Drywall Size for Newbie Drywaller

[Celtic Tiger]

First, let me thank all of you for the great guidance I've gotten just searching the threads here. I'm renovating a 25' by 30' garage with a sloping ceiling; that starts at about 12'. The ceiling had been drywalled with 3/8" rock hung parallel on 16" joists by a previous owner. Of course a lot of it has sagged and some has actually fallen down. I made the decision to demo it all and start over. I'm redoing lights and a number of other things too; but that is beside the point.

I will hang 1/2" perpendicular to joists. Although the garage is attached, there is no living space above the garage. The common wall with the house appears to be 3/4" (I'm not touching the walls) My question is should I try to hang 12' sheets, 10' or stick with 8'. I know the argument for 12' is less taping; but I'm not really sure what I am getting in to. Believe me, I've done alot of research, watched alot of the videos bought all the equipment (drywall screw gun, drywall lift - $120 - will likely sell after this project, scaffolding - I like this, may keep, banjo, etc.) so I think I'm pretty well ready to go. I'm 58 years old. I'm no Hercules; but I'm not a 98 pound weakling either. Intuitively, I think 8 foot sheets would be easier on the hang; but don't want to make my taping harder if I can avoid it. I do plan on painting etc.; but realize it is a garage and doesn't have to be perfect.

Sorry for the long back story. Try 12' or stick with 8' Advice anyone?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tony_G]

If I were doing it myself, I'd go with the 8ft ones. If you are getting any help, you could try the 12 ft ones.

I don't think the taping would necessarily be easier using the 12 footers, you'll need longer tape runs, etc so it may still end up being a pain.

 

[The Cobbler]

12' sheets less **** joints, heavier to handle, more cumbersome.
8" sheets more **** joints, lighter and less cumbersome.
with the drywall jack, I would opt for the 12's and try to get a buddy to help you.

 

[Gerald O]

On a small project that size you'll only save a few **** joints and some screws with the 12' versus 8'. The long tapered joints will be the same regardless. Loading the 12' onto the lift by yourself will be the tough part. In 1/2" lightweight, it won't be that heavy but will be floppy and awkward. You could end up breaking it just from bouncing.

 

[Radix2]

if you have the lift, 12 is just as easy as 8 for the final go - the difference is getting it on the thing and whatever other moving you need to to. If you are OK with that, then go with whatever length will fit without **** joints.

 

[The Cobbler]

edit to my original post, depending on room size 12's may be less joints and possibly less waste too since you have longer material to cut from

 

[jetnow1]

I would use 5/8th for fire protection, 12 footers or better yet 16 footers if running the 30 foot direction. But I would have a helper to lift them.

 

[bczygan]

Welcome to GJ!

Please put your location in your profile.

Photos of the garage?

What caused the 3/8 to fail?

Is the structure designed for this?

Where is the insulation and is there ventilation?

8' and lightweight would be my choice.

Bill

 

[pcmeiners]

"I would use 5/8th for fire protection,"

Agree, 5/8" Type X Gypsum board ( fire rated). Forget your worry about extra taping, get 8 foot boards even with a lift, unless you have help. 3/8" is such a joke, sit still in a chair and watch it warp/bow, 1/2" a bit better, not by much. At 58, you are going to hurt with 8 footers no less 12' boards, if your alone...trust me I have install at least a couple thousand boards.

 

[JDMcG]

I'd rent or borrow a jack and buy 16 footers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pstnbly]

You only need 5/8" on the "party wall" the wall between the house and garage. With a lift 1/2 x 4 x 12 is easily do-able for 1 person unless the ceiling is higher than 11'-6". Most lifts only go higher than that with an extension.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

If you're going to have **** joints anyway, I'd go with the 8 footers.

The only time I use longer sheets is if the room is small enough to avoid **** joints altogether.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

I'd eliminate any possibility of injury- I'd pay a hangin' crew to hang it! Then I'd finish it myself.

Granted, its a small job and they usually get paid by the board- So, to make the job more attractive find out what they usually get paid then negotiate a bonus if they can do by a certain date.

 

[Jess]

Over the years, I've done lots of drywall. My opinion now, as I get older is that 'they make people for that' and its not me. The last job I did, I hired out hanging the drywall and a couple of young fits guys made some money on a side job. A few hours and the pain was over. I actually enjoy the finishing and work at that at my own pace. If you hire it out, get the larger sheets, as there will be less butts to finish.

 

[PWC Repair]

I'm also wondering why the original fell. Nails only with no screws? Screws driven in too far? Door open all the time letting humidity in? I have hung plenty of 1/2 inch drywall. My house is old and rafters are on 2ft center. The 1/2" drywall is not bowed, sagging, etc. The joints are easy to tape and mud, I always just use 8 footers to keep the heavy lifting to a minimum. After a few test screws you should be able to set the drill clutch so the screws run in just right every time.

