How to Replace Single Wide Walls With Drywall

Pry off the old wall material with a pry bar. Find the seam on the end wall and insert the pry bar underneath. Run your pry bar down the wall and loosen the entire seam. At this point, you should be able to rip the wall material off the wall frame.

Remove any nails left behind from the old wall. Go over the wall studs and look for any exposed nails. Use the back end of a hammer to pry them loose. Place the nails in a bucket for either easy disposal, or if you plan to save them for another project. If the nails are too close the wood to remove, pound them in the rest of the way until they are flush with the wood.

Measure how many drywall panels will be needed for the job. Standard panel sizes are 4 feet by 8 feet. Measure the height and width of the wall. Write down your measurements.

Trim the drywall panels to fit with a utility knife. If you need to trim the panels to fit the wall, score the back with a utility knife. Snap the board over the score line. Cut through the paper with your utility knife.

Hang the drywall. Get a friend to help if the panels are too heavy to handle on your own. Start at the bottom and work up. Line up the first panel over the wall studs. Insert drywall screws into the studs at a rate of one screw for 12 inches vertically. Dimple the surface of the panel with the screw, but do not break through the paper. Continue until all the drywall is hung.

Tape your seams with self-adhesive drywall tape. You do not need to mud the seams first with this type of tape. Press the tape firmly into the panels.

Apply joint compound over the tape. Cover the tape with joint compound. Use a drywall knife to apply the compound and scrape off the excess as you work. Let this set for at least four hours.

Cover the screws with joint compound. Scrape a small amount of compound over the screw heads to fill up the dimple. Let this set as well.

Sand down the joint compound with a fine-grit sanding block. The surface of the drywall needs to be smooth and level. Sand down the compound until it is flush with the panel. Proceeding to finishing the wall with primer and paint, or texturing if you prefer.