Dearest Drywall

As you can see, we have been hanging the drywall that entered our lives just a few short weeks ago. I have two things to say about drywall. First, installing it goes very quickly when done with someone who has hung drywall many times before. Second, it goes very slowly when two inexperienced home-remodelers are left alone with 30 sheets of drywall, several walls and ceilings to cover and absolutely zero guidance. So. Very. Slowly. But, the point of this post is to announce that the drywall is getting done, and we’ve learned a few pointers along the way. Drywalling, though a seemingly endless task that frequently ends with a tool being thrown across the room in frustration, has been thoroughly educational. So much so, that the “Learn About Drywall” compartment of my brain is at capacity. Unless it is a remarkably invaluable tidbit of information or the number of a very cheap drywaller (read as “almost free”), please keep your tips to yourself and spare me from having to think about drywall anymore then I already have to…because it was just one hour ago that a Sureform a.k.a rasp a.k.a drywall-sanding-thing went whizzing through the room after a battle to hang drywall on a surface that just laughed at our attempts. We were victorious, but I’m not sure if we tricked the drywall into staying in place or it’s tricked us into thinking it will.

Drywall Pointers: 1) For the love of god, make sure the studs (or whatever surface you’re applying the drywall to) are level and smooth. Use cardboard shims to add height/depth to studs and carefully check each stud for stray nails or staples. If you do not do this, you’ll end up with a sheet of drywall that’s almost completely screwed in but then suddenly cracks, breaks or bulges. 2) Don’t make a cut unless you’re confident in your measurements and the placement of the cut. Otherwise, you’ll be left with a hole in your drywall that you now have to patch. 3) Remember that building walls is a layering process-errors in your framing job will come back to haunt you and remind you of the night you declared, “those studs are level enough,” when in fact, they were not. 4) Rent a drywall lift for ceiling pieces. It’s worth the money. 5) If you have lots of drywall to hang, consider buying a screw gun-it makes the job go a little faster. 6) If the screw misses the stud, take a philips screwdriver and a hammer to pound it in rather than pulling it out. 7) After hanging each sheet of drywall, make sure all your screws are sunk in deep enough.

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