Drywall covers the interior surfaces of buildings and homes.
Drywall is a flat building material used to cover the wood joists of walls and ceilings. Its core is gypsum, and on the outside it has a paper covering you can paint after installation and finishing. Drywall installers use different lengths of drywall board depending on the type of job. Once they finish installing the drywall with screws, drywall finishers use joint compound and drywall tape to prepare the surfaces for paint.
Types
Drywall comes in standard lengths of 8, 12 or 16 feet. Drywall that is 8 feet long is suitable for smaller projects or for jobs where delivering the drywall requires navigating sharp corners or stairwells that can't accommodate longer boards. Greater lengths are suitable for larger jobs. Generally, you should use the largest boards possible to make finishing easier.
Considerations
A drywall installer's goal is to use as few boards as possible because this decreases the amount of time it will take to finish the drywall. For example, if a wall is made up of 10 different boards, drywall finishers must cover each of the many seams where those boards intersect. But if a wall only has two boards, finishers only need to cover one long seam with joint compound and drywall tape.
Expert Insight
The standard width of drywall is 4 feet for all the different lengths, though it is possible to buy special boards that have greater width. The reason that most boards are 4 feet wide is that new residential construction often has 8 foot ceilings. Using 4 foot boards allows workers to install one board above another to form one seam down the middle of the wall, which is easier to finish than several seams.
Thickness
The thickness of a board of drywall affects how flexible it is, how much noise it transmits and how well it insulates against fire. Many building codes require 5/8-inch drywall in garages and above furnaces to shield living areas from potential fires. Drywall that is 1/4 inch is common, but 1/2 inch provides greater stability and strength. Generally, the thinner the drywall is, the less effective it is for noise insulation. If you're unsure what thickness of drywall to use, contact your local building department to determine what regulations you must follow.
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