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NEWSLETTER #1
Before you Start ~ Newsletter
The Complete Drywall Book will help you get a good start and a quality finish!
Are you getting ready to drywall?
Save money! Do it yourself and save a few thousand dollars. Use the money for carpet or another project! You can do the drywall project yourself but you may need a little help! Most people do not plan to fail they fail to plan! Do not make costly mistakes! Get some help! The Complete Drywall Book is designed to help you save money by not wasting materials, do the job right the first time, we show you all the best procedures.
Before you start!
The absolute best thing you can do before you start the drywall is to make sure your ready!
Is the framing straight?
Is the backing in?
Are the door openings the correct size - height and width.
You must have all the backing in before you start the drywall installation! If you go to hang a sheet only to find out you are missing backing you will not be happy!
Remember, once the drywall goes up, you lose access to the inside of the wall.
The roughing in of plumbing, electrical, heating, venting, TV/phone cables, framing, backing, insulation, etc. should all be checked for accuracy. It is important to do this rough-in process before you start the drywall. Is all the backing in for the bathroom fixtures?
SAVE YOURSELF EXTRA WORK BY MAKING CHANGES BEFORE THE DRYWALL GOES UP!
Make sure everything is where you want it. Door opening are commonly misplaced or wrong size. Are light switches and lights in the right place?
If you follow the simple and easy procedures in the book you will get the professional results you want!
The Complete Drywall Book has 100's of tips, pictures and diagrams. If you have a specific problem that you can not get answered, you can e-mail your question to me.
Avoid costly repairs
Remember to check plumbing pipes and electrical wires! This is very important!
You need to do a visual walk through to make sure there are no pipes or electrical wires within 1- 1/2" from the face of the framing members.
A nail or screw will penetrate into the framing 1". Check all plumbing pipes and electrical wires to make sure they are recessed in enough so the fasteners will not come in contact with the pipes or wires. A metal protective plate can be used to cover over the exposed wire or plumbing. The metal plate can save you costly repairs! (sold at lumber/hardware stores)
You must get the framing straight. You can not have bowed studs and hope to have flat walls!
If you want your walls and ceilings nice and flat then it helps to start out with straight and accurate framing. Check the framing by holding a straight edge across the face of the framing members. The straight edge needs to reach across at least four framing members. For the most part you can stand at the end of a wall and sight directly down the plain of the studs to see if any are bad.
If you notice a wall that does not look straight you can tie a string around a nail at one end of the wall and pull it tight to a nail at the other end of the wall. The string should be out 1"from the face of the studs so when the string is stretched across the face of the framing members you can gage how straight the studs are. You can make sure that the wall studs or ceiling joists are all in alignment and not bowed or twisted. Use your level to check walls, headers, and other openings for level and plumb.
Replace a bad stud or cut the stud at an angle 3/4 the way through and
drive a nail into it until straight. (side view)
Keep it Clean!!!!
One of the best things you can do to help the drywall process go smooth and efficient is to make sure everything is ready. Clean the floors so nothing gets trapped between the drywall at the floor line and the bottom plates creating a bulge. Less obstacles in the way can mean increased productivity and fewer broken edges of the drywall, call backs etc. Keep it clean!
How much drywall do I need?
Now you are ready to estimate the amount of drywall needed. The COMPLETE DRYWALL BOOK has helpful estimating forms to figure out all the supplies needed to hang, tape, and texture.
In the Complete Drywall Book are simple to use material estimates sheets to help you get the exact amount of drywall needed. No waste! Save $$$
SAVE TAPING BY USING 4X12 FT SHEETS.
Sometimes you can not use 12 ft. drywall -- use 8 ft. drywall instead -- but do it right!
The proper layouts are in the book!
By using the largest sheet possible you save on installation and one third of the taping time & materials. The more distance you span with a sheet the better seamless results you get. Save time, money, work and get better results by reducing needless seams and joints. There are some tricks for hanging the 4x12 sheets that make it as easy as hanging the 4x8 sheets.
Estimate from the floor plan or do a walk -through with a tape measure, notepad, and pencil.
A 4x8 sheet of covers 32 sq. ft
A 4x12 sheet covers 48 sq. ft
You need to know the amount of sq. ft. of ceiling and wall areas. Remember that 5/8" drywall is for 24 in. center framing on ceilings and 1/2 in. is for the walls. To get the sq. ft. of area to be covered you need to multiply the length times width. For example: a ceiling that is 30ft. by 66ft. has 1980 sq. ft. You would need 42 - 4x12x5/8 sheets FOR THE CEILINGS.
On pages 24 & 25 in the book is an estimate sheet that really simplifies this procedure. Basically what you want to do is find out how much sq. ft. you have on your walls.
For the WALLS: Example: Add up the lengths of all of your walls. Then multiply that by the ceiling height. If you have 300 ft. of walls that would be 300 x 8 = 2400 sq. ft.
2400 sq. ft. divided by 32 sq. ft. if you are using 8ft. sheets = 75 - 4' x 8' sheets.
2400 sq. ft. divided by 48 sq. ft. if you are using 12ft. sheets = 50 - 4' x 12' sheets.
In the Complete Drywall Book we have complete material estimate forms provided -
Makes estimating materials easy and accurate!!
104 pages of tips on hanging, taping, texturing & patching in the Complete Drywall Book!
Over 200 hundred pictures and diagrams!
The COMPLETE DRYWALL BOOK has 100 pgs. of tips, diagrams, & pictures on installing drywall, taping drywall, texturing drywall, metal stud framing and is 100% guaranteed.
Texture your walls and ceilings with the Pattern Texture Tool to get a beautiful finish! We have textured hundreds of homes with the pattern texture tool do to so many request.