How to Install Drywall on Stairs

Check your local building codes for any guidelines or restrictions regarding drywall; sometimes, you have to use drywall of a specific thickness or fire/water resistance.

Press a sheet of drywall flush into the corner, where your wall meets your ceiling. Drill a 1 1/4-inch screw into the middle of the panel, drilling into a stud. Drill screws up and down each stud at 16-inch intervals.

Continue hanging sheets of drywall in this fashion, pressing them into the seam where the wall and the ceiling meet and working your way down. Stop when you reach the point where a full sheet of drywall does not fit.

Measure the gaps in your wall that still need drywall. Because you are working with uneven stair surfaces, you may need to repeat this step for every stair. Use a razor blade or a drywall router to cut out drywall to fit any gaps, then screw it in place the same way you screwed in your other pieces.

Lightly press a metal corner bead into the corner of the wall once it is all covered in drywall. Gently hold the bead in place, then drive nails into the bead to hold it in place; a nail every 12 to 16 inches is ideal.

Tape the seams with paper drywall tape, then spread on a thin layer of all-purpose joint compound with a 4-inch drywall knife. After it dries, apply another coat with a 6-inch knife, and after that dries, apply one final coat with the 6-inch knife again.

Lightly sand the dried compound along the seams with fine-grit sandpaper to smooth out the wall to make it ready to be painted or wallpapered.