Finishing tips: Turn off lights and have somebody shine a flashlight down the wall while held close to the wall. Your high and low spots will stand out like a sore thumb. Circle them with a pencil and correct them.
Use a sander with shop vac attachment and sanding screen. Save used up screen for smooth finish sanding by hand in tight spots.

 

[ssdave]

I'd go with 8 foot sheets for the ceilings, but go with 5/8" type x for both fire protection, and on the ceilings to keep it from sagging. On the walls, it's a lot more durable also, but easier to hang so I'd use both 5/8" thick and 12 foot long sheets. Or, as suggested, pay someone else to hang it, and use the 12 foot sheets everywhere.

 

[Pathfinders]

Stop by a local jobsite at lunch and ask the sheet rock guys if they are looking for side work. It is close to Christmas and young guys in the trades are always looking for extra cash. Plus they will be in your area anyway, will not take a 2 man crew long too hang it. Might even mud and tape it also. You will be helping them and getting a good deal. Worst case you get advice from guys who do drywall for a living.

 

[Jlbc212]

I would install metal roofing on the ceiling instead of drywall. The metal roofing is much easier to handle and requires no taping or painting.

 

[gnpenning]

Leave the sheets in the back of your truck and slide them out on to the jack as you need them. Use 2x material in the bed of your truck to support the rock and go with 12"s. You can leave the truck in the garage or tarp the sheets until all is installed if you can't get it all up in one day. Remember you don't have to put in all the screws at the beginning, just enough to hold it safely then come back latter and screw it off. Done it this way more than once. Just lock or block the lift so it doesn't move on you as you load sheets on.

When you mud remember less is more and make it smooth as you can as you go. Us a wider knife with each coat. Less sanding in the end.

 

[shelteredV]

Your local code very well might mandate 5/8" on at least the adjacent wall.
If your dead set on doing it yourself, run 12'
my advise would be to follow Pathfinder's idea if you don't know any guys- sheetrocking *****

 

[southalabama]

After doing an office building that flooded twice I'm with the poster that said hire crew to hang and finish it yourself. Your neck and back will thank you.

 

[LX-Markham]

The last job I did, I hired out hanging the drywall and a couple of young fits guys made some money on a side job. A few hours and the pain was over. I actually enjoy the finishing and work at that at my own pace.

I am the opposite (so I wish you were closer). I don't mind hanging drywall, but I hate sanding and finishing. Maybe if I did a better job at taping and mudding there would be less sanding LOL

OP, I would go with 1/2" by 8' sheets. IMO easier to lift/handle the sheets, easier to cut and fit the sheets, and when it's all said and done nobody will know what size sheets you used.

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I was a little surprised to see the how many of you advised to just hire it out. Call me a masochist; but I'm at a stage in my life where I get a real kick out of "real work" challenges. I'm an accountant by day so I am really (mostly) enjoying my garage project. However it is a 125 year old house so it is always a surprise to open something up and determine in which decade the original work was done. If life is a box of chocolates, my house is a box of something else, similar in color; but with a bad smell. Anyway, I plan on doing the whole thing myself.

So, with that...a little follow up:

1. I'm not doing the walls - they are in pretty good shape and it looks like the common wall is up to code.

2. Some of you have advised 5/8" fire code on the ceiling. I'm willing to do that; but as I understand it it is not required. There is no living space above the garage. Think of it as someone just stuck a garage on the back of a house (which is actually what happened as I understand it - one of the previous owners did it). Still if there are reasonable benefits to using 5/8" I have no problem doing it.

3. Some previous owner poorly hung 3/8" on the ceiling. My understanding is it is not that surprising that 3/8" on a ceiling would fail over time. Some were screwed. some (over) nailed. The sheets were hung parallel with the joists. There did appear to be some water damage on some and the gas dryer was vented into the garage causing a lot of humidity - yep that's right - gas dryer vented to the garage. I have since corrected this.

Because I'm doing this myself, I'm now leaning to 8' sheets even though I have the lift. I also have a scaffold which may help with the taping. It doesn't have to look perfect, it just needs to work. So I guess I am left with the 1/2" or 5/8" dilemma. Plan to hang it this weekend.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Whitworth]

8 foot sheets if doing it by yourself. At 12 feet, the sheets strongly tend towards being fragile and almost impossible to maneuver in all but large spaces.

 

[Celtic Tiger]

I just remembered, I had taken these before photos some time ago and bczygan asked to see some. Trust me, we're looking much better than this already.

