Use the longest sheets you can everywhere to minimize butt joints. I didn’t know that 54″ sheets were limited to 12′. Being limited to 12’s I don’t know if I would use 54″ the double seam really isnt a problem for a good taper to do a good job with and you are already paying more for labor for anything over 8′ high.
12’s and 14’s are the predominent lengths used but if I am figuring the rock I usually order everything from 8’s to 16’s. When working alone why work with anything longer than you need but still try and avoid all butt joints.
Are you hanging the rock yourself? Even if you have plenty of help consider renting a drywall lift for $20 – $25 a day it’s the cheapest help you can find and it will hold that sheet up there all day for you if need be. I just rocked a 70 sheet job alone and used 16′ sheets on one ceiling. It’s really not that difficult to get the sheet on the lift yourself.
If you are paying for the labor most subs work by the sheet. That’s based on a 12′ sheet. So if you have multiple lengths calculate the total sq. footage of drywall ordered and divide by 48 to get the equivelent of 12′ sheets. And you don’t get to deduct the waste. Plus extra for high work.
Replies
IF you are hanging it yourself, or contracting it, use the longest sheet available. Fewer butt joint = better finish time.
BTW a ROT for dw take off is 3.5 times the square feet of the house for standard plans. Open floor plans require a little less.
Most dw hangers are not as frugal as the person purchasing the material. Around here they get paid by the sq. ft.. That means if a board is cut and hung, they get paid for the whole board, not just the part hung. It is also faster to cut a new board than sort through a bunch of off cuts for the right piece.
Make sure you have enough. The last thing you want to do is loose a rock crew to another job, because you ran out of rock. It is a bear getting them back, and getting back on schedule because you were a little short on your take off.
Dave
It's really not that difficult to get the sheet on the lift yourself.
Could you describe your technique?
What are the common rates for hang/tape/finish drywall in your neck o'the woods? I believe the going rate here is $40/sheet (assume 4x8 shts?). A local guy who works solo will hang-only for $.18/s.f.! Is this dude making any money?
No. DanT
He's the guy your knees hit at dinner; everything's under the table. I'm working on a basement job where an itinerate group of rockers came thru and would work for nothing but cash. They came out and told the HO that they couldn't make any money unless they were paid in cash. She was surprised when I asked for a check.
Not surprisingly, several corners are peeling away and they all but threw the mud on and left. Sad, man, real sad.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Thats not far off the price around here. He could make 2 to 250 per day if he is good. Thats not bad for working solo with no overhead. I can get it hung, taped and finished for .85 square foot including materials.
Don't know how he does it, but I'll bet by the time he is closer to my age he won't .
I have a dw panel lift. My limit is 12' of 1/2" dw, and 10' of the 5/8" board. Mark the center of the board. Kick one end up on 2' jack setting next to the stack. Lift at the center mark and place the board on the panel lift with centers matched as close as possible. Exhale, grunt, and adjust truss. Swear your gonna hire some young help for the next job. Hang board, repeat process.....
Dave
Those panel lifts are absolutely priceless. I can't believe it took me so long to wake up. I guess it was the macho thing when you're young and stupid to brag that you hung ceiling, solo, with 12' board and a deadman.
My father employed a 60-something Frenchman in the 70's who always worked alone and never used a panel lift for anything.
I couldn't help getting over the young part,.....it's the stupid that still gets me in trouble....
Dave
Well, I'll be 49 in a couple of months. I don't know, I'm just telling you it's not that bad. Mind you I wouldn't want to be putting up 30 16 footers but the 4 that i had to do were OK. My taper loved me for it. That whole 70 sheet job didn't have more than a few short butt joints over some windows and none on the ceilings.
My technique? I pull out one end of the sheet from the stack and get behind it. I then lift that end up to the eight foot ceiling height. The other end maintains the balance because it is still up against the stack. I shuffle down the sheet a little with both hands under. I then shuffle the sheet over until I get to the center. Once I have the balance i simply bring it up with straight arms and lean it against my chest (oh, I take my hat off first, seems I always loose my pencil when the sheet touches the brim of my hat). Walk over to the lift and set it on.
It is a 20 by 40 addition one of the ceilings was vaulted and 11' high. It took me three 7 hour days to hang. At $15 a board to hang I made $350 a day minus $50 for the lift for two days. It's the last time I'm renting one, next job I buy.
I hang it myself because i have had difficulty trying to find someone to hang only. Most drywall contracors are tapers who want the whole job. I happen to have an old friend (we were alter boys together) who is hands down one of the absolute best tapers you could ever find. He works for a large contractor and moonlights all of my jobs along with many others. He started taping this job on Thursday and will have it done (and I mean ready for the painter done) Sunday. And it's costing me 28 cents a foot.
How is this guy making any money?
And it's costing me 28 cents a foot.
How do you measure? The square footage of the whole job...ceilings and walls? Number of boards? Does the 28 cents include materials?
That is actually more than I pay for finishing. Around here finishing materials are included in the price and sq. footage is based on the measurements of all surfaces covered in drywall. Good tapers can make 2-300 per day at those prices.
Around hear many drywall hangers and tapers price their jobs based on 12' boards. So I calculate the sq. ft. of the boards delivered and divide by 48 to get the equivilent in 12' boards. My guy takes that board count and after seeing the job does a quick figure in his head based on complexity,ie. high ceilings etc. This job had a simple 11' high ceiling in one room. The price for taping was $950. I suppllied all materials.
I'll be 57 the end of this month. If I can get help, I'll hang 16 footers, but if not, it is no big deal. I do my own tape and finish.
Dave
Hey guys,
I have one question for anyone who knows......
I'm thinking about hanging my own rock coming up here soon. What do you guys do when it comes to laying the sheets out..... like on a ceiling..... do you line up the butt joints or stagger the butt joints like laying wood sheet goods? I'm planning having smooth ceilings on the first floor.
I've seen it both ways but am not sure how the taper likes to have it.
Oh yea, and one other question....
Can I run the sheets parallel with the joist runs or do I have to go perpendicular? Can I change direction somewhere in the middle?
Thanks for the help
Rob Kress
Whichever way you align the sheetrock, remember that it is like plywood and stronger in the longitudinal direction.
Hang board perpendicular to the joist. Stagger the butts.
Hire a pro to help. You don't sound like you know what you are getting into. Could cost you more trying to save a few bucks
Dave
Dave,
Believe it or not, I actually have quite a bit of experience hanging sheet rock. Most of it of course the wrong way and that's why I am asking those two questions. And I have never had the joy of hanging in new construction or much over head.
To me, hanging sheet rock is really not all that hard once you have been taught the tricks of the trade. So I plan to go at it with qualified help and with the blessing of the taper before I start (a good guy who I have worked with on many projects and is happy to advise..... something like 40 years in the drywall industry).
Thanks for the advice. I will definitely be staggering the butts and spanning long way over the joists (as I thought I should do).
Thanks again
Rob Kress
Who are you gong to get to hang 54 x12x5/8 on the ceiling? That was a good one.
Tim Mooney