How to Install Drywall Like a Pro

Damaged a whole panel of drywall? Or maybe you are in short of budget? 

Either way, you need to install the drywall panel on your home by yourself.

With appropriate tools and knowledge, you can easily install drywall panels to your house frame.

So, let’s learn how to do it-

1. Get Standard Sized Panel

Drywall panels come in different sizes and shapes. The most popular sizes are 8’x4’ and 12’x4’ panels. While handymen like 12’x4’ to save time, 8’x4’ panels are for a newbie coming into the drywall installation job.

Although you need to tape and mud a lot in smaller panels, you take less risk of damaging the panel at the time of transportation and installation.
Talking about the thickness of the panel, you’ll different panels with different thicknesses. ½” thick panels are more popular and standard for most of the drywall installation. So, get the proper panel before you even think of installing the drywall.

Mold and mildew resistant panels that are often referred to as “green rock” are recommended for use in the moisture-prone surfaces.

2. Prepare the Area for Installation

Now that you have perfect panels in your home, you need to prepare the area where you intend to install the drywall. If the surface is new, you’ll require less preparation as the surface won’t have many unwanted elements in it.

On the other hand, replacing a panel with a new panel needs more of your attention to prepare the surface. You should cut the old panel where it got damaged. Remove all the screws, tapes, nails, and other scrapes from the surface carefully.

3. Take Care of the Insulation

When cleaning the debris from the surface to prepare it for a new installation, make sure to take care of the insulation. If you see drywall insulation getting damaged, repair that before anything else unless you picked a reflective drywall panel that can do the job of insulation.

Insulating under the drywall panel is mandatory because you can’t insulate the surface once the panel is installed in place. So, don’t leave it for the next week.

4. Measure to Place the Panel in Correct Position

Now, measure the panel to fit in the place where you are looking to install it. Generally, drywall panels are installed horizontally. But you can do that vertically too.

Use one measuring tape to measure the joists and the panel to have a perfect fit. A slight variation in measurement can bound you to do the job again.

5. Place the Drywall on the Wall and Screw

Finally, we are talking about the installation! Place the drywall panel on the surface with the help of a drywall lift or another person. After placing it in the right spot, start screwing with a drywall screw gun glue the panel down with the joist at the same time.

When screwing the panel, make sure to maintain an even distance between screws for better installation. And you must attach the corners and edges of the panel with the wood frame.

After screwing the panel, Cut any additional panel that is interfering door or windows. Use a drywall saw to cut it smoothly.

6. Mud and Tape Drywall

After the screwing and gluing are complete. You now need to start applying drywall tape on joints along with drywall mud.

Apply a coat of mud first on the joint and then tape it. After that, apply 2 to 4 more coats of joint compound to get a seamless drywall panel installation.

7. Sand Drywall

Sanding drywall is mandatory at the first installation. Otherwise, the paint won’t stick properly and it will look weird. So, take a drywall sander to sand the surface thoroughly.

When sanding the surface, make sure not to over-sand it. Over sanding can do more harm than good to the drywall surface. Sand more on the joints and less in a comparatively smooth portion of the panel.

In case you mess up with the sander and removed any portion of the mud, you can use spackle to repair the surface.

8. Prime and Paint it

The final part of the drywall installation is priming and painting. Apply a good drywall primer on the surface with a paint sprayer or roller. You’ll need one or more coats of primer depending on the quality of the primer. When the primer dries out, you need sand the surface again for getting a perfectly smooth drywall surface.

Now is the time to give your room the color you dreamt of. Use a coat of paint on the surface and see how it come out. If the paint is too thin, you’ll subsequent coats for perfect color saturation.