Hanging drywall

It's pretty simple unless you're doing a ceiling and I'm sure there will be qualified people there to guide you. They certainly would not expect you to go into an empty house and begin the process.

At any rate, it is a noble gesture on your part and you have exposed an altruistic side which I wasn't aware of.

(Watch out for a fat guy pushing a hot dog cart.)

But what is it that's simple? I'm not so sure about supervision. Most of the rebuilding efforts are individual owners doing what they can. There simply aren't a lot of professionals in the area, and those that are there probably don't want to fuss with volunteers.

ACORN is still coordinating some gutting projects and we can do that, but having spent a lot of time ripping things out, it would be nice to help rebuild.

Bear rented a space for his business a few years ago that needed to be divided up a bit to make it work for us. With the assistance of my brother-in-law, we installed a new wall (Metal frame into concrete, hung drywall, taped, sanded, wallpapered.) Did it all in two days.

Easy if you have someone show you how to do it.

Home Depot is geared to do-it-yourselfers. They have in-store and online clinics. The people there are usually very knowledgeable. Why don't you talk to one of the people in the drywall department?

The drywall it self is very easy. It is a little heavy and can be awkward for one person to move sheets around but otherwise it is just a matter of cutting to the proper size/shape, holding it in place and srewing it to the studs. The only tools you'd need are a standard utility knife with a bunch of spare blades, a T-square and a screw gun (or electric drill with the proper bit).

If you get fancy you can get a spiral saw for doing the cutting with. It makes cutting the holes for electrical boxes a breeze. Overhead (ceiling) work is harder and unless you have 3 or 4 people doing it I'd suggest a drywall lift.

The really nice thing about the drywall process is that it doesn't require precision. Things can be left with small gaps and such and they'll be covered by the tape/joint compound. 30 minutes into working with the stuff and you've got all the basics down. I'll see if I can find you an on-line video of the process.

Check this out:

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35693854

There's a nice "how to do" here.

(I've converted the rooms of a huge castle into small student's rooms when it became a school ages back, just with a friend. And we never did such before.)

Thanks for the links, Phoenix and Walter -- it doesn't look too tough.

fishin -- an online video would be great, thanks!

squinney -- yeah, I wish I knew some DIYers who were working on a project between now and then. Phoenix's idea of a clinic at Home Depot is a good one. I'll give them a call to see if they have anything scheduled over the next couple weeks.

There are videos on my linked wbesite :wink:

HAH! So it does, I skipped right over the boxes and looked only at the text. I've forwarded both links to Mr B. He can check out the videos at work with high speed access. Our dial-up here makes video viewing a nightmare.

Thi sis all asort of interesting JPB. Where did you find out about who is looking for help? I had thought about going down to NO just to help with whatever I could but didn't really see any sort of coordinated site.

There is no centralized center or any such thing, fishin. We discovered Common Ground Collective last year while we were there for jazz fest. They were looking for folks who were staying in NO between the two weekends of jazz fest who were willing to volunteer between weekends. That didn't apply to us as we were only there for one weekend, but Mr B got in touch with them when we returned home and arranged a two week trip last summer to join their gutting crews. My daughter joined him and spent her days volunteering at the women's shelter while Mr B was out with the crew. He went back in December for another week.

What's really needed is a "Rehabitat for Humanity" for those who want help rebuilding. There are many church groups in the area that have crews and ACORN is coordinating some projects as well. They are all embroiled in the political controversies as well, so it's hard to find groups that are focussed solely on volunteer coordination. NO is coming back very, very slowly. Each time we visit we see signs of people coming back, but it's still a long, long ways from being a good situation.

Mr B spends a lot of time visiting NO based blogs and hears stories of people who are trying to put their lives back together. He's been in direct contact a number of people who are looking for a little or a lot of help. Mostly the folks on these blogs are supporting each other with words because their own hands are equally tied up in rebuilding efforts.

I'll look around while I'm down there and try to get some better contact info for those looking to volunteer.

Just a few things.

Try to avoid butt joints...a "butt" being the end of a sheet, or a cut piece, that does not have a beveled edge. The bevel allows room for the tape and mud, butt joints do not, and are difficult/time consuming to hide, tapers hate them! This shouldn't be a problem in a house, normally you stand the sheets up...8' foot ceiling, 8' piece of rock, but in commercial construction the guys tend to hang them longways {laying down} it's faster, and it's easier to handle the 12 or 16 footers sideways.

One place that butt joints are normally found are above door jams and window casings, it is possible to avoid them...cutting an "L" shaped piece, or even two of them....but it creates a lot of waste. In a house it's normally a short joint, 8-10 inches, but even that small of a joint has been known to induce foul language...unless of course the studs are in perfect alignment...heh...if you run across a "good" one, you will wonder how that half inch rock could possibly stick out an inch.

Studs...mark them! On the floor and on the ceiling, once you throw the sheet up, you are screwin blind at the middle studs. You can measure from the visible studs to find the hidden ones, but that is a pita. Some guys snap lines, or use a level to draw a line between the marks...not a bad idea when you first start out. The last thing you want to do is miss the stud and drive the screw into a water pipe. All it takes is a pinhole, and when the water is turned on...you got a major mess...seen it happen many times. Just generally try to be mindful of whatever is inside the wall...pipes, wires..whatever.

T squares are very thin, if you are using one for a cutting guide, do not get in a hurry, the blade will jump the edge, and head for your thumb like a heat seeking missile. Utility knife cuts can be very painful, and will really slow you down for the rest of the day, if not a couple of days. Use minimal pressure on the blade, most of the time, you don't need to cut deep into the rock to get a clean break, unless you are trimming off a very thin piece...cuts of a decent size will pretty much break under their own weight.

I carry a small hand rasp...looks like a cheese grader...this comes in very handy for tuning up a cut edge. And a tool we call a "Kicker", just a curved piece of metal that you can use as a foot lever to help raise the rock in position, we also use them for hanging doors.

As others have mentioned...I'm sure a professional will be there with you guys, so I wouldn't worry about it too much....and I'm sure you will catch on quickly.

What you are doing, is a very honorable thing.

JPB--

The dust from sanding drywall spackle smooth is a fine, highly irritiating grit. Take plenty of kind shampoos. If your skin is sensitive, take soothing lotions.

2packs -- great feedback, thanks! Mr B is currently communicating with a single female DIYer who apparently has hung some drywall before. This could be like Frick and Frack go to the movies. He's going to spend three days with her, I've committed to two. I'll be spending the other free day showing Thomas the sites.

noddy -- good point, thanks. It's getting too hot to wear long sleeves and pants, but they might be the most appropriate attire - I'll bring them along. Work stops by 1:00 or 2:00 because of the heat. We also have one mask from when Mr B was there before (he's very sensitive to mold and there is plenty of that around) and will probably pick up another one.

JPB--

Shampoo and creams and lotions....

Wearing a hat or some kind of covering over your hair helps too, with the dust...
And gloves, don't forget gloves.

2packs has great advice.
The only thing I'm not sure that was mentioned was you don't need to cut through the sheetrock with a knife, just a good score and snap it back, then cut the back side of the paper.

Remember to lift properly with your knees.
Don't let the drywall screws stick out but don't sink them too deep either, just so they are a bit below the surface.

And be glad you aren't mudding the seams....

It's great what you are doing!
Good luck and Have fun!

Check!

ooohh, gloves -- of course, but I would never have thought of it. Thanks for the other pointers too, caribou.

Gus, they asked for advise. It's simple for who?