How to Drywall a Room

Lead Image for How to Drywall a Room
  • 8-12 hours
  • Beginner
  • 200-2,000
What You'll Need
Drywall sheets
2 by 4-inch boards
Drywall screws or nails
Drywall tape
Drywall mud
Sandpaper
Hammer
Drill or power screwdriver
Drywall joint knife
Straightedge
Nails
What You'll Need
Drywall sheets
2 by 4-inch boards
Drywall screws or nails
Drywall tape
Drywall mud
Sandpaper
Hammer
Drill or power screwdriver
Drywall joint knife
Straightedge
Nails

Learning how to drywall a room can be a definite advantage to you if you are planning to finish a basement, remodel parts of your house, or make additions to your home. Nearly every homeowner, at some time in his life, has the opportunity to do drywall work, either for him or to help a friend or family member. If you are considering doing drywalling, here are five tips you are likely to find useful.

Estimate and Buy Materials

Begin your project by measuring the surface you plan to drywall. If your ceiling is eight feet from the floor, you need only to divide the linear surface area by 4 to determine how many pieces of drywall you'll need. The standard size of a drywall sheet is 4x8 feet.

Where to Begin

Begin attaching your ceiling drywall first. It will assure you that your wall pieces fit tight against your ceiling pieces. This is also the most difficult part of the job because you will need to hold the sheets against the ceiling joists while you are attaching them. You can do this by making a wood "T" from two 2x4 boards, slightly longer than eight feet high. This will allow you to hold the drywall sheet tight against the ceiling joist while you're nailing it in place.

Fitting Wall Drywall Pieces

If the distance between floor and ceiling where you are installing your drywall is more than eight feet high, you should be able to fit each drywall sheet onto the wall studs without a problem. If the drywall is a few inches more or less than eight feet high, you will need to cut each sheet to fit the space exactly. To cut your drywall pieces to fit, use two sawhorses as a platform to balance the drywall on while cutting them. Measure on the drywall piece laying across your sawhorses the piece you want to cut out. Use a straightedge to draw a straight line that represents the new edge of the drywall sheet, then cut along this line with your utility knife through the top surface of the sheet and partially through the soft inner portion of the sheet. Then, stand the sheet on its side and cut up the backside of the sheet to make it even with the first cut.

Attaching the Sheets, Tape, and Mud

Nail or screw the sheets to the wall studs. When finished, apply a strip of mud to each seam where two sheets join together. Once this is done, paste a strip of tape onto the applied mud and finally, apply another strip of mud over the tape and clean off any mud residue with your joint knife. When the mud has dried, sand these strips until their edges are smooth and ready for paint primer.