How to Nail Quarter Inch Sheet Rock

Measure the wall area that will be covered with drywall. Make sure the wall studs or wall surfaces are free from any nails, staples or imperfections that will keep the wallboard from lying flat against the wall. If you are installing the drywall over existing wallboard, find and mark the studs under the wall surface with an electronic stud finder.

Cut the drywall 1/4 inch shorter in both directions than the measured wall area. You want the wallboard to fit into the wall area without catching on the corners of the wall or a piece of adjoining wallboard. When the wallboard catches on an adjoining surface, the edge cracks and buckles outward, which makes it more difficult to finish smoothly.

Hold the wall board in place, and then tap a nail into the surface of the wallboard directly over a wall stud. Hit the nail hard once or twice to set it. The goal is to seat the nail so that the head is just below the surface of the wall board. You want the hammer head to create a dimple in the wallboard surface. When the drywall is finished, the dimple will hold the joint compound, concealing the nail.

Nail the drywall every 16 inches along every wall stud. The 1/4-inch drywall is so flexible, you must nail it securely or it might bend or bow after it is installed.