For questions about drywall (aka plasterboard) installation, repair & finishing.
28
votes
8answers
36k views
How do I run wires for a wall-mount flatscreen TV?
Like a lot of you, we have several wall-mounted LCD HDTVs in the house. The TVs have two wires -- power and HDMI -- running down the wall to the power outlet and cable box.
I've historically been too ...
3
votes
2answers
704 views
Running electrical cable within dry wall
First of all, I'm a beginner.
Secondly, I've a renovation started in the basement (see picture here), so I need some help.
So in the bedroom, there's actually a socket already present just as you ...
2
votes
2answers
395 views
When building drywalls with suspended ceiling do I need wall height to actual ceiling?
I'm building classrooms in the large basement of our home; we're in Spain and have an English school we're expanding.
Room to room sound insulation and resonance are the major concerns I have to ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
Can I drywall over plaster
I live in an old house with horsehair plaster walls. One of the walls in my living room has a large crack running the length of the wall. It appeared after someone sat on the sofa with a little too ...
9
votes
2answers
258 views
What type/thickness of drywall should be used in water heater closet?
I have a rental house built in the 70's that had severe water damage in the small room (4x5 feet) that houses the hot water heater. The room is off of the garage. I've had the water heater replaced ...
8
votes
2answers
763 views
Can I perform a large ceiling drywall repair myself?
A leaky roof caused water damage to an area of the ceiling approximately 3' x 4'. The ceiling also has a nearby crack that seems to follow a joint, bringing the total affected area to about 5' x 8'. ...
7
votes
3answers
427 views
How do I corner bead around two layers of 5/8" drywall?
Here it is:
I still have yet to shave down the rough edges from when I scored and snapped it, but, after that, what can I use for corner bead?
It's entirely possible that I will end up putting up ...
5
votes
1answer
335 views
How can I refinish an interior chimney pipe to make it appear rounded?
Right now my interior chimney pipe is hidden behind a wall and I want to remove that wall and expose the pipe, but the pipe itself is not so pretty.
My fireplace is a wood fireplace with a double ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Second layer of drywall on textured ceiling: Do I need to sand down or remove the texture before second layer goes on?
I have a textured ceiling similar to this:
Some of the texture peaks at 1/8", but it mostly peaks at 1/16". I am going to be applying a second layer of drywall with Green Glue in between and I ...
4
votes
3answers
169 views
Can I make an existing dog door bigger for our new larger dog?
We have an existing dog door that we had installed in the wall for our beagle. We have since acquired a larger dog and she has out grown the door. I'm worried about injuries, so any advice will be ...
22
votes
4answers
6k views
Should I use nails or screws for hanging drywall on the ceiling?
I'm replacing water-damaged drywall on my ceiling and was considering using screws. Other than cost, is there any other reason I should use nails instead?
Or am I too paranoid that nails won't have ...
8
votes
2answers
6k views
How much weight can I hang from a drywall ceiling?
I have a potted plant (approx 5kg/10lbs) that I wish to hang from a drywall ceiling of a window aisle.
Unfortunately, I have no idea about what specific kind of drywall plate it is or how it was ...
16
votes
4answers
732 views
How do I fix a hole in drywall?
There is a hole in my drywall from a doorknob repeatedly hitting it, is there a straightforward way to fix it?
5
votes
3answers
948 views
Mild water damage on drywall from leaky roof
We have a fairly new house (built in 1997). Cheap roof and we had a big windstorm a few years back that resulted in some lost shingles that I had patched -- no major problems. Recently we had a much ...
0
votes
1answer
504 views
How do I fix a bathroom light Fixture that is falling off the wall?
The light fixture in my bath room is falling right off the wall . Can anyone tell me what I'll need to fix it and how to fix it?
2
votes
1answer
199 views
How large are in-wall heating vents that connect to registers?
I'm curious how large heating vents can typically be when connecting to in-wall registers. Do they fill up the entire space between studs?
I'm framing for some drywall patches and would ideally not ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
How can I mount speakers that don't have mount adapters?
