Remodel Update - Drywall

The drywall is up. We didn't get any action shots mostly because it's labor intensive to hang and boring as all get out.

It took us about 16 hours over 4 days to hang it all. 2 rooms, each about 100 square feet. Walls and ceiling. We also put in the insulation in each room just prior to the drywall. Pink fiberglass. It would have taken a good crew half the time we spent at most but professional we are not.

Drywall is time consuming for the DIYer. Take your time and plan out the job. The rooms were dimensioned so that 4X8 sheets worked best though you can get it as long as 12 feet. We used about 12 sheets per room. Once you figure out how you're going to hang it the fun can begin.

Measure out your first cut. If the room isn't exactly 8 feet high you will be trimming each and every sheet. This is also where that 16 inch on center you made the stud walls comes in. The edge of a 4 foot wide drywall sheet should fall exactly in the center of a stud. If not then you'll have to either trim for width or add in a nailer stud. You will also have to make cutouts for outlets, switches and electrical boxes. For us we had 4 outlets, one wall switch and one ceiling box per room. Then it's just a matter of repetition. A lot of repetition. I like to snap a chalk line on the walls to locate the studs for quicker and easier screwing but the old Mark I eyeball works pretty well.

 
It's kind of a cut and slash proposition. The whole sheets are pretty easy. Cut and trim as needed and then just screw them on. We used drywall screws as opposed to nails because (in my opinion) they hold better and with my automatic screw gun went up much quicker. For those that need cutouts measure as best you can and cut a little larger than necessary. If you screw up don't panic. Mud and tape covereth a multitude of sins. If it's too bad set the bad sheet aside and start over again. You can always use the one you messed up somewhere else.We used a jigsaw as opposed to the score and snap method but either one is fine. Because we weren't time constrained using the jigsaw gave me better cuts though the penalty is a lot more dust. Also, a god drywall hand saw is indispensable.

The ceiling is more of the same with the exception that it's over your head. I'm tall enough to reach but Lu needed a small step ladder. Make sure you have your screw gun on your person and in a place where you can reach it while holding a 4X8 sheet of drywall over your head with one hand. Yeah, it's fun. Start as close to the center as you can and work your way out as quickly as you can. The faster you move the sooner you can rest your shoulders and arms. Ceiling drywall is a stone cold pain in the keister.  Sooner or later you'll be done and can look back fondly on the process.

Here's Baby Girl's room.

And The Boy's.

It is nowhere near perfect but as I said it doesn't have to be. We'll mud and tape everything and by the time we cover the walls in sprayed on texture and paint plus trim and baseboards it'll look just fine.It's really not that hard it just takes time, patience, some basic tools and a little planning.

My basic tool recommendations:
-Jigsaw
-Drywall hand saw
-Screw drill
-Automatic feed screw drill if you can swing it or borrow one
-Multiple tape measures
-Chalk line
-Marking devices
-Straight edges
-Framing square (for marking cutouts)
-Drywall edge shaper. These are a bit like planers but with cheese grater faces. They are used to knock off any bumps on cut drywall edges for fit.
-Assortment of drywall screws of varying lengths

I am so happy. I hate drywall and having this part of the remodel behind us just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling all over. We'll start mud and tape on Friday (we're taking tomorrow off to celebrate. Yeah, I hate drywall that much) and I still have to put up some more foam insulating board. Luckily Lu has mad drywall mud skills and as our resident painter she's taking the lead for a while. Yeah, I'll be her flunky for a couple of days. That makes her happy. "Boy, fetch me yon tarp and be quick about it lest I lay the strap to your miserable hide." She likes to talk like a pirate when she's bossing me around.

More later but the project is really shaping up. I anticipate texture and paint next week carpet installation by the following week. I can't wait. A nice long vacation is definitely in our future.

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