to do it. The rock is hung, and done right, not a hack job I want

someone to fix. Just trying to decide if I should pay someone and save myself about a month an a half of headaches?

[K_Josh87]

around $20 per sheet I think i was quoted on the house I am generaling this summer...

Well worth the money... Taping is an art... either you can do it, or you can't.