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. Sometimes, the drywall does not horizontally reach a stud.
Measure and cut drywall for the ceiling
To determine where the first panel's end will land, measure out from a corner, perpendicular to the strapping, or the joists. If the panel doesn't span the entire ceiling, its end must land on the center of a strapping piece or joist.
Drywall Estimating Rule of Thumb: By Square Foot
9′ ceilings: living area X 3.8 + 500 sq ft (approx) for garage. 10′ ceilings: living area X 4.1 + 500 sq ft (approx) for garage. 11′ ceilings: living area X 4.5 + 500 sq ft (approx) for garage. Add 0.4 to multiple for each additional foot in ceiling height.
Vertical joints in drywall are also called "butt joints." 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.
Only the two long sides of drywall are tapered, but not the shorter ends. The beveled edge is only 1/8-inch thinner than the rest of the drywall, but it's enough to fit tape and mud to hide a seam where two tapered drywall edges come together.
However, during installation, be diligent about keeping that 1/8 inch space between sheets by using a guide. The blade of a drywall square is about 1/8-inch-thick and does the trick. Thin strips of wood can also be used as spacing guides.
While drywall alone can hold about 1.6 pounds to 2 pounds per square foot, mounting an object to the stud with the proper hardware allows the drywall to support up to 100 pounds.
Drywall is attached flush to the studs, so the stud's depth depends on the thickness of the drywall. The most common drywall for interior walls is 1/2-inch thick. You may also encounter thicker 5/8-inch drywall, which is sometimes used for ceilings or with rooms that require soundproofing.
It might sound counter intuitive at first to leave space between your floor and your wall, but you should always leave a ½ inch to ⅝ inch gap between drywall and the floor. There are several reasons for this: Drywall absorbs moisture.
Hides uneven studs – Hanging horizontally also allows the drywall to flow over the framing so that bowed studs create less of a problem. If the drywall were hung vertically and a seam placed on a bowed out stud, the seam would be magnified because of the bump in the wall.
If you do not screw into a stud when hanging drywall, it can cause the joint to fail. If a stud is missing in the spot where you're hanging drywall, add another stud to the frame if you can. Most everyone thinks they know how to drive a nail or screw, but a particular technique is needed to secure screws in drywall.
high or less, attaching the drywall horizontally can reduce the lineal footage of seams by as much as 25% over vertical attachment. When combined with the longest sheets possible, butt seams are minimized, and those that do appear land between studs where they can be back-blocked to make them easier to finish.
Yes you can, but it is not always easy to do. The joists may not be perfectly spaced and you only have a 1-1/2 inch target for attaching two edges of the drywall. As well, the floor joists are often not perfectly on the same plane, with one or more of the floor joists being slightly lower or higher than the others.
Toggle bolts are the types of drywall anchors that can support up to 50 pounds, while steel hollow-wall anchors have a drywall anchors weight limit of up to 100 pounds.
No problem! The best way to hang things without a wall anchor is by securing the item to a stud. This can be as simple as driving a screw straight into the drywall and then into the stud, or a piece of wood can be mounted to span multiple studs.
If you're hanging a heavy mirror on drywall without the support of a stud, you need drywall anchors that can bear the weight of your mirror. Check out sleeve expansion anchors for lighter weights. To install, drill a pilot hole then insert the anchor and tap or screw it into place, flush against the wall.
1/4-Inch-Thick Drywall
While not a common application, drywall sheets that are 1/4-inch thick are valuable when you need to install drywall on slightly curved surfaces. If the drywall is not quite meeting the curve, you can slightly dampen the drywall to make it more flexible.
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.
The drywall screw length should generally be about 1-1/4 inches longer than the thickness of the sheetrock. So, for ½-inch drywall, you would want to use 1 1/4-inch or 1 5/8-inch drywall screws for attaching 1/2-inch drywall to wood studs.
On commercial jobs, fire codes often require seams to fall on the entire length of the framing, so the drywall must be hung vertically. However, on residential jobs, the drywall on the walls is typically hung horizontally. For walls 9 feet high or shorter, hanging the drywall horizontally has a number of benefits.
Why Sheetrock Should Be Staggered. Sheetrock can be hung in even, parallel rows or it can be staggered to create T-shaped junctions. Ultimately, staggered seams are stronger because the joints – the weakest part of the wall or ceiling installation – are minimized.
When hanging drywall, always hang the ceiling first. This is the hardest drywall to hang, so get a partner and go slow. Large cracks due to misaligned sheets are hard to repair because the extra mud required to fill them will constantly fall out and drop to the floor (or worse, down the back of your neck!).