Bernie,
You already know that the old carpenters used nominal 16 o.c.
studs, but they did not have to be as accurate to break on sheet
edges. The lathers did not need accurate centers as they custom
cut the rough cut lath to fit with their hatchet/hammers. You
will probably find that they didn't worry about straight and
square either. You have several choices.

You can ignore trying to make centers and deliberately miss them
and cut scrap ply/ metal stud/ 2x4 in-the-flat pieces to fasten
the butt ends of sheet to each other.

You can custom cut the drywall to make stud breaks. This will
make things a bit harder to tape and bed and may cause you to use
more sheets.

You can add extra studs to make the centers and/or scab pieces on
the side(s) of studs and joists.

It has become quite common to make inside corners without all the
nailing studs. The method is to cut the back paper on the rock
only and hang the sheet through the corner, leaving the face paper
intact. This is another trick that almost demands a helper.

I don't envy your situation, though many of us have been
there/done that. I prefer the first option of deliberately
missing breaking studs and adding scrap. This method is also
quite effective on ceilings. It is worth every penny to rent a
drywall hoist for the ceiling unless you have help. Most lumber
yards have them for rent by the day.


(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Bernie Hunt" wrote in message
...
I need to start drywalling a room that was originally build for
plaster. While the studs are 16" on center, they don't line up
with the corners. What is recommended in this situation? Cut the
drywall in lenth to match the studs I have or add in a few extra
studs at the 8' lenths?

Obviously added extra joists in the ceiling isn't pratical, so I
suspect I'll have to cut to match there.

Thanks,
Bernie