installing drywall in garage

[LinuxRandal]

Reminder, if you do it yourself, remember your supposed to have fire rated sheetrock, between the garage and living spaces. (inside house wall, below second story).

Hanging sheetrock on a wall isn't bad. Ceiling is a bit more tricky (especially tall ceilings, price rental equipment to get true comparison costs), and mudding is an art. Sanding however, is the part most hate.

[toolguy1000]

+1 on fire rated rock. i'd check with the local bldg. dept for code in your area. and if you can get the mud on thin enough, skip the sanding altogehter.

try polishing the dried mud. i got this tip from a drywaller years ago and its great, especially on new rock. get a sponge with a smooth side and a rough side. i think they are in the tile areas @ HD. a bucket of water and you're off to the races. wet the sponge, ring it damp and go over the mudded seams and scews. no sanding dust and no mess. it takes about 10% longer than sanding, but the reduction in the mess is worth it. just don't dump the waste water down a sink drain as it has drywall mud in it and could clog a drain.

key here is getting the mud on sparingly, no large clumps. don't worry about fine ridges; they scrape off easily with a putty knife.

[JimD]

Insulating is potentially itchy but simple, especially if you have a good stapler. I prefer pneumatic, one for upholstrey should work well. I used a manual last time I did it, however, because I did not have my upholstrey stapler yet.

5/8 fire rated is also true. On other walls in my shop I used skim coated (with drywall compound) and then painted OSB. I like working with it better, it is more durable, and you can hang things anywhere.

I wired in the walls. Surface wiring is painful to do, wire does not want to go into conduit. I've done it both ways but I prefer in the walls. Materials are cheaper and it's easier to do.

I put DC pipes in the ceiling because I had a deep webbed truss to work with. I didn't cut anything. Without that advantage, I would surface mount.

If you have not done it before, a garage is a good place to start but taping is far harder than hanging or insulation or wiring. I've done two basements now plus some miscellaneous patching so I tape myself but I also sand a bunch. For hanging drywall, if you have a friend who will help you can get by without a lift. But a lift makes it a one man job. And you can rent them. I built my own which let me work at my own pace but for a garage, it would be more practical to get the rock in the garage after insulating and wiring, and then go rent the lift and hang the rock in one long day. A helper would be nice because one could cut while another hangs the sheet. The cutter could also drive a few screws. A weekend would be less rushed.

For a big job, a bucket of pre-mix compound is probably the way to go. For small jobs and for bathrooms, I like the dry you mix yourself. It dries faster, in as little as a couple hours, keeps forever dry, and is water resistant when dry.

Get a stainless pan and decent knives if you tape yourself. I've used cheaper tools but I think it is false economy. They will work but better tools work better and you are already saving a bunch by doing it yourself. You will work most with a 6 inch knife but you also can use a 3 inch (applying small amounts of material and help mixing dry) and a 10-12 inch knife. I use a corner trowel too but I think doing the two sides in separate steps comes out nicer - less buildup in the corner. In a garage, I would just use a corner trowel.

Jim

[woodturner]

1) pay $2800 to have contractor put up drywall and insulation, and tape all the joints; includes all materials including fiberglass insulation

This one. You will pay probably half or more of that in materials. It will take at least two weeks of work for a non-expert to do the work. What is your time and aggravation really worth?

You may well find that you spend more than the $2800 when you do it yourself, if you total everything up.

[3thumbs]

My first two garages I did myself, and they always looked like I did them too.
This latest one, I did all of the electrical and the insulating. I hired the drywall and the taping done by a contractor for not much more than it would have cost me to do it myself. I painted the finished walls, and they look great. Much better than if I had done it!

[Copper]

Another thought. When we bought the house, only half of the garage was drywalled. Instead of doing the rest in drywall, I put up slatwall. Not only is it somewhat easier to install (it's heavier, but you don't have to tape joints) but it will also give you tons of storage space. You might consider using it for at least part of the garage and have the pros do the ceiling and the rest of the walls.