How can I mount a pair of speakers to my apartment walls? Specifically, how do I mount speakers that have no mounting points? They are from a turntable set from the 80's most likely before the ...
5
votes
2answers
5k views
How should I level (flatten) ceiling joists for drywall?
My kitchen ceiling joists are old and at varying heights. I'm trying to make it level, or at least flat, in preparation for drywall installation. Would you suggest installing strips of wood to the ...
3
votes
1answer
824 views
How to screw the edge of a sheet of drywall where there is no stud directly behind it?
wall A
old wall ________________ edge of frame
new wall ________________|
|
| Wall B
|
I recently floated a ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
Is there a technique or tool for consistently placing drywall screws correctly?
Is there a special technique or tool for consistently placing drywall screws correctly?
I'm using a standard Dewalt DWD115K (with no auto-stop mechanism) so I'm usually paranoid of going too deep ...
18
votes
2answers
1k views
How much gap to leave between basement concrete floor and bottom of drywall board?
We have a dry basement with a concrete floor. When putting on the wall boards, how much (if any) gap should there be between the concrete floor and the bottom of the board? The boards are 3/8 inch, ...
1
vote
1answer
500 views
How should I store between 30 and 50 sheets of QuietRock ES?
I will spare the details of why I am buying this much QuietRock. For now, let's just assume it makes sense and move on to my question.
As I said, I am buying a large quantity of QuietRock ES to ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
How do you bend a sheet a drywall into a curve?
How do you bend a sheet a drywall into a curve? I tried wetting the back surface with a paint roller, letting it soak for 30 minutes, then scoring the back paper in parallel lines about an inch apart ...
7
votes
2answers
576 views
How can I quietly tear down drywall?
Is there a way to remove drywall without exerting brute force? Being that I live in a condo, I don't want to go all happy with a hammer to my wall and disturb my neighbors. It seems there would be a ...
3
votes
2answers
310 views
Can drywall harden or become brittle over time? Or, am I dealing with plaster?
I was in the process if hanging curtains and when I was putting the drywall mounts into the wall the drywall was extremely hard and just crumbled. Once the drywall mount hit a certain depth it just ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
How can I fill small holes in drywall without painting?
I am taking down several items hung on our walls; this will leave about two dozen holes ranging from small nail holes to anchor holes about 3/8" in diameter. I am looking for a way to fill these holes ...
11
votes
7answers
814 views
Is fiberglass mesh tape a good choice for drywall?
I'm going to be doing some drywalling shortly and was wondering what experiences other have had with the self adhesive fiberglass mesh tape.
Is it a good choice or am I going to regret using it?
8
votes
1answer
829 views
How should I mount a TV stand on a wall covered in drywall?
How should I mount a TV stand on a wall covered in drywall? Should I trenail it to the wall?
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Can quick-drying mud be used on the same drywall joints where slow-drying mud was used?
I think I phrased the summary/title poorly but essentially, I'd like to know if all drywall mud coats need to use the same type of joint compound for all coats or if I can transition to quick drying ...
5
votes
1answer
339 views
How do I mitigate moisture problems when putting up drywall over stucco with torn tar paper?
I'd like to finish my 56-year old garage with drywall but I have concerns about moisture.
The wall construction looks like stucco over tar paper with metal wire support, then the frame.
My main ...
3
votes
1answer
428 views
How do I solve my problems with a paper faced outside corner bead coming loose?
I'm doing drywall work around where the outside corner of my tray ceiling vertical meets the regular ceiling. I bought paper-faced metal corner beads and spray adhesive thinking it would be quicker ...
4
votes
1answer
540 views
What is the best way to drywall a basement staircase?
We're going to be finishing our basement and one issue I have is how we will drywall the staircase. Unfortunately the stairs are right against the concrete wall. Should I simply put furring strips ...
4
votes
2answers
259 views
How do I keep drywall around a patch from crumbling?
While patching my kitchen ceiling, I cut the hole larger to get to the joists and install my drywall "normally". On one of my edges the old drywall keeps crumbling away. My plan is to make the hole ...
