How to hang sheetrock on the walls with no help.

[David Hostetler]

I have recently upgraded my shop to a sub panel, a mess of outlets, and insulation. Now I need to get the sheetrock on the walls, and I have no help to do it. My wife doesn't want me hiring help (she is afraid somebody will see my tools and want to steal them), so I need to come up with a way to get sheetrock installed, solo...

Any ideas? I see lots of ways to get sheetrock installed on the ceiling solo, but I need to do walls, and the sooner the better. I want my shop back!

[Andy Fox]

Could you use sheetrock panels which are about the height of your ceiling and install them so that the long axis is vertical? If that's too short, install shorter, easier to handle panels up high near the ceiling.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

1. Use 4 x 8 sheets
2. Install horizontal. Usually you install the top first, to do that you might want to install a 1x2 cleat.
3. Use a third hand tool to keep it up on the wall when the bottom is on the cleat. You can hold it with one hand and place the third hand with the other. Luxury is placing two third hands then screw it to the wall at your leisure. You could use a 2x4 instead of t&e third hand but you have to worry about slipping on both ends. You can place the third hand vertical or at an angle
Anyway that's how I've done it, interesting to see more suggestions.

or maybe you can find a creeker near by who can help!

[Todd Burch]

Get her butt out there to help if you can't hire help!

What Bill said. Been there, done that.

[Todd Burch]

I tell you what - I'll make you a trade.

You help me this Saturday to paint and lay down baseboard and replace a couple vertical 4X4 posts for my sister's garage up in Spring, and I'll help you hang your sheetrock.

Todd (in Katy)

[Michael W. Clark]

Why not run the 4x8 horizontal and install the bottom one first? Then set the next one on top of it? If you put them in vertical, and 8' is not enough to reach the ceiling, put the bottom one in first, then a short piece for the remainder. Hint, buy the sheetrock from a sheetrock supplier and you can get 9' and 10' lenghts. The sheetrock supplier will deliver to your shop floor, and you can cut the sheets if neccessary to match the height. One less seam to work, one less trip to the box store, and a lot less material handling. I did this for my basement finish with 9' ceilings. I also did the horizontal method with bottom one first for the shop using plywood, but I have also done it using sheetrock on other projects.

The walls are easy, the ceiling is a pain by yourself, even with all the jacks, T-braces etc. Pros don't usually use the gadgets, too slow, but then again they have 3 or 4 people. Two hanging, one cutting, one coming behind with the screws.

Mike

[Jerome Stanek]

In commercial construction we stand sheet rock up 1 man can drywall that way

[David Hostetler]

I tell you what - I'll make you a trade.

You help me this Saturday to paint and lay down baseboard and replace a couple vertical 4X4 posts for my sister's garage up in Spring, and I'll help you hang your sheetrock.

Todd (in Katy)

It's awfully tempting, but Katy to League City, and vise versa is a pretty sizeable piece of road... I am going to check with some friends to see if I can call in some favors... But I might take you up on that.

[Don Jarvie]

+1 on horizontal. Lay the bottom one first then support the top one on the bottom.

Go buy a sheet rock drill bit. It will make it much easier to to screw it off.

[Eric DeSilva]

+1 on horizontal.

Not to single your post out--I've seen this advice in other parts of the thread and also seen it done in home improvement shows--but the horizontal thing leaves me confused. I don't see any benefit to going horizontal and the downside is that unless you take the time to put horizontal blocking between the studs, you have 16" of unsupported sheetrock edge 4' off the floor between every stud... So why do people do this?

[Thomas Bank]

For the horizontal question, supposedly it makes for a stronger wall. Personally, I don't count on sheetrock for structure. Plus, vertical and you only have beveled edges to tape and mud - much easier that taping and mudding a butt edge.

As for the how question, if you're really set on doing it horizontal, a drywall lift works for walls as well as ceilings. Put the first course in - shouldn't be hard to muscle that into place. Then use the lift to get the second course up to where you can set it on the first course and use the lift to help hold it in place while you get the first screws in.

[Larry Browning]

I tell you what - I'll make you a trade.

You help me this Saturday to paint and lay down baseboard and replace a couple vertical 4X4 posts for my sister's garage up in Spring, and I'll help you hang your sheetrock.

Todd (in Katy)

No, that will never work, you might steal his tools!

[John Lanciani]

Another vote for vertical. just tilt the sheet up and put one screw in it and it will stay put. As already mentioned, all of the seams have tapered edges this way so taping is easier, too.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

David
If you go vertical with your dry wall, there is a foot operate lift that works great for positioning. Tom grainger.com/Grainger/GOLDBLATT-Drywall-Roll-Lifter-2MPY2

[Ole Anderson]

I presume your wall height is 8' or less. Typically you go horizontal with 10-12' long sheets in small rooms to minimize your joints, tough to handle by yourself, no advantage with 8' sheets horizontal. Go vertical. And don't skimp out with 3/8" sheets, use 1/2" unless code requires 5/8" as a fire stop. If you think you will ever need to hang more drywall in the future (or screw down a deck), get a drywall gun now, otherwise get a driver bit that will dimple your screw head in the paper. (Every project deserves a new tool, you got that, right?) They don't work as well as a gun, but is much cheaper. Several years ago I got 2 Ridgid guns at Christmas time for around $100 and I gave one to my son. And if you are doing your ceiling too, SERIOUSLY consider hiring someone to mud the joints. Not as easy as a pro makes it look. And a pro is less likely to steal your tools than a laborer hired to hang your drywall.

The problem with going horizontal is that you end up with an end to end joint that is not tapered and is much harder to mud. Sides of the board are tapered to allow for mudding.