Drywall Tips
Installing drywall properly requires knowledge and experience. Here are some important considerations for correct installation:
- Temperatures should always be 55 degrees or higher. Drywall will expand or contract, depending on the temperature. In the cold, it will shrink. The humidity level is also critical. Drywall installed at less than 15% humidity will expand more than 1/2inch over 100 feet when the humidity reaches 90%, so it’s crucial to leave an 1/8-inch space for every 100 feet of drywall.
- Start At the Top - Always hang drywall on the ceiling first, then on the walls. That way, the walls can support the edges.
- Levels of finish - Standard finishing includes 5 level of finish
- Level 0 For temporary construction - no taping
- Level 1 This level of finish is used for construction in unfinished areas. Joints are taped but beed and fasteners do not need coated
- Level 2 Tape is applied to sheetrock. Bead and fasteners are covered with 1 coat
- Level 3 The same as level 2 plus another layer of compound. This finish is suitable for heavy textured finishes after priming.
- Level 4 Same as level 3 with an additional skim coat and sanding. This is the typical finish of drywall when concentrated light is not a factor. This is not the intended level of finish for paints with a high sheen, such as satin, eggshell and semi gloss
- Level 5 is a level 4 tape job with one thin coat of compound spread over the surface to minimize texture and even out the surface for shinier finishes. This is the "skim coat" in the specification.
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It is important to install drywall at proper temperatures to ensure proper drying and reduce cracking and shrinking.
DISPLAY CHART: Click Here - Have The Right Tools
Installing drywall properly means that you’ll be using a lot of different tools for a lot of different tasks. You’ll be measuring, cutting, lifting, and installing. At a minimum, you’ll need these tools:- Drywall screw gun
- Keyhole drywall saw
- Surform tool
- Flat bar
- Utility knife
- Chalk line
- 4-ft. T-square
- Specialty drywall hammer (waffle head with hatchet)
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You’ll certainly have times when you’ll wish you had these:
- Drywall saw
- Drywall hammer
- Foot lift
- Spiral cutout saw
For the experienced team at AD&C, all of these tips are things that we learned long ago and put into practice on every job. We know drywall. We work with it every day, and we do it right, every time. So if you want your drywall projects and many other aspects of construction done right every time, call the experts at AD&C.
Just for fun, here are a couple of interesting facts about the great American invention known as Drywall:
- 2016 represented the 100th birthday for drywall, which US Gypsum invented in 1916. The first name for the product was Sackett Board, a name taken from the Sackett Plaster Company, a US Gypsum subsidiary.
- The United States is the world’s largest producer and user of drywall. In 2015, U.S. manufacturers sold 22 billion square feet of drywall.
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