# Start with walls or ceiling



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Ceiling first---then walls---faster and easier.

Set wall sheets horizontally for the best installation. Full sheets with taper to taper butt to butt.


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

Thank you


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## 1910NE (Sep 5, 2010)

Personally, i would do the ceiling first. I would also run furring straps perpendicular to the rafters before I started.


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

Mike, on this thread a member referred to ferring straps. What are those? If I went to home depot, would they know what I was talking about?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

oscarmw said:


> Mike, on this thread a member referred to ferring straps. What are those? If I went to home depot, would they know what I was talking about?


I hope Mike meant firring strips, not straps. Fur and furring straps are for the totally kinky and I do not go there. 

They are just thin slices of lumber used to adjust camber differences along your joists or wall framing to give you as nice and even a surface as possible to hang drywall or whatever. 

Getting them from HD? She in the orange apron you ask might know what they are if her Mom or Dad had trade experience, the breakup with her boyfriend over the weekend was not upsetting her so, the nail glue is working and she is not so angry the minimum wage she was making last week as an expert in the plumbing, paint or electrical section got docked just because she was late every day what with hair issues. Don't even ask her 19 yo male counterpart in the orange apron. 

Ferring strips are not complicated but you will have to draw or paint a picture to the folks at HD. It will take you as long as it takes to park your car or truck to score a bundle at a real building supply store. If you have a friend nearby with a table saw and you can scrounge some building site lumber you can cut your own. They are just 1/4" or so slices of timber the depth or so of your joists or studs. The nice thing about cutting your own? You can adjust the thickness as needed.

Your butcher at the grocery store could use the meat slicer to crank some out faster than dealing with HD though. And the answer is maybe the contractor counter people will know what you are asking for but nobody will have checked the bundle and most will be unusable when you cut the band and things spring in all directions. 

You will need some 6-8 pennie flat headed nails to go with the strips. They will be with nails, not with the coin counter at HD as may be suggested to you. You will see them marked as 6p or 8p.


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

Your hilarious


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

More questions about drywall mounting. Remember I am a infant in this area. 
What is the technique for cutting holes in the drywall for electrical outlets? 
Do you set the sheet of drywall up to the area to be mounted and mark the drywall sheet (an estimate) or should you try to make careful measurements from the unfinished wall or ceiling, then mark the unmounted drywall sheet? Maybe there are some Internet videos that you recommend.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

oscarmw said:


> Mike, on this thread a member referred to ferring straps. What are those? If I went to home depot, would they know what I was talking about?


Yes.

At Home Depot 1"x2"x8' Firring Strips are 85 cents each. The SKU# is 160954.

At Home Depot 1"x3"x8' Firring Strips are $1.25 each. The SKU# is 164704.

(Sdsester seems to be describing "SHIMS", not Firring Strips.)

BTW, 1910NE is describing a method of "STRAPPING" the entire ceiling with a whole bunch of 'strips' of 3/4" pieces of wood. They go across the bottoms of the joists, and they run 90 degrees to the joists. When done right, it makes a perfectly FLAT ceiling, and it also helps prevent some cracks. This is an excellent method, but really requires that you thoroughly understand what you are doing. Not something a beginner would want to tackle.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Drywall ceiling first as the walls will then support the ceiling's perimeter for less tape cracks from truss uplift-- called a "floating corner" here, (strapping is also covered): http://gypsum.org/pdf/GA-216-2010.html

Read all of these tips: http://www.finehomebuilding.com/PDF/Free/021174058.pdf

http://bestdrywall.com/files/ReduceCallbacks.pdf

Gary


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

oscarmw said:


> More questions about drywall mounting. Remember I am a infant in this area.
> What is the technique for cutting holes in the drywall for electrical outlets?
> Do you set the sheet of drywall up to the area to be mounted and mark the drywall sheet (an estimate) or should you try to make careful measurements from the unfinished wall or ceiling, then mark the unmounted drywall sheet? Maybe there are some Internet videos that you recommend.


Nope, don't worry about it. Any responsible drywaller will just tell you not to worry so much. If the inspector notices an outlet box was drywalled over? Just dig around with a rat tail drywall file until you find it. 

Seriously, Measure, measure again, and again.

Or. There are these kits that are cool. Don't trust me because apparently I described shims and ferring strips as one in the same. Yup last batch I got stuck with, 6' feet long, really did slow me down squaring a door frame. 

You stick this glob of metal in your electrical box. You run a magnet over it and find the center even with drywall in place. I measure but you might like it. 

I have a little drywall router thing. Once I find the general location I measured I poke it in, run it around the edges of the electrical boxes or vents and what do you know? A nice clean opening. 

Some of my drywall contractors knew I trained as a painter so they liked seeing me fixing their crappy assed hacked out work with 5 minute compound. Never on a job for my client though.

