Hanging drywall - alone

[Eigenvector]

Is it unreasonable to expect a reasonably strong man to be able to hang 1/2" drywall on the ceiling all by himself? Is this one of those "Get a friend before you hurt yourself" situations?

[Grandpa]

Buy or rent a drywall lift. Your back, neck, and head will thank you.

[marson]

If you get a lift, and you are strong enough and coordinated to get a sheel on a lift, it is no problem. I've seen rockers hang 12 foot

5/8's alone on walls all day long.

[bamboo]

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Once did using jury rigged T and step ladder. Not an easy task.

[srphomeservices]

I have heard of people using a drywall jack and doing it by themselves. I'm pretty sure you can rent one. I prefer to have someone help me, though.

[Eigenvector]

Thanks all, sounds like with the proper tools 2 people can do it very nicely. One person can do it nicely if that person knows what they're doing. I'll get a buddy and a drywall lift.

[David Nebenzahl]

Eigenvector spake thus:

I did it myself, and I don't consider myself an especially strong guy, so if you do, it shouldn't be too bad.

I think I cobbled up some "stilts" out of 2x4s to keep the panels aloft, which helped a lot.

[Jim Elbrecht]

As long as we are talking about an 8' or less ceiling-- and the man is about 6' tall or so. And- I suppose- that we aren't talking about

100 sheets.

When my back would still take it I used to do it all the time. For

8' sheets you need 2 'dead men'. T's with 3' tops made from 2x4s so the they are 1" taller than the finished ceiling height. For 12' sheets it is better to have 3 t's. [actually I've seen adjustable aluminum dead men at my local lumberyard- about $20 each, but they had rollers and were much lighter than 2x4s]

First- lean a deadman against the wall so there is a 1-2 inch space at the top. Grab your sheetrock- slide it over the deadman- kick the deadman tight- grab the other with one hand while holding the rock with the other- slide it in place.

Use 3/8 in hopes that the lack of weight will make life easier & you'll find it just breaks easier & you don't notice the weight.

Rent a lift & life becomes much easier.

Or if you want to build your own--

says $60 & 6hrs-- sketches on page- not commercial]

Jim

[Paul]

Listen to that advice. You can seriously hurt yourself in a way that might last for the rest of your life. Lifting the weighty and unweildy drywall above your head can bring your neck and spine into odd contortions that are quite dangerous. It's not worth the risk.

[Teo2006]

[John‰]                      Â]

I did a small two bedroom house with 12' sheets all by myself. Around here a drywall lift rents for $20 per day and once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly. I did the ceilings and also used the lift to install the top sheet on the walls(I ran it horizontal). The bottom sheet was no problem.

Bear in mind that cranked all the way down, the arms on most lifts are about belt buckle high, so you have to dead lift the sheets that high to get them on the lift or figure out a way to do it. I found an old coffee table in a dumpster and with a couple of scraps of 2X4 it became a "step-up" for the sheets. Once I had them that high, going from there up to the lift was no problem even for 12' sheets.

BTW, I'm 60.

John

[Chris Lewis]

Me too. I _might_ do that again for one or two sheets, but anything more I'm renting a lift.

[Eigenvector]

Thanks that helps me visualize it better.

[snappy]

I hung an entire 50' x 15' space and then another 30' x 15' space, alone, with a panel lifter rented from Home Depot. I can't even begin to express how easy it was with the lift compared to trying to do without. The only thing you need to really be smart about is lifting the drywall sheets from the stack to the rig. It is not that hard at all if you grab the sheet from the middle and place it on the lift in the flipped down position. Then flip it horizontal, wheel it to position and crank it up. The lift will pin it right to the rafters. Get up on your ladder with your cordless drill and a screw apron and screw the panel in place with drywall screws, piece of cake. Once you get a few sheets up and establish a routine the rest go up like a breeze. A few tips - careful how you lift your sheet to put on the lift, you can crack the sheet under it's own weight if you lean it on it's corner too hard. Grab the sheet from the middle and balance it as you pick it up, watch you back and when you crank it up to the rafters leave about a 1/2" space to wheel it into exact position, then lift it rest of the way up nice and tight against the joists. The panel lifter is one of the best devices ever invented, well worth the rental, highly recommend, your project and life will suddenly get a whole lot easier amd your back will thank you.

Randy

[George]

[Iggy]

replying to Eigenvector, Iggy wrote: Both smart choices. But, if you find yourself in the situation again and neither are immediately available. The best way I've found, is to screw-in (3 or 4 screws) a loose ledger board (1/4" of slack space, I prefer a wobble) in the middle of the joist. Then it's, lift the panel up onto the ledger board, shove it into the screws (some indenting is perfect) and screw-down the free edge you're holding up. Very simple, lightweight, compact, quick, easy, self-aligning and you can do 2 sheets or both sides with 1 install of the ledger board.

[Tekkie®]

ItsJoanNotJoann posted for all of us...

I think this guy is a troll and seems to zero in on Clares sweet spot.

[ItsJoanNotJoann]

He's a troll alright. A troll that can't read and gets his jollies by digging up ancient threads and replying to them as if the original poster is biting his nail waiting for Iggy-norant to chime in with his wisdom.