Working with drywall is one of those materials that can be forgiving in the event you make a mistake. Do-it-yourselfers aren’t always so exacting when they are putting up drywall panels but it’s the little mishaps that are easy to cover up. The bigger mistakes take a little fancier ad-libbing to overlook. 

As home repairs go, drywall repair is among the easier pursuits. It’s not as complex or involved as performing plumbing repair or electrical work but a shoddy job is still going to be rather obvious.

So, the more skill and attention to detail that you can bring to the task, the better. The good news is that you can hone your skills the more you practice as you would with just about anything and while some of your may have a natural ability for the job, some of you are probably at a loss as to how to begin. 

That’s where the pros come in. We’ve asked a number of drywall experts for some of their best tips on how to install and repair drywall as a way to give some of you first timers a foundation from which to work. So, read ahead before you start working and you can be sure your drywall is done right. 

Flat and Level Panels

Hanging your drywall has one fundamental rule, you want to be sure that you are hanging the panels so they are flat and level. You might not realize you aren’t doing it right, especially if the wall or ceiling isn’t flat or level either. However, it won’t take long for you to realize you made a mistake because our drywall will start to bow and crack. 

If that starts to happen, you’re looking at big bucks to rectify the problem. So always take the extra steps for confirming that you have hung up your drywall panels so they remain flat and level. This additional time spent on the task will make all the difference. 

Residential Drywall Installation

For those of you working with drywall in your home, the manner in which you hang the drywall is going to be effective at maintaining the aesthetic value. Think about it, you have two choices when it comes to hanging your drywall – go horizontal or go vertical. 

For residential drywall installation, the choice you want is to hang it horizontally. The reason for this is to reduce the number of visible seams that you will be able to notice after you’ve completed the work. At the end of the day, you want to conceal the seam between your drywall panels and when you put them up vertically, there are more of them to hide. 

But horizontal installation of twelve-foot panels will leave you with only one seam, while vertical installation leaves you with many seams that extend from the floor up to the ceiling above. As a result, you’re going to have a much harder time concealing these seams. But even beyond safeguarding the aesthetics of the wall by putting fewer seams, horizontal installation provides your walls with much greater structural integrity and strength. 

Therefore, when you’re ready to start hanging that drywall, do it horizontally and not vertically. You’ll enjoy the benefits that come with it. 

Locate Your Wall Studs

Before you put up any drywall you want to be sure you are able to locate and mark the centered positions of your wall studs in two specific areas – the ceiling and the floor. In order to place your drywall screws in the proper and most effective positions, you need to know where the studs exist. That way you can be sure your panels are well-secured. 

Now, finding where to drive in your screws on the stud needs to be done carefully. You’re going to mark the area by drawing a straight line where you plan to drive your screws. Just be sure you’ve found the stud and that you don’t mark the panels very much. Choose a light-colored pen or pencil while you’re at it, you don’t want these marks showing up from under the paint job. Depending on the color you select, that is a very real possibility before too long. 

Driving Your Screws

Perhaps one of the most critical tips to keep in mind, select screws that have coarse threads and not the fine ones. Coarse threads will become secured a lot easier and they will stay in their original position much longer. As for the act of driving them into the wall, don’t drive them too far or you may end up cracking the paper exterior of the drywall panel.