Hanging Wall Board Part Two

Hanging Wall Board Part Two:

Last time we talked it was about hanging sheetrock, wallboard or gypsum board on your ceilings, now its time to move forward and finish up the room by hanging the walls. Of course I’m assuming that all electrical, phone, plumbing, cable and insulation have been installed and inspected. Building codes vary in different areas so, if you have any questions call your local building inspector.
If your house or project is framed correctly; your wall studs should be on 16" centers. This means that starting in the corner of the room there should be a stud every 16". But don't count on this! If you do not have a stud every 16” your sheet rock will end between studs. You do not want this to happen. If the end of the gypsum board fails to land on a stud you will need to put in "dead wood" so that you have something to screw or nail the board to. This is simply a piece of wood that can be added to the stud so that the rock end lands on it. Your sheets of rock should fit so that each end can be screwed or nailed to a stud. Have I said this enough? It's very important that your sheetrock ends are nailed to a stud or a piece of deadwood; otherwise the end would be more apt to break or buckle.
The supplies you will need are the same as with your ceiling install. They are: a utility knife (with several sharp blades, the sharper the blade the easier it is to cut), tape measure, pencil, square (a T-square can also be helpful), a key-hole saw, screw-gun, hammer, sheet rock nails and lastly a Prohoists Dry wall lift. In the past, owning a lift was not an option but with the Prohoists Dry wall lift we give you dependability with affordability. Check out www.prohoists.com for our complete line of lifts.
A Dry wall lift works on upper wall sheets just as well as it does on ceilings.
Now cut your sheet rock to fit desired length.
Hanging tip:
You have heard the saying to “measure twice and cut once” but when it comes to sheet rock you need to:” Measure Tight but Cut Loose!”
Putting sheetrock up and then taking it down to shave an edge that won’t fit is a waste of time and energy especially if you’re working alone. Instead, subtract about 1/4 inch from your measurements. It’s easier to fill slight gaps with joint compound than to struggle with a tight fit.
Now that your drywall or gypsum board is cut, lock your Prohoists Dry wall lift and hoist one end of the drywall sheet up to the support hook—finish side down. Some help here would be nice so get a friend or brother- in- law to lift the other end of the sheet up and slide it onto the second hook. Lift slowly and smoothly—abrupt or jerky handling can pop the front edge of the drywall off the hook.
Hanging tip:
After loading the drywall, push the lift to the wall, position the sheet, tip the top edge against the wall and crank it snugly against the ceiling.
Nail off or use a screw gun to attach the sheet rock and you got it! Just repeat these steps for the rest of the room.
Last Hanging tip:
If you have ceiling and walls to hang; the order to hang will be ceiling; upper walls; then lower walls. If you have just walls to hang then hang the upper sections first then the lower. After you have hung all of the upper sections of the walls, use your pencil to mark the location of the studs on the upper pieces of rock. This will keep you from having to hunt for them once the lower sections are covered with sheetrock. Happy hanging and remember to check out www.Prohoists.com See you next time!