 

[readhead]

On 16" centers 1/2" will be fine.

 

[SteveeP]

I have hung 1/2", 12' regular drywall by myself before using a panel lift (10ft ceilings) and was actually laughing while I was doing this because of how easy it was going up. This was in my 24'x36' garage, all new construction, nice smooth floor to roll the lift around...you know, the perfect situation. I would also strap the ceiling before hand with some 1x3 strapping, 12" or 16" oc.

 

[bronc3buster842001]

OP what part of St. Louis you from. I live an hour south in the Farmington area..

 

[Celtic Tiger]

I have hung 1/2", 12' regular drywall by myself before using a panel lift (10ft ceilings) and was actually laughing while I was doing this because of how easy it was going up. This was in my 24'x36' garage, all new construction, nice smooth floor to roll the lift around...you know, the perfect situation. I would also strap the ceiling before hand with some 1x3 strapping, 12" or 16" oc.

Well, I don't necessarily need to be laughing; but I sure as hell don't want to be crying

Thanks for the comment!

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Webster Groves

 

[bczygan]

Absolutely go with 1/2". No reason for 5/8. Lightweight would be my choice. And screws everywhere. no nails. I've had the nails pull out of my ceiling joists, and sheets begin to fall.

Bill

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Just thought I'd report back as a thank you for all the advice.

Well, the project fell behind (what project doesn't huh?) so I finally went to buy my drywall last night. Feeling cocky, I bought 12 12' sheets of 1/2" lightweight rock. Got help loading at HD. None at home. However, I think someone here had suggested backing the truck up and sliding the sheets off the truck. I had saw horses with an 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood set up for this my handy B&D workbench to support the excess 4 ft. So far so good.

I unbox my lift and assemble it. Easy. I try to slide a single sheet off the stack directly onto the tilted lift. No dice. The support hooks were not designed to take horizontal pressure only vertical. So, I end up sliding a sheet off the stack to the ground and then lifting it on the hooks. Ok, this is starting to get difficult; but manageable. Still starting to think 8' would have been better.

I wheel the lift over to the far corner - the highest point of the sloping ceiling and the most difficult to access because of some stairs. I crank that baby up and it rises to its full extension of approximately 11' Only about a foot short of my ceiling. You know how difficult it is to raise a 60 pound floppy 12' sheet of drywall from 11 to 12 feet by yourself and position it properly? Now, in interest of full disclosure...I actually knew I would be short on the highest part of the ceiling; but was thinking a work around would magically come to me.

With this sheet suspended 11 feet up in the air in my garage so close to my target, no way was I taking it back down. Long story short, I spent the rest of the night building T's on the fly and incrementally screwing 2x4 sections to the wall as support, screwing 2x4s to the exposed joists to swing around and act as support until I could position it in place. As I crept into bed at 4:30am this morning all I could think of was those guys who suggested hiring it out are pretty smart guys.

One down, 11 to go! Actually that was my hardest sheet and the ceiling slopes so the lift will reach the ceiling on the majority of the remaining sheets.

Just thought you'd enjoy the story.

 

[Jackfre]

Over the years, I've done lots of drywall. My opinion now, as I get older is that 'they make people for that' and its not me. The last job I did, I hired out hanging the drywall and a couple of young fits guys made some money on a side job. A few hours and the pain was over. I actually enjoy the finishing and work at that at my own pace. If you hire it out, get the larger sheets, as there will be less butts to finish.

There are some jobs that should not be done by adults. Ceiling Sheetrock is one of them. I am on the 5/8" rock crew. The 3/8" failed. The 1/2" may sag too.

 

[rburke65]

Neither 8' nor the 12' sheets..... I'd write a check and sub it out. It's like installing insulation....by the time you make 22 trips hauling it home, these guys can have it done.

 

[scheu]

They make an extension for drywall lifts. But they produce a new problem. Raises the lowest position of the lift (higher from the floor). I rented a taller lift (12'-15'). I had to have my helper (wife) step from the floor to a platform, then set her end of the sheet on the lift.
And you are SO right about the hooks. They are make to swing out of the way. But that sure is a PITA when trying to load the sheet onto the lift.

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Just thought I stop in two years after the fact to show you how things turned out. No, it didn't take two years to finish. The reason this just became top of mind again is we sold the house and I took these the last day of clean out. we lived there 25 years. I put a lot of work into this and did it 100% myself... electrical, drywall, painting (the unpainted part was a last minute code compliance fix). I was able to do it with help from resources like The Garage Journal and I thank you for your advice. Compare with my earlier post above.
Thanks!

 

[LX-Markham]

that's a nice big space!
well done!

I like the combination of pot lights AND pendants.