"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
news snip------

Oh, install it with the main seams vertical and sheets tall enough
to go floor to ceiling - that way you don't have to deal with butt
seams between ends of sheets. They aren't dished at the ends, so you
will build up a bump there.

I made that decision long ago. All of the interior sides of the exterior
walls are getting glued in place (foam adhesive). There will be no butt
joints at all aside from ceilings, or walls that are longer than 12'.

If the room has a 10' or 12' ceiling, buy
10' or 12' drywall.

I went you one better. I bought 8', 9', 10' & 12'. I also had it stocked.
I paid one hell of a price for that, but I'm 68 and not a strong person.
Besides, it just me and my wife doing the work, and I'm pretty sure that
neither of us could get too interested in hauling 9,000 square feet of board
into the house and garage. It took a crew of two guys about two hours to
unload the entire lot. Amazing what the proper equipment can do to get a
job done in a timely fashion. They hardly worked up a sweat, even when
hauling 46 sheets of 5/8" 8' board to the basement, two at a time. Tough
young guys, and loaded with manners. Very unusual, I'd say.


On a serious note: When you do use the joint compound, try not to use
too much,
snip balance of great advice---

Some of my childhood buddies (brothers of various ages) have run a drywall
business since the early 60's. One of them is going to do the finishing.
They're about 350 miles away, so we'll put him up for a week and enjoy a
great visit in the bargain.

I don't want it to look like I did the work, if you get my drift. I can
hang the board, that's not a problem, just time consuming.

And when you get it all done like that, then you hit it with the
Orange Peel Spatter gun (air compressor driven - Ob. Metalworking
content) and some thinned Topping mud - knockdown with a big putty
knife optional if you like the flattened pancakes or "hand tooled
plaster" look. Hides all the little mistakes that would drive you
totally insane trying to get perfect.

None of that for us. I want a paint grade job, which is what he says I'll
get.


And be SURE to prime well with PVA primer before painting - slather
it on heavy, it soaks in and then stops the drywall from soaking in
any more. Because if you don't prime and just try to paint raw
drywall, it won't stop sucking in paint as fast as you can put it on
till about the fourth coat, and maybe the sixth will look good...

Thanks for that. I fully intend to use the proper primer, especially
considering our location. We're quite damp here, and the paint is the vapor
barrier. I did that for the shop, which turned out great. Second coat of
paint is flawless, aside from the lousy job I did on the finishing.
Finisher abandoned the job in the middle, after getting a little advance
money. Left some of his tools behind, so the loss was small. ****ed me
off, though. I am not a drywall finisher, and prefer to not learn. :-)

Harold