Install sheetrock with electrical outlets cut at the right place and size.
Sheetrock is a flat solid panel of gypsum plaster compressed tightly between thick, heavy sheets of paper. It is also known as drywall and wallboard, and is available in 4-by-8-foot, 4-by-9-foot and 4-by-10-foot panels with varying thicknesses. Plan to cut openings for electrical outlets as you install sheetrock. This process requires some detailed measurements and a special tool. Installing heavy sheetrock panels is a two-person project. You and your assistant should take as much time as necessary while gaining experience in sheetrocking a room.
Instructions
1. Inspect the ceiling to ensure there are no pipes or electrical cords present where screws will be driven.
2. Start in one corner of the ceiling. Place a panel of sheetrock lengthwise against the corner, perpendicular to and across the row of joists.
3. Mark the spot on the sheetrock where the center of the joist nearest the end of the sheetrock lands.
4. Place a T-square on the side of the panel and along the mark. Draw a straight line on the panel along the arm of the T-square. Use a straightedge to complete the line along the wall across the face of the panel.
5. Cut the panel to fit the space available by using the straightedge as a guide. Pull a safety utility knife along its edge to cut through the paper and deeply score the sheetrock.
6. Stand the panel lengthwise on its edge. Apply even force at the top and bottom of the cut end to bend it backward until it breaks off. Use the utility knife to cut the paper on the backside to remove the broken piece.
7. Mark a bold line on the top plate where the joists intersect the walls. Do this all around the room to use as a reference when lining up the screws for the sheetrock.
8. Hold the cut panel of sheetrock up flat in the corner of the ceiling. Use an electrical screwdriver to drill five evenly spaced screws across the width of the panel into the joist nearest the middle of the panel.
Drive the screws into the panel just far enough to cause an indentation in the paper. Do not break through the paper. Drive another screw next to any screw that breaks through the paper.
9. Continue the process of placing panels against the ceiling and end to end with the panels already installed. Use the marks you made on the top plate as a guide for where the screws are driven into the sheetrock.
10. Install the panels so the seams between each panel overlap by at least 2 feet.
Walls
11. Make a bold mark on the ceiling sheetrock panels where the studs in the wall intersect them. These marks are used as a guide to line up screws to attach the sheetrock on the walls.
12. Place a sheetrock panel lengthwise, flat against the wall in the corner of the room with the panel edge against the ceiling. Mark the spot on the sheetrock panel where the center of the stud closest to its end lands.
13. Repeat the procedure with the T-square and utility knife to cut the sheetrock to fit.
14. Offset the panels so the seams do not overlap each other. Cut the panels as necessary. Drive five evenly spaced screws through the sheetrock and into the stud.
15. Do not install panels over electrical outlets without first measuring the distance from the center of the electrical outlets to the end of the last panel installed. Record the distance.
16. Measure the distance from the center of the outlet to the floor and record the distance.
17.Cover the outlet with a sheetrock panel. Measure the two distances previously recorded onto the panel just installed. Mark the point with an X, where the previously marked distances intersect onto the panel that was just installed.
18. Push the bit of a rotary cutting tool into the middle of the X. Cut in one direction until you encounter the inside wall of the outlet. Pull out the rotary cutting tool and carefully insert it again on the outside wall of the box. Use the perimeter of the box as a guide and cut out the sheetrock around it. Continue installing sheetrock panels.
19. Install the panels over windows and doors without driving screws into the window or door framing. Trim off the excess sheetrock at a later time. Proceed with drywall finishing.
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