Hanging the sheetrock vertically is wrong because the wooden studs aren't perfect...Some may bow out , some bow in and some both and if the layout isn't PERFECT the sheets won't fall in the center of the stud and you will be adding nailers or trimming off the recessed edge which then makes it an 8 foot butt joint..Plus any movement , expansion or contraction with the changing seasons will cause cracks and it highlites the imperfections in the framing and generally looks like shit...Hanging sheets horizontally with 12 foot rock covers more (most times the entire wall) , is much stronger and looks flat..The job I'm on now we used 14 and 16 foot rock as well...Didn't want butt joints in the cathederal room....You wouldn't hang plywood vertically nor should you hang sheetrock that way...The only exception is steel framing in commercial work...Perfect studs and and drop ceilings with no butts on the VERY long walls where speed is the biggest concern...Using
54 inch rock is the correct way to do walls over 8 feet high....HTH...
I'm sure there are pro's and con's to each method, but I still prefer vertical installations. We did our garage and house vertically, and five years later there are no cracks and no hint of a seam anywhere in the house.
We had 14'x24' walls in our kitchen/dining area that were easily handled by installing 14' sheets vertically. No butt joints anywhere. Not to mention, it would have been difficult to hoist full sheets 8' up to the top of the wall and hold them there while we fastened them. Maybe no big deal for a drywall crew, but a deal breaker for a couple of DIY'ers working alone.
The 24' and 28' walls in our garage also worked out better installing vertically than horizontally, again, no butt joints.
Of course, we did the framing ourselves too, and were very careful about the placement of the studs. When the framing is inconsistent, I agree a vertical installation can be a pain. We recently remodeled some rooms at my inlaws and the old framing was spaced anywhere from 14" to 18". So, we did have to install a fair amount of blocking. One of the rooms was nearly 16' long, and it would have been impossible to get a sheet that long into the room. Eight foot sheets worked out great, and again, no butt joints anywhere (except the ceiling).
When we built our house, code REQUIRED all edges of the plywood to be backed by framing and nailed every 6" around the perimeter. Short of installing blocking along the entire wall, hanging the plywood vertically was the only way to meet code and build proper sheer walls.
If it works for plywood, it works for drywall.
"Correct" means different things to different people.
The average DIY job doesn't have the volume necessary to justify the special order and/or delivery costs for 54" sheets. Even if I could find
54" sheets at a local supplier, I'd have a hard time hauling them home.
On the other hand, 4x8 sheets are available at any home center, are easy to haul home in a small trailer or the back of a truck, and are light enough for one person to carry if needed.
If I had a project large enough to warrant a delivery that may not be an issue, but for small one room projects it's usually not worth the cost.
Footage: Running horizontal results in about 1/3 less footage of seams.
Door/windows: It is a rare 12' wall that does not have an opening of some sort in it. Planning puts all, or almost all, butt joints above/below the openings
Taping a butt joint, even one that has one tapered and one cut edge, is not a big deal. Just do not use the mesh type tape on a flat joint. Very hard to cover without having a buildup.
Crawling up/down ladders or stools while trying to do a smooth job is not fun.
Learned that the hard way on my first job. You would have to hold a gun to my head before I would run vertical again.
We installed drywall vertically in our garage and house.
You'll be climbing up and down the ladder to do the ceiling and corner joints anyway, so a few extra vertical seams is no big deal. In my opinion, the lack of butt joints makes it well worth the minor additional effort.
I didn't find it to be a problem, even with the 14+ foot walls in our house.
Before going vertical, be sure to work out where the seams will be. Framing folk are famous for not keeping 16" centers across a room- particularly where walls meet, there are windows or doors. Lay out the installation ahead of time with a magic marker to X the studs that will get the tapered edges.
Even so, it can be done and it's sure easier for one man to tip up a piece, then use a toe jack to raise it 1/2" or so to the ceiling than to hoist a piece 4' horizontally.
No matter how carefully you tape a butt joint, you will end up with an unavoidable "bulge" in the wall. While this may or may not be visible to the eye, it would make the trim installation more difficult if placed over openings like that.
About the doors and windows, I thought putting a joint at either corner was a very big no, no. It cracks too easy. Put the whole sheet across the window, with adhesive also, and cut it after it's up. That's how I was shown to do it... while my mother kept saying the guy is wasting so much drywall and wanting to use all the scraps and have a million seams.
I understand about the going up and down the ladder, something I never thought about until I heard it here.
Mine is 9' 6", so 54 inch wouldn't be worth the trouble.
