Attaching sheet rock

[MiamiCuse]

When you attach sheet rock do you attach it horizontally or vertically? The floor to ceiling height is 8', and wall studs are spaced 16" OC, so it would work either way, just curious if I should them horizontally (one on top, one at bottom) or vertically?

I am leaning to installing them vertically simply because it is easier for one person to handle, and any uneven-ness on the ceiling is probably easier to deal with for a 4' width at a time. Does this make sense?

Code calls for a screw every 8" so I would do that along the edges. However, what about the two studs in the middle? Do you put screws every 8" from top to bottom along those studs too, seems like an overkill, or may be not?

Thanks,

MC

[Eigenvector]

Wait for someone who knows what they're talking about before taking my advice, but when I installed my sheetrock in the basement I did it oriented in whatever way created less waste and less joints - case in point my walls were 3 feet from ceiling to foundation wall. I cut a sheet into a 3x8 section and screwed it in - resulting in 2 joints instead of 3 (corners + middle). As for how many screws, I put in as many as was required by code -

1 per 8" (I actually don't and didn't know what code was, so I put in screws at what seemed a reasonable distance - about 10" or so really. They're just screws and it doesn't take much time to put them in, plus when mudding and taping you'll remove some that don't go all the way in.

[bob]

I've found vertically worked best for me because it Avoided Butt joints which don't hide as well as the joints where the drywall is tapered. If your walls are longer that 8Ft your probably best going verticle Bob

[Oren]

I don't see anything wrong standing 8 foot sheets. Put the cut vertical in the corner for mud and tape.

I hang sheetrock horizontally, but that is me.

-- Oren

Hofstadter's Law - It [a task] always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No. It can be easy for one person to do horizontal with the right setup. You slide the sheet up to the ceiling and wedge it in place. One you get just a couple or screws, it will stay. You cut the bottom sheet with a tiny bit of clearance to the floor to take up any unevenness. There is a foot bracket that you can use to held it in place while putting screws in.

Now you have along seam to tape at a comfortable height, the high and low seams are only half or a third (if you use 12" sheets)

The code says every 8" right? They mean every 8". When they change to code to read "every 8" on the edges and put what you think looks right in the center" you may use less.

[MiamiCuse]

That seems to be what everyone is saying so I probably will go with horizontal hanging although I think by myself getting it up and stay put with my right hand while I put a few screws in would be a chanllenge.

Alright then that's what I would do.

MC

[Eigenvector]

Watch yourself when you do that, hanging drywall by myself was exactly how I developed tennis elbow - it ain't a fun ailment to have and it lasts and lasts. Get help if you can, if not, take it slow and remember to use the studs in the wall as friction helpers in keeping the wallboard up in position. Electrical boxes can be your friend too, they provide the necessary structure to take the load off your arms.

[William Underhill]

I'm with the rest on this - hang it horizontally. A horizontal seam is easier to mud and tape than a vertical. Unlike others, however, I'd say do the ones at floor level first, then you can rest the upper ones on the lower ones as you go.

Do, as another poster suggested, make sure you have them square with the studs; if the floor itself is a little off, don't worry about it. That's what baseboards are for.

Another word of advice - do a quick test fit of each sheet first. Mark the centerline of the studs on the front of the sheet, top and bottom, then snap a chalk line. This will help immensely when you're putting in the screws; you won't be wondering if maybe you need to be an inch or so one way or the other.

As for taping, I highly recommend the self-adhesive fiberglass tape. No need to put down a first coat of compound, although you certainly can if you want.

Yours aye, W. Underhill

[Rudy]

We have 9 ft ceilings so I ordered 54" wide sheetrock..12 ft long.. Two horizontal 54's is 9 feet. That was for 2 of our downstairs bedrooms and bath.

Its hard to lift the big 54's UP though so for the next phase, I'm ordering

9 Ft sheets x 48" and will be going vertically. That gives me ALL tapered edges to tape and mud..no butt joints.

[dadiOH]

If I were going to do that I'd temporarily nail on a 2x4 ledger as a rest for the DW, put a small piece of ply twixt the two (after the DW was resting) and use it as a jack/lever to lift. That's assuming you are hanging the top piece first.

[yourname]

[The Reverend Natural Light]

Do neither. Hire someone to install and finish the drywall unless it is an activity that you really want to do. It will cost the same and take much more time to do it yourself.

That said, I vote for staggered horizontal because it minimizes repeating patterns, which are easily recognized.

[MiamiCuse]

Thanks for the advise!

MC

[celticsoc]

I'm not sure what they mean by that myself. In order to follow that code literally, it would require putting screws in between 16" on- center studs. Before you say "Obviously they don't mean that. That is ridiculous", I know that. The point is that you follow codes to make sense. If it doesn't make sense, and it is not explicitly called for in code, perhaps one needs to use judgement. The OP was asking a question because a code was not specific.

[Tim Mulvey]

Just lean the sheet against the wall where it goes, start a drywall nail at every stud about 2" or 3" down from top of sheet, raise it up, and hammer away. Then you can screw it off.

Tim