by Scott Allison

Created on: December 07, 2008

Hanging sheetrock, also known as drywall, really isn't as hard as it might seem. The worst part of the job is the weight of a sheet of drywall. Especially when working overhead on the ceiling. It's definately not meant to be a one person job. But there are a couple tricks of the trade to make it a little easier. And with the right tools, almost anyone can hang sheetrock.

First and foremost is having the right tools for the job. One of the most important tools to have is a "drywall T square". It can be purchased at any building supply store. It's design is unique for drywall in that the longer part of the square is 48 inches, which is the width of a sheet of drywall. That way when cutting a full sheet, you place the square on the sheet to be cut and you have a perfect straight edge for your cuts. A good razor knife is also required to make your cuts.

How you will be attaching the drywall to the studwork of the structure is the next consideration. If you're dealing with metal studs, you'll need a good cordless screwgun and a phillips head bit for the gun. If the studs are wood, you can either use drywall nails and a hatchet or go with the screwgun. I, personally, prefer nails and hatchet. A drywall hatchet has a very large rounded head to it. When you set the nails with the hatchet the extra large head actully leaves an indentation in the sheetrock. Later when your doing the finish work, that indentation will fill with drywall mud better and leave a slicker finish after it's sanded. If you don't set the screws with a drill gun deep enough the head of the screws won't allow you to cover them up with mud. On the other side, if you set them too deep, they will rip the paper covering on the sheetrock and lead to an unsmooth finish, even after sanding. The one big difference is that it can be a little difficult hammering nails to the ceiling.

Another cool tool to have is a cordless router. You can get bits for the router that will cut a fine line in the sheetrock to cut holes for lighting fixtures and such. A couple of other tools to have on hand would be a tape measure and a drywall saw, which is just a small hand saw with a course blade to it to cut out areas if you don't have the router. The blade is quite stiff and the end is pointed where you can simply push the saw through the sheetrock in the middle of a hole to be cut out and work your way to the measurements of the hole.

One last tool you'll need can be made at the job sight out of two 2X4's. Cut one down

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