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Hanging drywall |
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| Although I still have two walls to
insulate (those needing R19), I decided to go ahead and start
hanging the drywall. Since I've never done this before, I thought
I'd enlist the help of someone who has some experience- my brother-in-law,
Gino.
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Gino has finished two basements on
his own, and graciously offered to show up at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday
to help me get started. After a morning coffee and some muffins,
we were ready to go!
Getting started hanging drywall
We decided to start in the back, right corner of the basement
and work our way around clockwise. (just like I did with the framing-
see "Starting construction-
Hammer Time".) This meant that we had a series of short walls,
two doors, ductwork, and pipes to work around right off the bat. |
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Since I had to have the drywall cut
to get it in the basement (See Drywall,
insulation and hardware delivery), my installation is a little
more complicated than most because I'm using a short sheet (2
feet) on the bottom, and a larger sheet (about 5 ½ feet) on the
top.
We decided to hang the drywall for each wall on the bottom first,
then go back and do the top. Since I decided to use glue in addition
to screws, we'd measure, cut, and test fit each piece, then add
the glue. Finally we'd secure each piece with screws. |
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The added glue step made the work a
little messy, and also slowed us down quite a bit. Despite that,
we made good progress during our seven hours of work on Saturday-
working all the way around to the closet under the basement steps.
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| Warning
about using construction adhesive to hang drywall!
When I bought the glue at Lowe's, I didn't read the warnings on
the label. If I would have, I wouldn't have bought it!!! There
were numerous heath warnings (including the risk of flash fires),
along with the instructions to open ALL windows until the glue
has cured.
Although we opened the only basement window that we could, the
vapors seeped into the ventilation system and permeated the house.
We had to sleep with all windows open, and I was very concerned
about the dangers.
If you decide to glue the drywall, be prepared! You may even
want to consider leaving the house overnight until the air clears.
Better yet, use a low-odor latex-based adhesive (sometimes called
"Low VOC" adhesives) that won't force you out of your
home! |
Be sure to read the warning label
on all construction adhesives!
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