The rototool thing will set you back $70 for one like I had with a drywall bit. Retail things you can use for other purposes are like $39 or something. Probably $20 at Harbor Freight or someplace like that. 

Will search and post pictures for you.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

This is the magnet thing that reminds you where you left electrical boxes, if you did measure and you stuck electrical boxes outside of code and nowhere near where they have to be to pass inspection. 

http://samplerewards.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2136

Mine's older, a bit more robust but this is what plunge drywall routers look like. If you marked where special vents are and your electrical boxes are even close to the code framing? Carve out perfect box holes in seconds. 

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=is...l6447l0l9636l14l14l0l5l5l1l279l1953l0.3.6l9l0

Then if you work with Killer Klowns from Outer Space that like to have fun with me? They bring this. "If you say it is here boss, we will find that outlet or switch box you say we forgot to mark and drywalled over! Give us a minute. You know about 5 minute durabond right!? And you can buy coverplates in supersize? We rely on them all the time!"


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

Another classic-sdsester


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

Another rookie question from the newbie

This seems to be the logical sequence to drywall

Mount the electrical boxes, run the electric wire into the boxes, screw in the drywall to the studs, locate and cut out the form of the electrical boxes, install the receptacles and lights. 
Is this the sequence you use?


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

oscarmw said:


> Another rookie question from the newbie
> 
> This seems to be the logical sequence to drywall
> 
> ...


No, I measure for and cut the electric holes, A/C holes, etc. while the sheet of D/W is still leaning against the pile.


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## msaeger (Mar 1, 2011)

GBR in WA said:


> Drywall ceiling first as the walls will then support the ceiling's perimeter for less tape cracks from truss uplift-- called a "floating corner" here, (strapping is also covered): http://gypsum.org/pdf/GA-216-2010.html
> 
> Read all of these tips: http://www.finehomebuilding.com/PDF/Free/021174058.pdf
> 
> ...


I read the fine home building article and they show seams in between joists. Am I reading that right? I figured you wouldn't want an seam just floating between the joists.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

msaeger said:


> I read the fine home building article and they show seams in between joists. Am I reading that right? I figured you wouldn't want an seam just floating between the joists.


If you're talking about what is shown on Page 4, YES you do want to float the butt seam directly between two joists.

This is one of the latest advancements in drywall hanging (about 10 years old now) that enables you to now make butt joints without the nasty 'hump' we've fought for decades.


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## msaeger (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks that is good to know. I figured I would have to get the edges of the sheets under a joist or stud. So I just have them in between two joists with nothing behind the seam right? 

I suppose you really need to make sure all the joists are lined up or the edges of the two sheets won't be the same level.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

msaeger said:


> Thanks that is good to know. I figured I would have to get the edges of the sheets under a joist or stud. *So I just have them in between two joists with nothing behind the seam right?*
> 
> I suppose you really need to make sure all the joists are lined up or the edges of the two sheets won't be the same level.


*No, this conclusion is not correct at all !* Please go read Page 4 of the PDF. *ALL of Page 4. *(labeled #61)

You MUST use a Buttboard , and break as close to the center of the space between joists as you possibly can.

Otherwise do it the old way only....... break the joint on a joist.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Good point....... I did a quick check of the UBC, IBC, and IRC- all require framing behind the end butt joints. http://nationalgypsum.com/products/..%5CFile%5C1046.pdf

Thought I read somewhere about solid blocking or backing there for a substitute, still looking.....
Anyone?

Gary


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## msaeger (Mar 1, 2011)

When you say framing do you mean a stud or just a buttboard? 

I found this page that talks about buttboards so I think I get what those are now. 

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/tips/invisible-drywall-butt-joints.aspx


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

“All edges and ends of gypsum board shall occur on the framing members, except those edges and ends that are perpendicular to the framing members.”
http://publicecodes.citation.com/icod/irc/2009/icod_irc_2009_7_sec002_par010.htm


That would include strapping or any material meeting the minimum required by Code. Not butt boards. Still checking.........


Gary


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## logluvr (Jul 8, 2011)

You were asking about finding the outlet behind the drywall.
Here is a trick I saw done before.
Take a tube of lip stick. Run it around the edge of the outlet. Postion the board where it will be hung and press it again the outlet box.
there you have the box area marked, make sure it is the back of the dry wall. You can cut out the hole there or make a hole through the dry wall and then cut out once it is hung.
I just would not use a dark color of lipstick.


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## oscarmw (Sep 5, 2011)

logluvr said:


> You were asking about finding the outlet behind the drywall.
> Here is a trick I saw done before.
> Take a tube of lip stick. Run it around the edge of the outlet. Postion the board where it will be hung and press it again the outlet box.
> there you have the box area marked, make sure it is the back of the dry wall. You can cut out the hole there or make a hole through the dry wall and then cut out once it is hung.
> I just would not use a dark color of lipstick.


Excellent tip


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