I'm surprised I never see anyone here mention using adhesive when putting up drywall? It was pretty much standard practice on the jobs I've seen done and helped with. I think glue would more than make up for any weakness due to running vertically. As far as crooked studs, I'm doing this myself and at the moment my time isn't worth much so sistering a 2x4 to a warped stud isn't going to slow me down much.
Odd, I have a butt join over every window/door I have and had no trouble with trim. If you have a bulge big enough to cause trouble, you ain't a good taper. I for sure ain't much of a taper and I don't have a problem.
Oops, forgot to add. Put no joint at the corners of the opening, they go in the middle of the space. Best of course is a sheet going right across the space but then you wind up with an extra 8' or 9' butt joint.
OK, I just try to avoid butt joints, so I'll take your word for it.
I think the point is there's nothing set in stone that drywall HAS to be hung horizontally or vertically. I've done it both ways, and still prefer vertical hanging for most installations. If horizontal works better for you, by all means go with that.
The pro's game is speed and efficiency. They wouldn't think twice about throwing up a 16' sheet horizontally to span a room and avoid an extra joint. They have the manpower, equipment, and probably a few tricks up their sleeve from years of experience.
The average DIY'er probably works alone, or with the help of one other person (i.e. The wife). It's easier to use smaller sheets and have a few extra joints to tape, than it is to wrestle a large sheet in place just to avoid a joint.
Home Centers are open after work, which means that's the typical supply source for most DIY projects. And, most folks don't have a way to transport sheets larger than 4x8 anyway. If the job is big enough, I'll have the sheetrock delivered, but that usually doesn't make sense for a small room that only needs a few sheets. Delivery is also not an option if there's no place to store the sheets, like my in-laws tiny cluttered house.
I've done a lot of drywall projects, but I'm still far from an expert. I just know what works for me.
It's NOT special order and delivery is usually free but hey you can do it however you want....I'm sure it looks good to you and that's all that matters...To a pro more jonts mean more things can go wrong and time is MONEY...LOL...I have NEVER seen plywood hung vertically in 30 years of being on jobsites so I have to say bullshit to that little jem...
I will add BS to the claim that code required blocking behind every seam also. Been observing construction progress on all kinds of buildings for 50 years and have never seen it done.
Gems of knowledge ................... ?????? Plywood is often placed horizontally for greater lateral strength and rigidity? Never heard of NOT having blocking behind ALL joints/seams? Potential for cracking in frame construction? Professionals place the upper sheets of drywall horizontally and at top, of wall, to get better fit at ceiling and to permit any cutting of bottom edge of lower sheet not meeting the floor etc. to be covered by base moulding? Also ensures two tapered edges in 'middle' of wall? Haven't done any sheetrock myself (as a complete amateur) for nearly
40 years. But both our 'stick-built' houses plaster-board sheeted with three eighths, are fine and still standing after many storms! BTW. Nowadays here, it's half inch or even five eighths (Fire regs.) in some cases!
Around here anyway, delivery is usually only free if you purchase more than certain quantity. That was five years ago and I don't recall the cutoff point, but it's usually not worth the delivery cost for a few sheets.
This is practically standard policy at any lumber yard or home center in our area. If you don't order enough to justify delivery, they charge you a fee. Think about it, why would anyone waive a $50 delivery charge if you're only buying $50 of sheetrock? Of course, delivery is a wise choice if you're doing a larger project.
Maybe it's a regional thing. Around here (WA state) we have to use shear wall construction for wind and seismic loads. That means all edges of the sheathing must be supported by framing, nailed every 6" around the perimeter, 12" in the interior, and securely fastened to the foundation. We had to install special hold downs in the corners that extended from deep within the foundation wall, up through the floor framing, and bolted to posts in the wall. In some areas (like California), the connections have to extend all the way to the roof.
While this can be done with sheathing run horizontally, it would require blocking at the horizontal seams to maintain shear strength at the seam. It's cheaper and easier to run the sheets vertically, which also means less framing in the wall for easier plumbing, wiring, insulation, etc.
Also, if you use a combination sheathing/siding (like T-111 Plywood), vertical is about the only good way to install it.
Here are a few references showing shear wall construction, all of which install the plywood vertically:
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Also, while this may not apply to builders with larger crews, we would frame our walls in 8' panels on the subfloor, so the two of us could easily tilt the walls up ourselves. It was a weight issue, more than a design factor. Installing the two sheets vertically eliminated the need for blocking, and by using sheets with shiplapped edges each wall section would be overlapped by the previous section when we tilted it in place.
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