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Master the Basics of Drywall
In our Great Goofs mail, we receive a ton of letters that start something like this: “The first time I tried cutting drywall. . . .” Inevitably, the story involves a circular saw and lots of dust. The irony is that drywall cutting is about the easiest, cleanest and quietest of all remodeling tasks. Even an “all-thumbs” do-it-yourselfer can master the basics without worry, and even a big, sheet-wrecking mistake only costs a few bucks to remedy. In other words, it’s work that’s easy on the mind. So consider hanging the rock yourself in the new family room and save the 30¢ per sq. ft. the pros generally charge (or much more for a small job!).
Buy These Tools Before You Start
A small investment in these five tools will
make your job less frustrating and give you better, faster results.
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Drywall rip saw ($10; Photo 10)
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Drywall keyhole saw ($5)
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Surform rasp ($7; Photo 5)
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4-ft. square ($15; Photo 2)
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Utility knife with extra blades ($5; Photo 2)
When you’re hanging drywall, there’s more at stake than saving money or keeping on schedule. The next step, taping, is the toughest part of dry walling, and the keys to saving time and effort are making accurate cuts and knowing the tolerances. If a taper has to fix poor cuts, big gaps and ragged ends, you’ll eat up all the money you saved by hanging the drywall yourself.
This photo series shows the basics of drywall cutting and the tools you’ll need for fast, accurate cuts. It concentrates on cutting to length, cutting door openings and ripping.
Tip
A couple of chunks of 2x4
under the drywall stack will make cutting easier and keep you from crushing
fingers as you stack the sheets.
Score, Snap and Cut
Ninety percent of the cuts made on any
drywall-hanging job consist of three basic steps: scoring the front paper,
snapping and folding open the sheet, and cutting through the paper on the back.
You’ll use variations on that theme for nearly every cut. Other cuts are
made with two types of drywall saws: a small keyhole-type saw for short cuts
(mostly electrical box openings) and a larger coarse-tooth saw for longer cuts
like those around doors (Photo 10).
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