In the Know: Drywall How-To Videos

Short drywall how-to videos from a journeyman taper: measuring rooms, choosing where to buy your board, staggering joints and more. Every video has the full script underneath.

How to Measure a Room for Drywall

Measure every wall, the ceiling height, the ceiling, and each door and window, then review it room by room in Drywall Layout Pro.

Full script

Here's how to measure a room for drywall.

What you need

Grab a tape measure, and open Drywall Layout Pro on your phone.

Step 1 · Walls

Start in one corner and work your way around the room. Measure each wall along the floor, corner to corner, and enter it in the app as you go.

Step 2 · Height

Next, measure the height, floor to ceiling, in a few spots. Ceilings aren't always level, so use the tallest number.

Step 3 · Ceiling

For the ceiling, find which way the joists run. They usually span the short way of the room. Width is the way the joists run. Length goes across them, the way the sheets hang.

Step 4 · Doors & windows

Then measure every door and window: the width, the height, and how far it sits from the corner.

Step 5 · Add the extras

Add anything special: closets, a bathroom that needs mold-resistant board, or a garage wall that needs Type X.

Last step

When you're done, review it room by room, to make sure everything is there.

Soffits

Soffits won't change your sheet count, so all you need is their length.

Outside corners

In the budget, add each soffit, and any other outside corner, like a bump-out, or a wall that turns into another room. Those get corner bead.

Big Box Store or Drywall Supplier? Choosing the Right Mode

What big box mode and drywall supplier mode count, the size limits of each, and what to do when your local store or supplier doesn't carry every size.

Full script

Big box store, or drywall supplier? Here's how to choose in Drywall Layout Pro.

Big box mode

Big box mode counts four foot wide sheets, in eight, ten, and twelve foot lengths. That's what most home centers keep on the shelf.

It's great for small jobs and repairs you pick up yourself. But on long walls, shorter sheets mean more butt joints to finish.

Drywall supplier mode

Drywall supplier mode adds fifty four inch board, and lengths up to sixteen feet. Two rows of fifty four inch board cover a nine foot wall, and longer sheets mean fewer seams.

Know the limits

Some sizes have limits. Fifty four inch board only comes ten, twelve, and fourteen feet long. Five eighths board tops out at fourteen feet. And mold resistant board only comes four feet wide, up to twelve feet long.

Your market

And every market is different. Your local store or supplier may not stock every size, and what's available can change from city to city.

Lock the size

So call ahead and ask what they carry. If they only have one length, lock the sheet size in Settings, and the app counts only that size.

Pick the mode that matches where you're buying, and your count matches what shows up on the job.

Why You Should Always Stagger Your Drywall Joints

What butt joints are, why lining them up makes a ridge and cracks, and how to stagger them on walls, around doors and windows, and on ceilings.

Full script

Here's why you should always stagger your drywall joints.

Butt joints

Where two sheets meet end to end, you get a butt joint. The long edges are tapered, so mud fills them flat. The ends aren't, so the mud sits on top and builds a hump.

Don't stack them

Line those butt joints up from row to row, and you get one long ridge running down the wall. Under light, it shows. And a straight line of joints is where cracks like to start.

Stagger them

Stagger them instead. Offset each row's butt joints so they land on different studs, at least one stud apart.

Doors & windows

Keep butt joints off the corners of doors and windows, too. Wrap the sheet around the corner instead. That's where walls move the most, and where joints crack.

Ceilings

Ceilings work the same way. Stagger the butt joints so they land on different joists.

Why it matters

Staggered joints mean less mud, an easier finish, and fewer cracks down the road.

Drywall Layout Pro staggers every row for you, so your layout is right before you hang a single sheet.

How to Screw On a Sheet of Drywall

The right screws, 5 screws on every stud, 6 down each end, 3/8 inch from the edge, setting the dimple without tearing the paper, and working the sheet tight to the framing.

Full script

Here's how to screw on a sheet of drywall the right way.

The right screw

Start with the right screw. One and a quarter inch coarse thread, for both half inch and five eighths board on wood studs. On metal studs, use fine thread.

Every stud

On every stud the sheet crosses, put in five screws: one at each edge, and three in the field.

The ends

At each end of the sheet, where it makes a butt joint, put in six screws down the end.

Edge distance

Keep every screw at least three eighths of an inch from the edge, so it doesn't break out the board.

Depth

Drive each screw just below the surface, a little dimple, without tearing the paper. If the paper breaks, put in another screw about two inches away.

Hanging

Push the sheet tight to the framing, and work from the side touching the last sheet out to the other side, so the board lays flat.

Ceilings

Ceilings get the same pattern, on every joist.