8
votes
3answers
296 views
What is a minimally intrusive way to move a wire that is in a wall 3.5" to the left?
I need to move a speaker that's mounted on a wall about 3.5" to the left.
Here's what the actual mounted speaker looks like:
The wire comes out inside the bracket that attaches to the wall, and ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
What thickness drywall do I need for 24" OC wall studs in a detached garage?
I am currently finishing an older 3-car detached garage. Both the wall studs and the ceiling trusses have 24" OC spacing.
I know that for the ceiling, I'll need to use 5/8" thick drywall, due to the ...
1
vote
2answers
584 views
How do I cut an access panel in an inside wall?
I have a home theatre and I need to run some cables from the floor through to the roof.
My original plan was to drill from the roof down through the beams and then cut a small hole at the bottom ...
1
vote
2answers
5k views
How do I hang curtain rods?
I'm not experienced, and I have poor tools, but it seems like I'm having more trouble than I should have. The last attempt was off-level despite an extra 30 minutes of working with a laser level; I ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Which blade should I use on a Silverline Adjustable Hole Cutter with Cowl?
I just bought this hole cutter to make some large holes in a plaster board ceiling. It comes with two sets of blades but no instructions! So which type blade should I use for plaster board?
The ...
2
votes
2answers
343 views
How do I cover up small holes in plaster ceiling?
I accidentally punched these on the ceiling while moving stuff around. They're around half a centimeter in diameter, and the ceiling seems to be plaster.
How can I mask/cover these up the most ...
1
vote
2answers
5k views
What is the usual maximum load for drywall? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How much weight can you mount to a wall?
I've only recently moved beyond yellow wall plugs and into a different style of self taping plug that's rated to significantly ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Drilled holes too wide for drywall anchors- how to fix?
I drilled holes for drywall anchors too wide - so now the anchor and the screw is loose. How do I fix this?
4
votes
2answers
947 views
How do I estimate how much drywall I'll need?
Is there a formula for estimating how much drywall is required for a job?
perimeter = 140'
area = 490sqft
I'm guessing around 45 12x4 sheets, but I would like to confirm my guess before ordering.
8
votes
2answers
738 views
When drywalling, do the pros cover electrical boxes, or work around them?
This may be a bit of a subjective question, but I was just thinking about it. I've seen many electrical boxes that are full of drywall compound, often to the point of having to dig the wires out of it ...
0
votes
2answers
4k views
Should I install a moisture barrier behind drywall in house with T1-11 siding?
My home interior walls are thick redwood paneling in the bay area mountains.
i'm about to start removing the wood in my second bedroom and want to install a moisture barrier on the 1 outside wall of ...
1
vote
1answer
383 views
How do I repair a wall after mild water damage?
Some water got in my wall near a window when it was raining (the window shade had previously put a nick on the window sill corner exposing the drywall). The water got in behind some of the paint and ...
5
votes
2answers
990 views
Drywall - final joint compound coat
While remodeling an older house (where nothing is quite straight) we used fiber glass mesh joint tape and 3 coats of joint compound. The first coat was applied with a 4 inch knife, the second with an ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
What are some tips/techniques for applying knockdown texture to drywall?
I'd like to get advice on applying knockdown texture and fixing my own mistakes in the process. The consistency I'm looking for is something similar to this:
As per an eHow article, I think the ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Using fire rated drywall/sheetrock in a partially finished basement
Background: We have a full basement and I have recently completed about half of it as a hang out spot for my teenage boys and their friends. The other side I use as a workshop and a place to store ...
5
votes
1answer
512 views
How to close a doorway between two apartments?
I own two adjacent condo units and I opened a small doorway (24"x80") on the common wall for convenience.
Now I've sold one of the units and need to close the doorway. I recall the wall was simply ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
AC Coolant pipe has condensation and leaks inside wall
I've got an old AC unit (probably 13+ years old) that came with the house that I bought. This summer I noticed some water damage on the drywall in the basement, so I cut the damaged drywall away, and ...
