Better is Harder

Now that I've got much of the drywall installed in the Wimberley House, I'm starting to get better at it. Especially the MENTAL part, which is essentially figuring out the best sheet layout for the various wall and ceiling situations. And, like many things in life, the best way to do something is NOT the easiest way.

The best way in the drywall business includes arranging sheets so that there are as few butt joints as possible, which occur at the ends of the panels. The sides of the panels are tapered, so joints there can be easily filled-in with tape & "mud" and are practically invisible. End joints, on the other hand, are not tapered, so they bulge out with the added thickness of the tape & mud. Bulging drywall joints make me very unhappy.

Excited yet? I'll bet.

One way to minimize butt joints is to use longer sheets, so for my 10' ceilings I use 10' long drywall sheets, vertical, instead of the standard 8' sheets. If you've ever lifted an 8' sheet by yourself, you know that they are fairly heavy. After installing about seven or eight 10' sheets in one day by myself, I start hating them. In the photograph above I'm smiling because I actually had a helper to help unload a fresh delivery of 10' drywall.

Someday I'll also be smiling when the finished walls are bulge-free. When the stained wood trim flows across the drywall without the tell-tale waviness that butt-joints produce. Someday. For now, I'm happy for just a bit of ache relief. From a nice little back rub, or from sitting back in the couch with a big glass of icewater. Maybe watching HGTV, where someone ELSE does the work.