Drywall, also known as sheet rock, is found in the vast majority of homes. New drywall installations should be completed by professionals like Lloyd Claycomb, who can have an entire house completed in a day. They will also require a few more days for the taping, the spackling, and the sanding, after which it is ready for painting. You can do quite a bit of the entire process yourself, however, although you do need to know what you’re doing.
Installing Drywall
If at all possible, you should watch someone drywall so that you know how it is done properly. Additionally, you need to make sure that you check your local building codes to make sure you are using the right type of drywall, in the right thickness, for each area of the home. For instance, the building codes for drywall in a basement are likely to be different from those in a bedroom.
You also have to consider humidity levels in the room where you want to install drywall. In bathrooms and kitchens, for instance, you may need green wall, which is moisture resistant. Another thing to consider is whether you want to have it installed in a laboratory or X-ray room, in which case you will need Type X drywall.
You also have to consider the length of the boards themselves. Generally, the longer the board, the better it is, because it means less cutting. However, if you don’t have someone to help you, then you will have to opt for shorter boards. You may be able to construct a so-called ‘dead man’, which are wooden sticks that hold the board up for you, but this will require additional materials, as well as skills.
When you install the drywall, you will also need screws. You need to make sure that these are the right length. They have to be able to go through the drywall board itself, but also the raw material of the wall or ceiling. The best screws are either stainless steel or galvanized steel. You should choose screws over nails, because nails can pop out. Furthermore, make sure that you follow the appropriate pattern with your screws.
A drywall gun is also a great addition to your arsenal of tools, because this will make it much easier to complete the project as a whole.
Leaving it to the Professionals
If you have ever seen someone complete drywall, you will be forgiven for thinking that it is a very easy job. This has given a lot of people a false sense of confidence and security, believing that they can do it themselves. This is particularly true if they have been reasonably successful at other DIY jobs, such as hanging shelves or laying flooring. In reality, however, drywalling is quite complex and a small mistake can have quite significant consequences. Not just that, having to go to a professional to have a mistake fixed is generally a whole lot more expensive than having them do it for you in the first place.
