What is a Drywall?
Drywall is a material that is used in building new homes and remodeling older homes. It is used for interior walls and is also called sheetrock, wallboard, and plasterboard. They usually come in sheets that are 4 feet by 8 feet and have different thicknesses. Almost every home in America has some sheetrock in it.
You can get people to drywall your home and there are many to choose from but do your research to find reputable people and companies. You could call a Drywall Tampa Pro and they can do the job for you. They are experts in drywall installation and can help you out.
This article will help you to learn more about drywall and how it is used. It will give you some information about its safety and the other materials that are needed to work with it. You can always do more research and find out even more about this material.
Things You Always Wanted to Know About Drywall
- Choosing the Right Drywall – You need several things to install drywall – the drywall itself, tape, fasteners, joint compound, and edge treatments. This seems pretty simple until you are standing in the drywall aisle of your local home store. The rest of this article will give you more information about everything you need.
- Fire-Resistant – There is a “Type X” drywall that is fire resistant and can help to save your home in case of a fire. This drywall is 5/8 inches thick and it is used on walls that connect living spaces and on ceilings. It would be used for garage walls that adjoin the home and under stairs, as well. Read here to learn more about Type X sheetrock. You need to talk to an inspector to find the right type of this sheetrock to use in your area. If you use the wrong kind, you might have to tear it all out and try again.
- Mold and Moisture Resistant – A type of sheetrock that is called “green board” is mold an moisture resistant. It is ½ inch drywall and is different than plain sheetrock because manufacturers use a variety of different materials to make sure that mold can’t feed off the paper. This hasn’t been a very successful in keeping mold from happening and needs to be replaced often. This could be a problem if you have installed tiles or shower enclosures on top of it.
- Half Inch Sheetrock – This is usually the best size to use for home building because it is less expensive and it comes in precut sheets that are 4 ft by 8 ft. There are newer products that weigh less and are sturdier and those products have been used in newer homes.
- 3/8” and ¼” Drywall – This is usually used in homes that were built in the 50’s and 60’s and you will want to use it if you are patching the walls in these homes. You would want to match the sheetrock that was used. You wouldn’t want to use it in new construction because it isn’t thick enough for this use.
- Drying Compounds – Drying compound is what you will use to connect two pieces of sheetrock together. You will also use tape, and the drying compound will go on top of that. There are several types of compounds that you could use, make sure that you use the type is right for your project.
- Tapes – There are also different types of tape that you can use to connect the sheetrock together. You can use paper tape, that is exactly what it says – tape that is made from paper. You can also use fiberglass mesh tape that is a little stronger than the paper tape and will hold a little better. Paper tape is still recommended for the corners of the sheetrock, but the mesh tape is better everywhere else – especially for beginners.
- Fasteners – The best kind of fasteners that you can use for drywall are drywall screws. They are better than nails because you aren’t leaving depressions in the sheetrock that you would have if you are using nails. If you have to remove the sheetrock at a later date, screws are also easier to remove.
Conclusion
Drywall is a material that you use in the building of homes and rebuilding of homes. It is used in almost every home in America for new builds and remodeling homes. There are also other products that are necessary in using sheetrock, such as tape and drying compound.
