Drywalling the Garage

Safety

• Safety is of vital importance when installing drywall in a garage. Examine your garage thoroughly to ensure there are no plumbing lines or electrical wires that may be in the way when installing drywall. These can be pierced by screws or nails, which may cause electrical shocks or damage to your home’s water supply.

Fittings

• Screws or nails can be used when installing drywall in a garage. Screws have the advantage of being easily adapted to the drywall, using a screwdriver. Nails, by contrast, usually have to be pulled out completely, and replaced if the nail is bent during extraction. Removing nails can also make scars in the drywall.

Drill and Utility knife

• Drywall screws can be fitted with an electric drill or a screw gun. Cordless drills have the advantage of no trailing wires, which can lead to accidents, but make sure the battery is fully charged before beginning work, to avoid irritation. You can cut drywall segments with a sharp-bladed utility knife. Mark a cutting line with chalk or a pencil, position a level along the line and cut with the utility knife. The drywall board can then be turned over and folded along the length of the line. This usually makes a pretty clean break in the drywall, and any remnants of paper backing can be removed with the utility knife.

Rasp, Saw and Sawhorse

• A rasp is a woodworking tool to clean up wooden edges prior to installation. Drywall saws are useful for shorter cuts and notches and can be purchased from most hardware stores. A rotary saw is also effective at evening out drywall segments, but these can create a lot of sawdust. Setting up a saw horse, consisting of four wooden legs and a supporting beam on top, lets you set out drywall segments to cut them easily.

Installation

• Drywall can usually be purchased in segments measuring 4-by-8-feet. Many homes have walls equal to this height but some garages are higher, meaning a single, uncut board of drywall will not suffice. The drywall segments can be positioned horizontally or vertically, according to preference. The studs should be marked with chalk or a pencil prior to hanging the drywall. Drive a nail or screw through the drywall into the stud mark and put subsequent screws at intervals of about a foot. Each drywall board should be flush with the board above or to the side of it. However, wooden shims can be fitted to seal any gaps remaining.