Hanging Sheetrock

Many people consider hiring a professional for hanging sheetrock as well as doing the sheetrock taping, mudding and painting, but by hanging your own sheetrock you could save a fortune off the labor costs of your project.

Paperless Drywall

It's a fact - anyone can succeed with hanging sheetrock if you properly prepare and collect the right tools for the job. Thankfully the necessary tools are not very expensive, so the job is easily possible for any homeowner.

So you've added a new room to your house, or you've created a new addition. The area is framed up and the floor is finished, but the walls and ceiling remain. Before you start putting up drywall, make sure all of the plumbing and wiring through the wall joists are completed. Also, exterior walls need to be insulated before putting up sheetrock. An important consideration when you're drilling holes through your studs in order to pass wires or pipes through - most local codes require that you drill holes a certain distance (usually halfway) from the edge of the stud. This is because if you drill the hole too close to the edge, when you drill in a screw to attach the drywall, there's a danger of striking an electrical wire - which could result in fire or serious injury. Take care of all wall work before you start hanging sheetrock, and make sure that you understand your local building codes if you're doing your own work.

It requires far less effort to hang sheetrock on the walls. This is because, for the most part, gravity is your friend and helps to hold the drywall in place while you attach it to the wall. In the case of hanging sheets on the ceiling, the opposite is true. In this case, gravity works against you at every turn. Because of this fact, overhead drywall work requires a few more tools and one or two extra helpers. To hang your own sheetrock, you'll need the following supplies:

• A high quality utility knife with extra blades
• Tape measure
• A straight edge, usually a T-square or a level is best
• Carpenter's pencil
• A drill with both drill bits and screwdriver bits
• If you use a cordless drill, have one or two extra batteries fully charged
• A jig saw
• Rent a sheet rock lift for overhead work
• Sheetrock screws (about 30 for each sheet)
• Measure the walls and ceiling and determine how many 4' by 8' sheets (or longer sheets if you prefer) of drywall you need to cover it all. Add about 10 percent for mistakes or "practice."

Don't consider hanging sheets on the ceiling without renting a sheetrock lift. Such a lift is critical to hold the sheetrock in place against the ceiling joints as you attach it. Renting one is relatively cheap considering the time and trouble that it saves, so rent one the day you're ready to hang sheetrock on the ceiling.

Have a surface somewhere on the floor prepared for measuring and cutting your sheetrock. Follow this procedure to attach each sheet to the ceiling.

• Before positioning a sheet, determine any light fixtures that the sheet will cover once it's in place. With your measuring tape, determine the distance from the two nearest edges to the one corner of the fixture outlet, and then measure the height and width of the required opening.
• Using your dimensions, draw the opening onto your sheetrock and then drill a hole larger than the width of your jigsaw blade at one corner of the opening.
• Insert your jigsaw blade and cut out the fixture opening. Repeat for any other fixtures.
• Before positioning the sheet, measure where the wall studs will fall and mark those locations on your drywall. Using a straight edge, draw lines across the face of your drywall to mark where the wall studs are.
• With someone helping you, mount the sheet onto the sheet rock lift.
• Run the lift up so that the sheet is positioned in place perpendicular to the ceiling joists.
• Using your drill with the screwdriver bit, drive the first sheetrock screw at the center of the sheet, and then continue driving the screws every six inches toward the edge of the sheet.
• Every time you attach a screw, make sure that it's "dimpled." This means the head of the screw stops just below the surface level of the drywall.

Once you're done applying all of the ceiling drywall sheets, you're ready to move on to the walls.

Hanging drywall sheets on the wall is much easier than attaching them to the ceiling. The big question is whether to hang the sheets vertically or horizontally. Some builders prefer vertical because this often covers the entire wall, and you can purchase the sheetrock length that covers your wall height. At the same time the side seams of drywall is tapered to allow for easier mudding. Other builders prefer horizontal because there are fewer seams for each wall. There is no "correct" way - just choose the method that works best for your situation. The procedure is almost identical as the one for the ceiling.

• Measure, mark and cut openings for outlets and light switches.
• If hanging them alone, place the bottom of the sheet on the floor of the wall and lift the sheet up and into place.
• You may need to take it back down to correct some of your original cuts - this is normal.
• Again, attach the sheet to the wall with sheetrock screws starting from the center of the sheet and work outward.

The entire process of putting up sheetrock isn't difficult, it's just somewhat time-consuming. However, by practicing patience and double-checking all of your measurements, you'll have your new wall up and ready for mudding in no time.

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