Well this is a very different post. Most people will just
want to move on...
tfurrows mentioned that he will soon be installing some
drywall, so I thought I'd share my tips on tools, materials,
and techniques. I'm sure I have forgotten things in the
tools and materials lists. I'll likely update this post if I
recognize any omissions.
There are a couple of product links below, which seems so
contrary to the spirit of gopher. My apologies, but they
were the easiest way to go.
Tools:
* get a carrier like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-Panel-Carry-Orange-93-300K/202262083
For less than $10, your back will thank you forever. It's
great for carrying plywood sheets too.
* if you're doing a ceiling, consider buying or renting a
lift, like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Troy-Professional-Drywall-and-Panel-Hoist-DPH11/203900041
I've done the ceilings in most of my house over the years
and the lift is so much more civilized than wrestling panels
to the ceiling and jamming those 2x4 T's up under them. If
you're working alone doing ceilings, the lift is an absolute
necessity.
* a utility knife, a drywall saw and a drywall square for
cutting panels.
* a drywall dimpler bit for your drill -- and the screws.
Choose a screw length that will prevent you from hitting
anything electrical. I hesitate to make a recommendation on
the screw length, because I don't know the electrical code
where you live.
* you'll need at least a four inch and a ten or twelve inch
taping knife. For holding the mud, a hawk is better than a
drywall pan, but you'll have to figure out how much you want
to spend. If you can borrow any of this stuff from friends
and neighbours, all the better.
* a foot-long sanding block and some metal screen
'sandpaper' for sanding across joints.
* foam sanding blocks are great for finishing and doing the
inside of corners. You don't need many of them and they seem
to cut down drywall much better than anything else.
* vacuum bags for a shop vac, if you have one.
* a five gallon bucket is always good to have around.
Materials:
* buy the lighter drywall panels. I generally look for
"feather lite" or something like that. I don't even know why
they make the original kind any more.
* the pre-mixed mud in the boxes that the contractors use is
the best. I use the joint compound for the first fill and
the finish compound afterward. The lite stuff sands easily
(it almost comes off the wall like icing sugar). It also
dents easily, but it hardens up once you prime it.
* drywall tape and corner pieces.
Techniques:
* if you're drywalling rooms with walls less than 10 feet
long, hang the panels horizontally across the studs on your
walls. Doing so minimizes any 'waviness' in the studs.
Anywhere that it's possible, buy panels that stretch the
full length of the walls. Panels are usually available in at
least 8, 9, and 10 foot lengths. That leaves you with only
a single center seam (and the corners) to mud later.
* nail or screw in a couple of pieces of wood just a little
over 48" down the studs from the ceiling to rest the top
panels on when you're putting them in. Then remove the
temporary rests and put in the bottom panel.
* if the walls are longer than a single panel length, you'll
probably want to hang the panels vertically.
* measure twice, cut once. I don't know how many times I
have marked out a cut improperly and caught it by
re-measuring.
* I tend to use paper tape on the flat joints and inside
corners. The metal/paper outside corner pieces are great.
You put a layer of mud on the corner, press a metal corner
into it, squeeze the mud out from behind as much as possible
by running your knife over it, and then mud over it.
* for me, the inside corner pieces just seemed to create
more work, but I'm sure some people swear by them.
* use the stick-on mesh tape on ceiling joints. You can use
it elsewhwere too instead of the paper tape, but on the
ceiling it's great because it allows you to focus on putting
the mud up without having to hold the tape in place.
* avoid butt joints (where you are joining two of the
non-indented ends of panels) if you can. Sometimes it's
unavoidable though.
* think long term when you're sanding and mudding. It's
going to take several days. Unless you're more talented than
I am, or manage to make one of those inside corner knives
work, you can only do one side of a corner at a time.
Everything needs to dry between coats. So realize that (even
though you're going to get dirty on multiple occasions),
it's best to plan to mud for a few hours and then walk away
until the next day, when you'll sand and mud again.
* bring the shop vac with you when you sand. Some sanding
blocks have a vacuum attachment that sucks air through the
sanding screen. I find that the screen plugs a lot. So I
just hold the vacuum below whatever I'm sanding. It keeps
the dust down a fair bit. If you do this, wear hearing
protection. Of course, you'll need a dust mask too. I prefer
the rubber respirators. Good luck finding decent N95 paper
masks that actually conform to your face these days.
* watch a few different youtube videos. You'll absorb
different things from each person. There's a guy named
Shannon with a channel called HouseImprovements who explains
things very well. I also remember watching a channel called
Vancouver Carpenter when I was learning to do butt joints.
* if you're pulling down any old drywall, it may contain
asbestos. Protect yourself, your family, and the people who
work at the landfill by following the local requirements for
removal -- or hire a professional to do the demolition work.
gemini://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:1965/~visiblink/phlog/20210214
-- Leo's gemini proxy
-- Connecting to zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:1965...