Build a Drywall Stand
Hanging drywall by yourself is a pain. It's hard to lift the board up into place while simultaneously attaching the drywall panel to the ceiling. If you can't get a few friends to help out for the day, and you don't want to waste money renting a drywall lift from a tool outlet, you can always build a "dead man." It's a stand-like device that professional drywall hangers often use to prop up a board of drywall and hold it against the ceiling.
Instructions
1. Measure the height of your ceiling with a measuring tape. If the height of the ceiling varies significantly in different places, you may need to build several dead men, one for each ceiling level.
2. Cut a 2-by-4 with a saw to the height of the ceiling, less 4 inches. For example, if your ceiling is 96 inches, cut the 2-by-4 so that it is 92 inches long.
3. Cut a second 2-by-4, this time to roughly 3 feet.
4. Lay the small 2-by-4 on top of the large one to form a large T.
5. Attach the small piece to the large piece, using long wood screws and a screw gun.
6. Attach braces to each arm of the T if the dead man seems wobbly. To do this, cut two small sections of 2-by-4 and attach them to the underside of each arm with screws. If you only need the dead man for one small job, this is probably unnecessary.
Related posts
Drywall jacks, or stands, are used to elevate drywall so it can be installed on the ceiling. The tools can be rented for a small fee from most hardware stores or you can build one from scrap mater...
Partitions are non-loadbearing stud walls that divide rooms.Imagine redesigning your home interior to create living spaces customized for your needs, instead of existing inside walls placed at the...
Hanging drywall on a ceiling is a difficult project, even for two people working together. If you're trying to do it alone, it may seem impossible, because one person can't realistically hold the...
Archways lend an elegance to an open doorway between rooms. And the good news is that making archways is not very difficult if you are handy with tools and follow the steps outlined below....
Drywall soffits above cabinets require well-made framing.Covering soffit space above upper cabinets requires you to treat the box as a drywall cabinet. You want all surfaces to have a smooth finis...
