Does it really make any difference which way you orient your seams? I’ve heard both ways. Maybe it’s just a regional thing?
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Put them where you don't expect to see them.
If you make the joints as smooth as a baby's dupa and flat then it doesn't matter. If you don't, which is most of us, then you keep them away from surface lighting that reveals your shortcomings as a finisher.
If you haven't purchased the drywall yet think about this. Long sheets can be fastened sideways. Put some 14 footers on and you have severely less jointery to do.
Taunton has a DW book that shows the labor savings long sheets provide. 2 -12 foot sheets rather than 3- 4x8 sheets on a 12x8 wall is about a 12 foot savings in jointery (50%). I'm slingiing mud in an 1800 sq Ft. cottage right now. Every foot saved is tremendous. I don't want to imagine how many feet I have left to do. The real question is how do you keep upbeat while doing this unending task.
One day at a time.
Could you be more clear as to what exactly you are talking about for sure ?
Are you talking about running rock parellel, or perpendicular ?
Are you talking walls or ceilings ?
Or placement of joints in a room?
Or something else ?
Cut me some slack here ,
Tim Mooney
if your walls are 14 foot long or say 14 foot 5 inches cut a 16 foot board, run it longways on wall, that whole wall will have one seam at the 4 foot height.
if you run 8 foot board you will have three seams
first board 14 foot lineage seam, second method 14 + 4 + 4 = 22 foot lineage seam
I've got basically two baths, three closets and two walls about 10 feet or so to do. I'm not looking forward to slinging mud either.
Basically I was just wondering if it really makes any difference which way you orient the sheets. I've already purchased 4x8. I can see how the size and shape of the space could impact how you orient them, but I can't see any other reason as far as strength or ease of application. Oriented vertically, a larger percentage of your seams would be on a stud. Does that make the joints stronger?
From a couple of your posts it sounds like the only driving force should be how many feet you have to mud. I like that line of thinking!
Edited 9/13/2002 4:48:45 PM ET by CAMPBELLDUST
I and most I know run the sheets horizontally. Easier to fasten and easier to mud. It keeps that trowel right at arm height without as much bending, flinging, and spilling mud all over the place. Strength not an issue.IMOExcellence is its own reward!
OK , now we are there. Im always thinking about time and money. On a small job like yours , it would be quicker to stand the rock up, becuase it will take less coats. If you have "bugger" butts it could take six coats to properly finish a butt. Now butts are hard to hide for people with out a lot of experience. Thats your call. I would stand them and walk out quicker.
Bring home the money,
Tim Mooney
Good point, Tim. thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought about it that way.
Being as drywall edges are tapered for mud use and the ends are not. The less ends there are the easier the mudding is. If you can drywall a wall without butt/ends then the taping is guided by the "high" surface area. If you are only rocking then long sheets are quicker to install. But when I look around my house at the very poor seams running at 4" high along the walls I shake my head and wish to kick the mud guy!! and or the rock guy!!
Heres your dissenting opinion. Regardless of whos mudding and how many seems youre gonna have the strength in drywall (however minimal) is vertical. Seems that run vertically along one stud are going to telegraph from floor to ceiling should (or rather when) you get movement (i.e. expansion, contraction) in said stud.
If taping is a major concern, long vertical runs of a tapered joint at waist height are much easier to work with. Taping vertically is a challenge so minimizing such joints to a maximum of four feet will make life easier.
Of course this is all IMHO.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
You stand the boards up on commercial{steel stud construction}and on residential you hang them horizontaly{wood studs}.With wood framing you can stand them up on short walls under 4 feet wide so you have no seams at all.Butt joints don't take 6 coats either -you tape it,you fan out a 2foot to 3 foot coat with a12in. knife,once dry you sand and polish-it's quick and it comes out proffessional,that's how you make money at this.Even if you put on to much on the coat you can sand it out.
You are correct except in the six coats thingy. Reread what I said. I said a "Booger Joint". Those are ones that protrude well above the straight line plane of the wall. A normal professional butt joint takes four. [Count um] Any way I was explaining worst senario .There is not a worse case senario with standing it up on a small job such as this. This is not how I would do a big job of course . You have to make money doing it . I do big and small jobs. The same rules do not apply to both. For a small ten sheet job , there are tricks to get out on time. On a big job there are a few days to schedule multiple coatings allowing drying times . I believe this is what was misunderstood.
Booger joint decribed in the trade hall is a joint that protrudes 1/4 inch on a four foot straight edge, or worse .
Tim Mooney
Edited 9/14/2002 2:55:30 PM ET by Tim Mooney
I got ya now.I call the "booger joints" a "total cluster f#%*".Your right about small ten board jobs and 200 board jobs;I use totally different approaches on them.If I have a small job and it has "booger joints " I use the stuff ya mix up from the bag;it has plaster of paris in it so it dries FAST and it helps to get you out of there with less trips to the clients house/business.It took me awhile to figure out how to mix it so it doesn't dry as your putting it on and you gotta clean your stuff because that plaster of paris gets rock hard.
I've found if you mix your Quick-dry in a container with a cover (an old compound bucket) and cover it after you scoop some it stays a little longer.
And don't use the 20 minute stuff on a 20 minute job. You won't get it cleaned up in time. When that stuff sets its stuck to your tools bad. Oh, another thing, don't wash any down the drain because it hardens under water just fine too. Trust me.