And Drywall Layout Pro counts the screws for the job, right in your materials list.

What's the Difference Between All-Purpose and Lightweight Joint Compound?

All-purpose has more adhesive: tape, flexible or paper-faced corner bead, and flex tape. Lightweight sands easier and shrinks less: finish coats and skim coats. Plus how many coats joints and screws get.

Full script

What's the difference between all purpose and lightweight joint compound?

All purpose

All purpose mud has more adhesive in it, so it grabs on and sticks to the board strongly. Use it to bed your paper tape, to set flexible or paper faced corner bead, and to install flex tape on your off angle corners.

Lightweight

Lightweight mud spreads easier, sands much easier, and shrinks less. Use it for your finish coats, and for skim coats.

Coats

Taping isn't a coat. After taping, your joints get two coats of lightweight. Your screws get three coats: one of all purpose, then two of lightweight.

Drywall Layout Pro counts both for you, right in your materials list.

What's the Difference Between Type X and Standard Lightweight Drywall?

Standard lightweight 1/2 inch board vs 5/8 inch Type X: weight, the one-hour fire rating, sound, ceilings, and where Type X goes, like garage walls and ceilings.

Full script

Type X, or standard lightweight drywall? Here's the difference.

Standard lightweight

Standard lightweight board is usually half inch. It's light, easy to carry, and easy to hang, and it covers most walls and ceilings in a house.

Type X

Type X is five eighths inch, with glass fibers in the core that help it hold together in a fire. That's what makes it fire rated for one hour.

It's also heavier, which helps block sound, and it sags less on ceilings.

Where it goes

Garages get Type X on the walls and the ceiling. You'll also see it on fire rated walls in commercial and multi family work. Always follow the plans and your local code.

Drywall Layout Pro lets you set Type X on any wall or room, and Plan Upload picks it up from the plans.

Mold and Mildew Resistant Drywall: Why It Matters and Where It Goes

It's mold and mildew resistant drywall, not water resistant or waterproof. Why it matters, where it goes (bathroom walls, laundry rooms, walls with sinks or faucets), showers and tub surrounds (coordinate with your tile contractor and follow the plans), and its sheet sizes.

Full script

Mold and mildew resistant drywall: why it matters, and where it goes.

The name

First, the name. It's mold and mildew resistant drywall. It's not water resistant, and it's not waterproof.

Why it matters

Its face and core are made to resist mold and mildew in damp, humid rooms, where regular board can grow mold behind the paint.

Where it goes

Use it on bathroom walls, in laundry rooms, and on walls with sinks or water faucets. Anywhere moisture and humidity hang around.

Showers & tubs

For showers and tub surrounds, coordinate with your tile contractor, and follow the plans for what goes behind the tile.

Sheet sizes

It only comes four feet wide, up to twelve feet long, so plan your sheets around that.

Drywall Layout Pro lets you set mold resistant board on any wall, and Plan Upload picks it up from the plans.

Why Paper Tape Belongs on Every Seam and Inside Corner

Paper tape is strong, doesn't stretch and folds clean into inside corners. Fiberglass mesh tape and FibaFuse are options for flat seams, but not for corners.

Full script

Here's why paper tape belongs on every seam and every inside corner.

Paper tape

Paper tape is strong, and it doesn't stretch. Bedded in all purpose, it makes the toughest joint, and it holds up against cracks.

Inside corners

It has a crease down the middle, so it folds clean into every inside corner. That's why it's the go to for corners.

Other options

Fiberglass mesh tape and FibaFuse are other options for your flat seams. But keep them off your corners. Paper is what gives you a crisp, straight corner.

So remember: paper tape on every seam, and every inside corner.

Drywall Layout Pro counts your rolls of paper tape for you, right in your materials list.

What Is Corner Bead?

Corner bead wraps outside corners for a straight, crisp edge and protects them from dings. Where it goes, metal vs paper-faced vs flexible bead, and stick lengths.

Full script

What is corner bead? Here's what it does, and where it goes.

What it does

Corner bead is a strip that wraps an outside corner. It gives you a straight, crisp edge, and it protects the corner from dings and dents.

Where it goes

It goes on every outside corner: wall ends, bump outs, soffits, and the returns around windows and openings.

Types

Metal bead gets fastened on. Paper faced and flexible bead get bedded in all purpose. Flexible bead is what you use on arches.

Sticks

Run one piece down each corner when you can. Big box stores carry eight, nine, and ten foot sticks, and drywall suppliers also carry twelves.

Drywall Layout Pro counts your corner bead for windows, openings, and soffits, and you can add any other outside corner in the budget.

Drywall calculator and sheet layout · Founder's Estimator Suite