Our Ultimate Guide to Drywall
In any home remodeling project, drywall is a major player. These thick panels are traditionally used to build walls and ceiling. As simple as this usage sounds, there are many other factors to keep in mind when working with drywall. This section will give you an overview of different drywall considerations, such as tools to use, framing tips, artistic styles, and more.
Calculate How Much Drywall You'll Need
Artistic Drywall Styles and Elements
Drywall doesn't have to be flat and boring. Different artistic elements—such as curved drywall, arched drywall, imaginative ceilings, and ceiling medallions— can help dress up drywall and make it stand out in a room. These pages will show you all sorts of decorative and dramatic drywall options to add style to your next remodeling project.
Drywall Materials and Supplies
In addition to standard drywall panels, you'll likely also need drywall fasteners, drywall tapes, and drywall compounds for your projects. These pages will walk you through each of the different products and show you how to use them.
Drywall Tools
Most drywall jobs can be done with the contents of a standard toolbox, but investing in a few special tools will make the job go faster and smoother. This section introduces you to all sorts of different drywall products, includeing measuring and marking tools, cutting and shaping tools, support tools, attachment tools, taping tools, sanding tools, and texturing tools. We also have a piece that outlines drywall safety equipment to ensure you're taking the necessary precautions for your project.
Framing Basics for Walls and Ceilings
Before you can install drywall, you'll need to frame the door, wall, ceiling, or whatever area you're working on. This section serves as a refresher course for basic framing. You'll learn how to frame an interior wall with wood studs, frame an interior wall with metal studs, fasten an interior wall to concrete, build a soffit, frame a corner, frame a curved wall, make a wavy ceiling flat, sound proof walls, and check framing for accuracy.
Drywall Measuring and Cutting
Accurately measuring and cutting drywall is a crucial skill. After all, you don't want to make mistakes and waste panels. This section will help you estimate how much drywall you'll need for any given project. We'll also show you how to make straight and angled cuts, cut in an electrical box manually, cut in an electrical box with a router, and cut circles.
Basic Drywall Hanging
Once you're ready to start hanging drywall, you'll first need to pick adhesives, screws, and nails to use. You'll also need to choose between gypsum and cement backerboards. After that, you can start hanging. This section shows you how to cover a ceiling, how to cover interior walls, and how to work around butt joints.
Drywall Taping, Joint Compounds, and Sanding
Once the drywall is initially hung, you can move on to taping, sanding, and finishing with joint compound. We'll help you master these basic skills and more. Our section covers picking a level of drywall finish, preparing joint compound, taping drywall, finishing butt joints, finishing corners, installing corner beads, and sanding drywall. We'll also walk you through lesser known tasks, such as working with fiberglass tape, finishing two-and-three way corners, installing beads in an archway, and skim coating drywall.
Advanced Drywall Techniques
Once you've mastered the basics, move on to more advanced drywall techniques. This section covers how to bend drywall panels, how to drywall a coffered ceiling, how to install raised panel drywall, and how to drywall access panels. These projects require a little more work and skill, but are still within the realm of many homeowners.
Decorative and Special Drywall Finishes
In addition to advanced techniques, there are several decorative finishes that can help drywall stand out. Drywall textures, stencils, and anchors all add a little extra style to the basic material. This section walks you through how to texture with joint compound, how to stencil, and how to anchor into drywall.
How to Repair Drywall
If you made a mistake during the installation process, or if you're looking to repair existing drywall, this section will show you how. You'll learn how to repair holes and fix nail pops in drywall.