Cutting a hole in drywall: Options?

[pyotr filipivich]

Greetings

I have a renovation project for the office (third bedroom) in mind, which involves "First, cut a large hole in the drywall.."* I've a number of means for doing that, but I would like to kind of minimize the dust. My options for cutting are Chain Saw. {Maybe not the best idea, but it is 'an idea'.} Corded circular saw Battery powered Circ Saw. Reciprocating saw. Roto-zip or Dremel, "Oscillating Multi-tool" Hatchet, Drywall Saw Razor knife.

I suppose I could remove the clothing and "stuff" from the closet first, but where's the fun in that?

tschus pyotr

• the idea is to cut a hole in the wall to allow a lot of "extra space" at the top of the closet to get a 'decking' laid down, making for more storage space,with better access. It was done in the older part of the house, why not bin the add on?

[Jay Pique]

Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk.. Cut with an axe.

[krw]

Start with a stud finder to identify the studs. You probably want to end at/middle/end of one. I then use a utility knife against a metal straight edge to get a straight, clean cut. Before cutting I pull all the nails/screws out of that area of the wall. A MagSwitch is a great tool for finding the fasteners.

[Just Wondering]

Just use a utility knife. There will be almost no dust.

[ritzannaseaton]

Personally, I'd just use a pencil to draw out the lines on the drywall. Ge t a drill and a 1/2 inch spade bit. Put a hole in the drywall inside the p iece you want to cut out. Then get either a hacksaw blade or one of those drywall keyhole saws with the big jagged teeth. Cut along the pencil lines . If you get to a stud, then put another entry hole on the other side of t he stud and cut some more. Drywall is real easy to cut with every saw on e arth. This is a very simple and effective way to cut out drywall. So it m ight be wrong and bad and awful and not done by professional carpenters wit h $50,000 of tools. So you should probably not follow this advice.

[Bill]

Utility knife is good, rotary tool will be faster. Cut up to studs as suggested (for reasons for that should be obvious). Cover floor well before you start, and then don't worry about it. I think removing the drywall will be the least of the challenges in your project. And if you accidentally cut/break too much, working with drywall isn't that difficult--just a bit dusty and time consuming, and it requires a few tools. Have fun.

[hubops]

: stud-finder to find the studs ; : strong little rare-earth magnet to find the screws : pokey awl to reveal the screws : drill driver to remove the screws : utility knife to do the cutting

I gutted my basement this way - used only ~ 3 blades ! ... minimal dust and the big sections of drywall were folded in 3 or 4 and easily carried out by hand.

It also - cleanly - reveals the wiring & plumbing & whatever else is in the walls - without disturbing much - even the vapour barrier is left mostly in tact. < minor damage >

John T.

[Markem]

My vote drywall saw and a drywall knife plus tarps galore. Keep the shop vac handy one with a gortex filter is good for the dust.

[Puckdropper]

pyotr filipivich wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Does the roto-zip have a vacuum attachment? My router does and it's very effective when it comes to wood dust. Since the setups are very similar, you'll probably see similar results.

Puckdropper

[Just Wondering]

Pyotr didn't ask about fast. The only concern he expressed was to minimize dust.

[pyotr filipivich]

True. But "fast" is also desirable. (Actually, what I'd like is to say "I'll be back tomorrow" and it's all done, including cleanup. But, no such luck.

[Just Wondering]

You can cut a pretty big hole with a utility knife in less time than cleaning up the dust from a "faster" method would take.

[pyotr filipivich]

It might, but I don't have it. Nor do I have a shop vac. Hasn't been a problem so far. The table saw gets set up outdoors, and I haven't had that many power tools till recently.

And thanks to all for the "Use a knife" advice. I had not thought of that. But that still leaves a lot of other issues. (Like where do I put the stuff in the closet/room while I work.)

[hubops]

Yep. + 1. John T.

[Scott Lurndal]

I vote for the drywall saw.

[John McGaw]

If _I_ was doing it then I'd opt for the rotary tool with dust collection using my HEPA-filtered shop vacuum. Sure, you could use the utility knife method but, in my experience, by the time you get done that without dust collection it would be both far slower and messier.

[Bill]

By "decking", do you plan to attack "cabinets" to the underside of the studs? Was it possible to take a good look at the other side (first)? I just did an inventory, and whoever designed my closets didn't leave much room behind them.

[Leon]

+1 No need to make this complicated... Oh! did I just say that?

[Leon]

A drywall saw can make a plunge cut to start. No need for a pilot hole.

[Just Wondering]

That's beyond our pay grade. It's a question for SWMBO. :)