# What's the "Butt" and "Rail?"



## TomBrooklyn (Jan 6, 2008)

What is meant by the "butt" and "rail" edges of a sheet of drywall?


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## rocketdoctor (Mar 18, 2009)

the butt is the tapered side of the drywall, that allows it to be butted to another sheet of drywall this allows room for you to tape and mud easier. In most cases the butt joints run vertical around the wall. The rail is the end that is not tapered generally these are fastened to the floor and cieling.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

I'm willing to be wrong, but I have always known it to be just the opposite of that. The butt has always been the 4 foot end to me.


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## ARI001 (Jun 26, 2009)

Willie T said:


> I'm willing to be wrong, but I have always known it to be just the opposite of that. The butt has always been the 4 foot end to me.


:thumbsup:
Same concept as a stile and rail.


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## rocketdoctor (Mar 18, 2009)

I am no expert so I could be wrong, I just assume the butt end is called that since its meant to be butted to the other drywalls and the rail end is where you would place a chair rail. I was really curious about this before I posted originally and searched around for the official definitions and couldn't find anything except for one post that said you should only nail the rail ends, so thats where I figured its the 4' section.


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

Did you see the terms in a written context? If so, where?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Willie T said:


> I'm willing to be wrong, but I have always known it to be just the opposite of that. The butt has always been the 4 foot end to me.


Me too. Maybe I have had it all 90 degrees wrong for years. No wonder my layouts suck and I spend so much on the stuff, tape and mud.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Butt ends are the 4' non-tapered ends
Butt joints are the ones that need a special mudding tool to blend them in
A simple google search will explain this, never known a man not too look for butt on the Internet :lol:
The tool is curved slightly to form a joint over the butt joints

















http://www.tape-finish-texture-drywall.org/tips_on_installing_drywall.html











Butt Joint









Recessed Joint


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

But , where does "rail" come from?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Michael Thomas said:


> But , where does "rail" come from?


Who cares. It refers to the long edges of the sheets.


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## Ron Franck (Jan 16, 2010)

You can make finishing your butt joints easier and flatter by using a butt board. Let's see how many questions that statement creates.......:jester:


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## oldrivers (May 2, 2009)

Michael Thomas said:


> But , where does "rail" come from?


 
think of studs and trusses like long train tracks- rails , then think of drywall as the cars , if you put the drywall parrell to the rails studs trusses like a train car its called railroading. such as standing up sheets , its bad to railroad ceiling sheets so dont do it , it needs extra framing.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Ron Franck said:


> You can make finishing your butt joints easier and flatter by using a butt board. Let's see how many questions that statement creates.......:jester:


I LOVE them... especially on ceilings.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

With all due respect to everyone, and to the drywall tradesmen in different areas, I have never (in this area) seen drywall hung as the man in the picture is doing around here. He is hanging the sheet vertically, whereas the sheets on the other side of the wall studs appear to be hung horizontally, as we do around here. We start at the top working down, and stagger the sheets. I was taught that by hanging the sheets perpendicular to the framing, this would make a stronger wall. Is this a regional thing, or a tradesman's preference? Thanks, David


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## Ron Franck (Jan 16, 2010)

I'm not a tradesman but I have done my homework. In most cases drywall that is hung on the wall is hung horizontally. Yes, you end up with butt joints (commonly called 'bastard joint' by the finishers) but many can be eliminated by using 12' board lengths. If you are totally adverse to finishing butt joints then, by all means, incorporate a butt board and place the butt joint between the framing rather than on it. It creates a recess just like an edge joint.
Gypsum board does have a grain to it and it is stronger along it's length, weaker across it's width. That's why it's hung on a ceiling perpendicular to the rafters. Doing the same on walls should therefore make the application stronger as opposed to placing the board vertically. It also places the tapered joint at waist level and the finishers love you for it. On the other hand, if your layout is such that you can place your board vertically and eliminate butt joints altogether and you or your finisher don't object to mudding the joint from floor to ceiling, then that is your preference. There really is no right or wrong on walls, but simply what works best for your situation or what happens to be customary for your rock men.
As for the guy in the picture, I doubt he's really a pro, but rather just some actor they used for the photo. No respectable tradesman would carry a framing hammer on his tool belt..........
JMTCW,
Ron


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Ron Franck said:


> As for the guy in the picture, I doubt he's really a pro, but rather just some actor they used for the photo. No respectable tradesman would carry a framing hammer on his tool belt..........
> JMTCW,
> Ron


Not only that, but anyone who really does heavy work never wears their pouches in the front like that. Squat down one time, or try climbing a ladder, and you will spill nails all over the place. It may be great for a 'woodworker' standing at a bench, but not for serious construction work.


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## Paulie (Nov 26, 2009)

The guy looks way to clean to be a rocker. Maybe a banker but defiantly not a drywall hanger/finisher. :no:


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

in his defense, I know a lot of rockers that carry a framing hammer with them although they invariably carry it in a loop on their belts in the middle of their back..




he does have on worn shoes and frayed pants. Generally when they grab guys for pics like this that are not real workers, they have on new shiny shoes and creased pants.

and willie T;

I use a Klein 4 pouch apron all the time when working. I carry anything from screws to conduit fittings in it and never have a problem with stuff falling out. I do have to say I've been poked in the belly a few times with the tip of a screw (which ain;t no fun) but I don't lose stuff out of it.

Oh, and as a commercial/industrial electrician, I do consider myself a serious construction worker.


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## Mop in Hand (Feb 5, 2009)

Not a rocker, no beer in hand.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

nap said:


> in his defense, I know a lot of rockers that carry a framing hammer with them although they invariably carry it in a loop on their belts in the middle of their back..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is similar to what I wore. About thirty pounds, loaded. Buckled it in the front because I got tired of swinging through the braces of a truss only to shower the guys below me with 16d nails. Or squatting to work my way into a cabinet or under a deck, all the while dribbling nails down past my hips.

It got worse when I began using mainly nail guns. Keeping at least a dozen 10" clips in each of your pouches invariably meant getting stabbed in the stomach and also snapping a lot of the clips in half. A real bummer.

My hat's off to anyone who could wear them the way all the pictures show them. I think we had one guy try his new belt that way for about a half a day. By noon, he turned it around.

Yes, on those rare occassions I spent the day standing at a fabrication table, or just installing windows... basically anything where I didn't have to contort myself to crawl through a maze of framing, I might flip one of the pouches around to the front.

One other thing those front pouches always did to me was beat the hell out of my knee with the handle of the hammer when I walked.


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