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The next couple of weekends were more of the same. I continued around the basement with a series of short walls next to the stairwell, and leading to the office. I decided to insulate and finish the drywall in the closet that I had built to conceal water pipes. I worked my way around to the 8 foot wall under the main duct, and hung the sheets to conceal the support beams.
Drywalling a long wall
After that section, I decided to hang the drywall for the 28 foot wall that would be the most prominent in the basement. Compared to the series of short walls I had just completed, the long, straight wall (with no obstacles) was a piece of cake! I was glad I decided to run the wall in front of the ductwork. The only challenge on this wall was the fact that I had to make circular cutouts for the three wall sconces.
Drywalling around light fixtures
Drywalling around light fixtures, switches, and other openings can be a bit of a challenge. In addition to all the wall outlets, my longest wall needed openings for three wall sconces. Luckily for me, I found a great way to do it that takes away much of the hassle!
Other people I've talked to would measure where the opening is on the wall, then measure and mark the opening on their sheet of drywall and make the cut. DON'T DO IT! It takes forever and leaves too many ways to screw it up! You'll end up wasting a few sheets of drywall for sure.
Cutting drywall openings for wall sconces
I found an almost foolproof way to cut drywall around outlets and openings- the 'lipstick' method. For complete details of how to cut drywall around wall boxes, outlets, and other openings, see "How to cut around outlets" in the Basement Construction section. In short, use a tube of red lipstick to outline the outlet box or opening. Push the drywall up against it, then cut on the red line. It really is as simple as it sounds!
 
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