I plan to finish our garage as a garage/work shop. The walls are about
10 feet high.
Part of the garage is already dry walled, and the drywall is installed with long side horizontally.
From a handling point of view, it seems that it would be easier to install it with the long side vertical.
Does it make a difference horizontal or vertical?
It seems it would be easier lifting the panels into place with the long side vertical, as they could be set and pushed up to the wall. With the long side horizontal the 2nd row piece would have to be lifted to the top of the firs row and pushed into place.
It depends. How long are the walls and how big of a piece can you moose around? If you can deal with 10' sheets and the studs are in the right place, vertical is easier. If you have to rely on 8' sheets, I prefer horizontal. Butt joints are a PITA but you're going to have those either way.
So if you are a dry installer, it is probably 6 of one 1/2 a dozen of the other as to which is easier. Both have to be lifted off of the floor by an inch or so to reach the ceiling sheetrock.
With that said sheet rock comes in several lengths. Most often the longer than 8' lengths are placed horizontally if the will is shorter than the sheet. IIRC sheet rock comes in 8', 10', and 12' lenghts.
Also consider mudding and taping. Some drywall installers prefer horizontal seams at about 4' simply to make taping easier. In the end, it should not matter.
Thanks for the information. First I am an amateur, but have done some drywall during my high school years 60 years ago.
To use 10' drywall panels in the vertical position would require every panel to be cut as the walls are a shade under 10'. 10' horizontally would be good for the first course lifting the second course into place seems to be a problem even for a younger person
So I was thinking of 8' sheets vertical with one cut sheet horizontally to complete the wall. Cutting around the window and door would be the same either way.
Well then, at your age, I salute you for tackling this yourself!
If you don't have a helper, consider renting a drywall hoist for ~$30-40 per day. It may pay for itself in saved time and frustration doing it yourself.
That's your call based on your situation. Avoid any seams at the corners of doors and windows and be mindful of the next step; make mudding and taping the seams as easy as possible. Good luck.
Please explain "Avoid any seams at the corners of doors and windows"
Should all the window/door corners be cut from a single panel or is it OK to run a panel up along the window and a piece over the window with seam continuing from the top of he window to the ceiling?
When placing drywall, I try to create a vertical seam mid-span above, or a horizontal seam mid-span on either side of a door or window. I find that seams directly intersecting corners of openings tend to crack more.
One thing to think about is the sight line. Hung horizontally, you may see the joint because you're looking right down it's length. Avoid the seam at eye level (2' panel on the bottom) or you will see it no matter how good the taping is.
Since you're doing it yourself, I'm sure a day or two isn't going to cut it. BTDT. I bought a lift quite some time ago but they've gotten a lot more expensive, apparently:
Regarding your question. From a structural standpoint no. However, generally you have fewer linear feet to tape with horizontal hanging but not always.
Me... I've hung and taped a fair amount of drywall. In your case I'd probably hang 4'x12' sheets horizontally. Start with 4' widths at the top and put the nominal 2' at the bottom. If you are working alone you can hang the upper sheets using a panel lift--they aren't just for ceilings! You can reach the horizontal joints fairly easy at those heights for taping and there is less taping to do.
Depending on where the door(s) are located you might be able to avoid having to tape at least some butt joints.
Do yourself a favour - lay it horisontal. 2 man job - but make or rent a "llift" - it can be as simple as a set of "ramps" made of 2X4s against the wall with a 2X4 between them to rest the sheet on at the right hight to hold the sheet pretty well to the ceiling -use a wide bar to hold to the desired heigt then screw into place - top sheet first all around the garage. When the top is all done re-work the ramp to fit the second sheet - staggering the vertical joints - then cut the bottom sheet and pry it into place. withthe required bottom gap. Horizontal lines are easier to mud and less conspicuous. Short vericals are easier than full height
That is to be avoided if possible - better to have the vertical seam centered over the door. Horrizintal sheets mean only a small amount of waste cut out of the bottom of the top sheet, then the next 2 layers have no waste for doors. Never have a joint that is unsupported, and try to avoid joints at inside corners - like a door or window top corner or window bottom corner for best crack resistance.
It''s not very common to have more than 8 or 10 feet between corners and windows or doors so in MOST cases there is no vertical joint in the "eye level" panets when mounting horizontal. If there is, a staggered vertical joint is not terribly visible. A full height vertical joint every 4 feet is a royal B---h to hide - - . Making the joints -if required - on the upper course cantered above doors or windows makes for a nice short vertical seam and the sides of the windows draw your eye away from the joint -= and it is unusual to require more than one joint in ther upper course even using the readily available 8 foot sheets (most walls are under 16 feet long)
While, you're on that topic, I thought I would mention that as a beginner myself, I found my inexpensive 500W halogen light very helpful in pointing out to me where my joints required more work (sanding or other). The shadows show up in a big way! The technique easily found issues that I would have otherwise encountered while I was painting, and it was too late to do much about it. I may have got that suggestion here (if not, I got it from YouTube or from something I read, because I know I didn't come up with it on my own!). You may be amazed what it finds for you, and after using the light, you'll know exactly where you stand--with no need to guess or hope!
Drywall can work as a shear wall for earthquake reinforcement. Specific types of plywood are normally used in proper retrofits, but AFAIU drywall can work well enough depending on the requirements and the drywall specs.
For plywood shear walls, horizontal panels are preferred, even where you can fit full, evenly spaced panels in either direction. The experimental evidence (the specifics of which I forget) is much weaker than the rationales contractors give, but the evidence still slightly favors horizontal placement. My neighbor retrofit his first floor a year after I did and boasted (based on his contractor's feel-good BS) that his panels were placed horizontal, unlike mine which were placed vertical. In our situations it almost certainly didn't matter. Rather I'm sure placement was in actuality dictated by which was easier and cheaper for the contractor. But *technically* I felt bound to concede his point and nod my head.
At least as important as the drywall specs, and definitely more important than direction, would be the fastener type, spec, and placement. For plywood retrofit shearwalls, screws are considered a conspicuous sign of shoddy work. But I'm sure screws could still be used as long as they met the right specs; screws just aren't as fool- and defect-proof as nails. Maybe the reverse is true for drywall, with screws making it easier to achieve maximum benefit.
The first sheet for the wall should be placed up tight to the ceiling. This makes a tight joint with a tapered edge for taping and helps support the ceiling sheet.
The next sheet goes under the first. For an 8' wall that's it. The inch or so at the bottom will be covered by trim. For a 10' wall you'll have to decide if you want a 2' "patch" in the middle or at the bottom. Middle is easier to work on to feather out, bottom may be less noticeable. In a workshop it probably doesn't matter.
Horizontal or vertical is up to you. It may make a difference on how many joints you have to deal with especially (untapered) butt joints. In home construction, many rooms can be finished with 10 or 12 foot sheets covering a full wall and eliminating the butt joints.
Tearing out wet drywall after Tropical Storm Allison dropped up to 24 inches of rain [IIRC] in 24 hours, flooded hundreds/thousands of Houston area homes in 2002 we quickly realized that horizontally installed drywall made for a convenient height/break for tear-out and replacement of full sheets. Highest waterline of the five houses we repaired was 31 or 32 inches. It definitely moved the time line for tear-out and dry-out.
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