[Rand]

To me the biggest factor is time. The pros can install insulation and drywall in your garage in a couple hours. If you are inexperienced plan on the job taking at least 2 weekends.

You might shop around on the price too. We hired an insulation company a few years ago and the price we got was only 200 dollars more than if we bought the material at Home Despot and installed it ourselves.

[Chris_B]

We hired an insulation company a few years ago and the price we got was only 200 dollars more than if we bought the material at Home Despot and installed it ourselves.

This was my experience with insulation as well, although the quote we got for about half the house was actually slightly *below* BORG pricing. :-/

Also, +1 on the comments about time. If you enjoy this kind of work, great! Then burning a couple of weekends is no problem. Personally I hate installing sheet-rock (especially ceilings), so the savings would have to be huge for me to do it myself.

OTOH, I enjoy electrical work, so have always done that myself. I don't think I've saved much $$ (if any), but we have *lots* of outlets and many more home runs than required by code.

[dtam]

Thanks for all the feedback. It's an existing attached garage with electrical in place already. Because it's only a garage, I don't care if I do a poor job on the taping if it means saving $800, and taping looks pretty fun actually. If I were to hang the drywall, I would cut each sheet up into 4 2x4 sheets to make the job easier.

Anyway, it's not up to me to decide. My wife has decided not to let me hang the drywall even after I showed her some of the posts here. She hasn't decided yet on whether to let me do the taping, but it's looking unlikely.

David

[jabe]

U have a good wife. If money is no problem, go with option # 1 but do all your electrical in the walls and I would make them all 20 amp outlets + 1 or 2 220V 30 amp outlet. DC ducts on the outside, just in case U have any clogs, it won't be a big PITA to unclog it. Taping the joints can be a PITA if U haven't done it b4. A bad tape job can be hidden if you spray a texture on it like a knock down or orange peel finish. If time & money is an issue, I would hire out the insulation and hanging the celing. Do the walls yourself, and hire out the mud & taping for ceiling & walls. Follow your fire code usually 5/8" thick drywall between living qtrs & garage.

[capncarl]

If you are having the heat that most of us are experiencing you would not do it yourself for any price. Our heat index was 116 yesterday. No way would I install insulation in that heat.

capncarl

[natausch]

I were to hang the drywall, I would cut each sheet up into 4 2x4 sheets to make the job easier.

David

Easier on the install, but much more difficult on the taping and sanding. The internal edges will not be tapered to hold the mud/tape so you'll end up with bulges, not to mention the additional time spent on the cutting and not being able to distribute the weight across multiple ceiling joists.

I'd rent a lift and throw up the 4x8 or 4x12 sheets. Yes you'll need a helper to throw them onto the lift, but by using a 4x12 sheet you cut your taping and sanding time by 1/3rd.

Home Depot sells a pack of 5 or so DeWalt dimplers, pick these up and swap them out as they break, makes screwing the rock in much easier.

[frumper64]

If you do decide to do the taping, stop by a local Sherwin Williams store and pick up a "Magic Trowel". It's only around $12 and will make the taping and subsequent sanding much easier. It is basically a squeege - sounds weird but it works pretty well. You thin the mud out, apply it with either a knife or a paint roller, then use the squeege thing to smooth it off. I just skim coated some walls in my kitchen with this thing to cover a texture and it came out really well.

[BigguyZ]

If you do decide to do the taping, stop by a local Sherwin Williams store and pick up a "Magic Trowel". It's only around $12 and will make the taping and subsequent sanding much easier. It is basically a squeege - sounds weird but it works pretty well. You thin the mud out, apply it with either a knife or a paint roller, then use the squeege thing to smooth it off. I just skim coated some walls in my kitchen with this thing to cover a texture and it came out really well.

I actually used one of these when I skim coated my ceiling in my old apt. I probably should have just tore the ceiling down, but I was living there at the time and didn't want to spend the money and effort (it was probably more work to skim coat).

Anyways, it worked well, and would be even better for taping. I think I got mine at a Menards or Home Depot.