For walls nine feet high or shorter, hanging the drywall horizontally has a number of benefits. Fewer seams – Horizontal hanging reduces the lineal footage of seams by about 25%. Keeping the footage of seams to a minimum will result in less taping and a better looking finished job.
Always hang drywall horizontally when it makes sense materially and you are capable of working precision work from the ceiling to the floor. Horizontal creates less seams to finish and when it comes to drywall, less seams mean smoother walls.
Following the stud marks on the ceiling, drive a line of five screws through the drywall and into each stud. Start screwing into a stud close to the middle of the panel and work outward. Continue hanging panels along the top of the wall, right over any window and door openings.
Does it matter which way you hang drywall? Hanging drywall can be done both vertically and horizontally. This entirely depends upon the fire codes and regulations in your location. For instance, many commercial buildings require drywall to be installed vertically.
Ceiling drywall should always be installed perpendicular to the joists, even when they are 16 inches on-center. Drywall is much stronger along the length of the panel because the paper facing provides the strength, and the paper grain runs lengthwise.
Walls that run perpendicular to the joists are load-bearing walls. Walls that are parallel to the joists rarely are, but sometimes a bearing wall will be aligned directly under a single joist. If purlin bracing is attached to the top of a wall or is supported by a wall, it's a load-bearing wall.
In general, a 1/2 inch thick drywall panel can span up to 24 inches on a ceiling when it is properly supported and the load on the panel is not excessive.
Always leave a 1/2-inch gap at the floor. This allows for floor and wall expansion without cracking the drywall. It also helps prevents moisture wicking if the floor floods. Wear work gloves, safety goggles and a dust mask when hanging drywall.
Hang the Ceiling First
This makes it much easier to manage and attach the panels since you will not have to fumble around with the screws, measuring tape, and so on. Screws for drywall lids should be placed no closer than 16” from the wall. This allows the drywall to have a bit of flexibility to prevent ceiling cracks.
Professional drywall installers consider horizontal placement to be a stronger form of installation. Start with the top row of drywall sheets and butt them up against the ceiling. Then, add the lower row of drywall sheets. This row will usually need to be cut down a few inches.
Keeping the joints between sheets of drywall too close is an invitation for troubles along the way. Professional drywall installers allow for ⅛-inch space between sheetrock placement, and this allows for expansion and contraction for the frame of the building, avoiding cracks and damage to the drywall.
Stud boards run vertically through the walls, from the ceilings to the floors. Inside your house, they're covered in drywall or plaster, so they aren't immediately visible. You might wonder, "How far apart are studs?" These framing boards are usually spaced 16 inches or 24 inches apart during construction.
Number of Screws Per Sheet of Drywall
Use about 32 drywall screws per sheet of 4-foot by 8-foot drywall installed horizontally on a wall. This total is comprised of four screws on the five middle studs and six screws on each of the two sides.
Commercial: Hang the drywall vertically. On commercial jobs, fire codes often require seams to fall on the entire length of the framing, so the drywall must be hung vertically. Residential: How high are the walls? For walls nine feet high or shorter, hanging the drywall horizontally has a number of benefits.
While the flooring that is laid down after the drywall is installed will correct imperfections in the floor, any small hill in the concrete will cause a full sheet of drywall to be out of level if the drywall is placed directly on the floor.
Many installers prefer vertical placement when learning how to hang drywall since taller drywall sheets may fit exactly. Plus, they affix tightly to evenly spaced studs, so they'll stay sturdy and fight the forces of gravity.
The vertical edges of the sheet should attach to studs. Score the front side and cut away the paper backing. Smooth any rough edges and position the piece. Mark the studs and drive in screws to secure the drywall.
All edges of all sheets of drywall must land on a solid surface such as a stud. A hanging drywall edge may work in the short-term, but in the long-term it can result in cracks and other serious wall issues.
Furthermore, double drywall contributes to better fire protection, especially when using fire-rated drywall. It also aids in insulation, making it ideal for homes located in extreme climates.
One key difference between the two is that sheetrock is a brand name of drywall made by the United States Gypsum Corporation. Another difference lies in their production process; sheetrock has a slightly denser core than drywall due to the addition of a small amount of wood fiber to the gypsum core.
Drywall screws for ceilings
The screws are recommended to be installed 7-8 inches from all edges from the sheet, and 12 inches apart from each other across the surface of the board.
Building walls of 2x6s 24-inch on-center has long been permitted in building codes in most jurisdictions, and is particularly appropriate for colder climates (IECC Climate Zones 5-8) where higher wall R-values are required (Baczek, Yost, and Finegan 2002; DOE 2002; Lstiburek 2010).