Hanging drywall: up/down or across

[Aaron Fude]

Hi,

If I have an 8'x8' wall and I will hang two sheets of drywall on it, should I hang them vertically or horizontally or does it not matter - and why.

Many thanks in advance.

Aaron

[JC]

Doesn't matter. It's easier to hang them horizontally for me. Do the bottom one, then set the top one on top of it, tack it half way up on each end and in the middle and then finish up.

[NapalmHeart]

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

I'd hang it horizontally just because the joint would all be at the same height and easier to work on.

Ken

[Mikepier]

I think you should butt up the top one first up against the ceiling to get a tight joint, then do the bottom one. You can leave space at the bottom since you will put molding anyway and no one will see the space.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

Exactly!

[Steve Barker DLT]

Horizontal is easier and the standard accepted way of doing things.

s

[Steve Barker DLT]

Top should be hung first.

s

[Mike Paulsen]

Horizontal would be best. Vertical a close second. One each way a distant third.

Horizontal seams are easier to finish and less likely to telegraph.

Drywall adds structural stability to the wall. Horizontally hung sheets give twice the shear resistance as vertically hung sheets. (Although it wouldn't be that big a factor on a 8' long wall.)

[BobK207]

Mike-

I would beg to differ on your statement "Horizontally hung sheets give twice the shear resistance as vertically hung sheets."

its just not true, an urban (or suburban) myth. Twice?

Hung horizontally (& with the mid height seam unblocked) it would be an unblocked diaphragm. Hung vertically, with the seam falling on a stud, you'd have better continuity. No un-nailed edges, no unblocked edges.

The truth be told, drywall sucks as shear resisting material and the whole discussion about drywall strength is rather silly.

cheers Bob

[Phisherman]

But the preferred way is to minimize the seams to mud and tape. Strange as it is, drywall is 2--3X stronger lengthwise than crosswise.

[JC]

It's much easier my way. I have a 1/4 inch strip of plywood that I lay on the floor along the wall.

[BobK207]

Where are you guys getting this "information" that advances the notion that one hanging configuration is MUCH stronger than the other?

I have actually tested 100's of shear walls (gyp, plywood, OSB, stucco; wood framed, light gage steel framed) and the data just does not support a huge strength increase for drywall Horz vs Vert.

btw drywall can deliver only about 10 to 20% of the shear capacity of a comparable plywood shear wall, so to even be discussing drywall "shear wall" is a bit silly. Yes, there are LOTS of drywall walls in the typical house compared to the amount of plywood or OSB. In parts of the country where one really needs shear capacity (high wind or earthquake country)

Shear wall performance is driven by many competing & interrelated factors; sheathing material, blocked vs unblocked, fastener schedule, fastener size sheathing .......sheathing orientation is, at best, a second order effect.

cheers Bob

[Jim Elbrecht]

Then do you ever have to shave 1/16" off the top?

Jim

[Mike Paulsen]

I don't remember where, but that's what I remember reading many years ago. Here's one cite with similar claims:

"EFFECT OF INTERIOR FINISH ON RACKING RESISTANCE Although not commonly considered as a structural component, interior finish does in fact contribute substantially to the racking resistance of buildings. According to Table 1, gypsum lath and plaster increased the ultimate shear load of braced lumber-sheathed walls by five times, while gypsum wallboard doubled it even though the latter was attached only to the studs. ... Wallboard orientation was also significant. When wall lengths were increased to three times the wall height, horizontally applied gypsum wallboard gave almost twice the shear resistance as the vertically applied board, presumably due to the greater average distance of the nails from the cut edges of the board."

Agreed, which is why I said it wouldn't be that big a factor on an 8' wall.

"The following conclusions can be drawn from these tests: ...

1. Shear values for parallel application exceed those for perpendicular application"

This test doesn't show anything approaching 2x. I'm neither an architect nor engineer so the numbers don't mean all that much to me. Would it be fair to say that horizontal beats vertical, but 2*insignificant is still insignificant?

If you know of a good article or study explaining this further I'd appreciate a link.

Thanks,

- Mike

[Mark]

8x8 wall assumes there is a stud exactly at the 4ft center. If not, you are probably going to have two joints if you hand vertical, or 16 feet of joint compared with only 8 ft of joint if you hang horizontal.

[bambam]

Generally, that's practice. Especially if you're working with a lift or a partner.

But hanging an eight foot piece alone, many pros place the bottom piece first and use it to rest the top piece into place. If there is a slight gap, it can always be flat taped.

Ken

[JC]

Over the 28 or so years I've been doing it, maybe 4 or 5 times. But, I learned to also have a couple of 1 foot long by 4 foot wide pieces that I "dry fit" first to make sure all is going to work. It's not rocket science. You just do a little pre-planning. A level and a drywall T-square and a few little "jigs" make things go a lot faster.

[benick]

Jesh, just put the top sheet on FIRST..God,shim this , jig that , dry fit this..In the time you spend jigging and shimming I could hang an entire room..It's only drywall , not finish carpentry....It's not rocket science but you're trying to make it that way...In the 20 years I've been doing drywall I've NEVER seen a pro do what you say ...Even angled walls aren't that damn complicated...I can see why it's taken you 28 years to sheetrock your house...

[Steve Barker DLT]

a so called 'pro' would never hang the bottom first.

s

[JC]

Or top post, huh?