How To Sheetrock

How to Sheetrock is what you are going to learn as you go through the paragraghs and pages of the this site.  In this site I am going to go through the steps for you and hopefully you can do your own sheet rocking and tape and texture. Hello, my name is Rocky Lowry, and I have been working construction for about 30 years. Residential housing for the most part. I am building websites now because my body is feeling the effects of all that framing and finish work. Recently I started teaching myself the computer and Internet, so i could teach more people the money saving skills that I have, and maybe learn something that is easier on the body. I know all the steps of building a house and believe that I can help you save a lot of money with your project, by helping you do your Sheetrock work for yourself. Other sites will follow so you can keep going on your project and get your job done without the major labor cost.    Thanks for visiting How To Sheetrock, and good luck with your project.

1. First thing to do is make sure your subcontractors are all done.  Electrical, plumbing, heating,  phone, and anything else that you may want inside the walls. Double check to make sure all the sheetrock backing is done. For reference, visit my framing a basement site here. Insulation should be done also.

2. Go to the tools needed page and gather all the tools for the job. Most of the tools are hand tools, so they will not get to be to much for you to do the job yourself. The bigger tools like the Sheetrock jack can be rented.

3. Next, you need to figure how much Sheetrock you need and get it in.  Go to the order Sheetrock page and figure how much  of each thickness you will need.  If your doing a hole house, or you have a lot of Sheetrock, make sure that you have the stockers put the Sheetrock across the floor joist in a couple different places and they do not stack the rock going  the same direction as the floor joist. Also the Sheetrock should be standing up and finish side in towards the room for ease of cutting.

4. Now if you have never cut Sheetrock before, go to the cut sheetrock page and review it before going on.

5. Now you should be ready to begin with the ceiling,  go to the ceiling Sheetrock page and do all the ceiling, and make sure it is all screwed in place.

6. Now you can take the Sheetrock jack back , you will not need it for the walls. Then go to the How To Sheetrock a Wall page and complete the walls.

7. Double check all the walls and make sure you have all the screws in and the doors and windows wrapped that have to be . The windows should be wrapped with Sheetrock if you are not going to put wood casement and trim on them.  Closet doors that are not going to get the wood casement, need Sheetrock.

8. Now you are ready for the finish, go to the mud sheetrock page and  start  the taping.

9. You should be ready for the paint, go to sheetrock painting page and finish the walls and ceiling.

Thanks for visiting and I hope that your project is going well.
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How to Sheetrock corners, they are not any harder then the rest of the taping.  The installing of the Sheetrock is a little different for the different kinds of corners though.

Nail On Square Corners

Nail on square corners should have the Sheetrock overlapped  on the corner under them to form a good base. Makes it easier to keep the corner straight when installing it and the Sheetrock will not break  under it as easy. If the Sheetrock is flush to the framing on both sides, leaving a inward square hole, it is OK too, because they make tape on corners now that are a lot nicer to put on.

Tape On Square Corners

Tape on square corners are very easy, you put mud on the wall on both sides of the corner, all the way up and down. There is no sense in trying to be  conservative, use lots of mud and see that there is no voids in the mud. Voids will create air pockets later, or places where the tape did not stick to the wall .  These will show up later during texture or painting. Soon as you see one of these bubbles in the tape, you need to fix it or it will come back to haunt you later. ( If the tape is still wet, you just put some mud on the knife and put some under the tape, if the tape is dry you just cut out the bubble and fill the hole with mud.) The corner should already be cut to fit the wall, using tin snips.  After you have the mud on the wall on both sides of the corner, you press the corner into the mud, all the way to the ceiling, leaving any gaps on the bottom. Using the for-finger and thumb, you start in the middle of the stick, pushing against the wall, you slide them all the way to the top and bottom, pushing the mud out from under the tape. Take your 4″ knife, pressing on the tape and the wall, remove all the extra mud from the wall and corner, return the mud to your hock or tray, long as it is still clean.  Let this dry completely before applying the next coat with your 12″ trowel.

Tape On Round Corners or Bull Nose Corners

Tape on round corners are the same principle as the square tape on corners. The only difference is that the round corners have to have the Sheetrock behind them flush to the framing, instead of overlapping each other. If the Sheetrock is overlap, it is possible that the Sheetrock will hold the corner out to far, and it will not hold as good. The other thing with the bull nose corners is you need to put a 4″ base on the bottom of the wall first for the  bull nose corners, and cut the corners in after, this is done so when you put baseboard trim on later, you have a 90% corner to cut around instead of the round corner. I hope this section on how to Sheetrock corners has helped you with your project. Good luck on the rest of you taping job!

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In How To Sheetrock, I am going to explain all the steps on how to install the Sheetrock.  You will know all the tools you will need for installing the Sheetrock, and to tape and texture your project. You will learn how to do ceiling Sheetrock, and why to use a certain thickness, and where to use them. I will teach how to cut Sheetrock for those people who have never cut it before. You will learn how to order your Sheetrock and how to stock it in the house. In How To Sheetrock, you will also learn Sheetrock repair, for small holes and large alike.  Then finally you will learn taping Sheetrock, and texture, so your project will have that finished look that you want. You will learn the proper steps for painting your new drywall.  When you are done with these important steps, your project will already have a feal of being finished, but don’t stop there. Now it is time to do the fixtures and the finish trim, and interiors doors. I hope that your project goes well for you. Good luck and have fun saving money.