Drywall Installation – Tips for Better Drywall Installation

Drywall installation is not a difficult task, and with a little practice you should be able to achieve results worthy of a professional. The time-consuming part comes with finishing the joints (also known as "taping and mudding"). Here are some suggestions for keeping the finish work as simple as possible. Keep butt joints to a minimum. The long edge of a drywall sheet is tapered. This provides space for the tape and joint compound that are used to seal the joint. The short edge of a drywall sheet, however, is not tapered. When two of those edges meet, we call it a butt joint. Butt joints are tougher to finish; the tape and compound have no choice but to create a small, visible bump in the wall or ceiling.

Its not always possible to avoid butt joints, but you can try to keep them to a minimum. With drywall that is installed horizontally, using longer sheets of drywall is one way to do this. But when you do have to deal with butt joints, stagger them so that they dont run from the top to the bottom of the wall.

Long sheets of drywall can be tough to handle inside the house, but you wont face that problem in the garage. If you cant find long sheets at your home store, look for a building supply store in the area that deals with contractors. You can have them deliver and unload the drywall right into your garage.

For walls that are higher than 8 feet, consider using 54-inch wide sheets of drywall to minimize the joints. And on walls that are 4-feet wide or less, hang the drywall vertically to eliminate a joint.

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Drywall Installation - Tips for Better Drywall Installation