drywall

TOOLs you'll need

for cutting drywall
* Utility Knife
* Keyhole Saw

for hanging drywall
* a Wedge (or something to hold the
drywall up off the floor)
*Hammer
*an Electric Drill

for mudding the walls
*Trowels
*Joint Knives
*Corner Trowel (no necessary but very handy)

for sanding drywall
*an Electic Sander
or
*Sand Paper

for safety
*Goggles
*Hard Hat
*Work Gloves (when handling drywall)
*Face Mask (when sanding)

MATERIALs you'll need

*Necessary Amount of Wallboard

to hang drywall
*Drywall Screws
*Drywall Corners
*Plaster
*Drywall Tape

Drywall Prep
Before you put on the sheets of drywall, you will want to make sure the frame is properly prepared. There should be an even surface or old nails sticking out of the wood. Make sure everything that should be inside of the wall is inside of the wall. This would be the electrical lines, plumbing, and insulation. This may sound like something that is so obvious but its better to be reminded before the fact! Also, make sure you leave nothing that should be in the wall.

Hanging Drywall
Hanging drywall is not rocket science but you do have to make sure you have the correct measurement. The sheets of drywall can be hung either vertically or horizontally. If you hang vertically, it allows you to avoid lifting it completely in the air. We were told that a good rule of thumb to remember is that every sheet should meet every other sheet at the middle of the stud in the frame as you go along. The best way to remember this is that there should never be a corner that is not covered by a stud.

Drywall is not hard to cut. All you have to do is simply score a line on the drywall where you want to cut. Than bend the board at the score and it will break. Don't forget to cut holes where you want the outlets, switches, or anything else that you wouldn't want to cover by the wall.


You will want to prop the wallboard onto a shim and push it next to the wall. You will want to hold it flat to the surface by starting at 3/8-inch top place nails (in groups of two) in every stud which the wall board covers. The groups of two should be 12 to 16 inch's apart along the stud's line. When pounding the nails, do it gently enough to create a slight dimple. Do not pound it so hard that the drywall crumbles.

Mudding Drywall
Mudding is a simple step by step process. Some people have called drywall mudding an art. The first thing you are going to want to do is get get a good amount of plaster onto your hod by scooping it up with your knife. Smear it onto the wall in every crease and valley in broad strokes with your knife pressed firmly to the wall. When you get to a seam in the wall where two wallboads meet, press some mud into the wall and tape over that. After you put the tape on, mud right over that. Stroke the mud until it because smooth and flat. After the mud dries, you can take a sander and smooth out the bumps.

my brother-in-law and sister mudding our house

and now your a drywalling pro!