5 Steps For Effective And Efficient Drywall Hanging

Hanging drywall involves measuring, cutting, and affixing the drywall to an already studded wall surface. If you would like to do DIY drywall hanging, here are the steps to follow.

1. Plan and prepare the drywall materials

Get the right materials and tools for the job from your drywall supplier. The most commonly used drywall comes in 4’ x 8’ sheets. As a bare minimum, you need an electric drill and relevant bits, drywall T square, a tape measure, razor knife, keyhole saw, pencil, chalk line, and colored chalk. Buy the drywall materials from reputable drywall supplies to ensure you get quality.

Cut power from the fuse box. It might be necessary to get secondary power to ensure you have sufficient lighting.

Make light pencil marks on the ceiling and floor to indicate the placement of the vertical studs.

2. Hang the initial piece

You can hang the drywall horizontally or vertically. It is recommended that two people do the job, but if you do not have the luxury of an extra pair of hands, do vertical hanging.

When doing horizontal hanging (which is what is described in the steps below), begin in the most convenient place such as a corner. It is usually not necessary to cut the first few pieces, of course depending on the shape and size of the house.

Start with the top of the wall. Place the initial piece against the wall, ensuring it is tight against the corner of the studs and against the ceiling.

When doing your calculations, ensure all drywall pieces begin and end on a stud. Stud wall should, therefore, have been constructed on 16”centers.

Attach the drywall to the studs and hold the drywall in place using screws on the end and middle of the sheets (you do not have to drive them all in at this point – the screws only need to ‘dimple’ the surface). An extra pair of hands is necessary here and a drywall dimple bit is greatly convenient.

3. Measure and cut the drywall

Once the initial piece is hung, measure out the drywall from the end of the first sheet to the end of the wall. If the distance is greater than 8’, hang a full sheet and if it is not/when you reach towards the end, mark with a pencil and cut the piece. Duplicate this for the rest of the surface. Use a razor knife to score the surface along the pencil mark before cutting. It may take several indentions before you can bend the sheet along the scored indent. The sheet should easily and cleanly break. Use the razor knife to cut the back paper off the drywall once you’ve made a ninety-degree bend. Duplicate this for the other sheets.

4. Mount/hang the drywall

Start the hanging with the top pieces, ensuring that the factory edge is tightly pressed against the ceiling (otherwise you will have a problem with taping and mudding later on). Cut holes for the switch, cable, telephone, and other outlets before attaching the drywall. You need not drive all the screws in during at this point – about five along the outer edge and another 3 or so in the center will do. Hang the drywall over the door openings and windows and cut the openings as necessary once the sheets have been mounted using an electric rotary saw or a drywall saw. Fasten the sheets tightly with screws to prevent excess vibration and movement. When placing adjacent sheets, the tapered edges should butt against each other directly, meeting in the center of the stud for firm fastening. Mount the bottom sheets. Ensure the seams of the bottom row of the drywall are staggered to prevent lining up with the seams of the top pieces (so you may have to start with a half piece).

5. Fasten the Drywall

Using the marks made in step 1, drive five or six evenly-spaced screws through the drywall into the stud supports. Space these screws 7” to 9” apart on the studs or 4” to 5” apart around the circumference of door and openings. Avoid screwing into the edges of the drywall directly as this may split the wood. The screws should be about 3/8” to 1/2” inwards. Fasten all the screws and add screws where necessary before moving on to taping and mudding.