Drywall?

[flying_babyb]

Is drywalling hard? How much do you think it would run to drywall a room thats 11 by 13? Im trying to get a general idea since I may be forced to move into the basement back home.

 

[laurie31]

You'll need 12-13 sheets of drywall, plus nails/screws, tape, mud (joint compound), finishing tools, etc. Will you also need to drywall the ceiling or is there a ceiling already in place? I have no clue what materials cost there, but it is a LOT of work. Seriously. Unless you are a very advanced/experienced do-it-yourself type, I would not attempt drywall.

However, if you meant that you want to hire someone, it could be that with the economy the way it is, it will be easier than usual to find someone willing to do a small job. A few years ago, no contractor around here would want to bother with a small job, but now I think people are happy for any work they can get.

 

[flying_babyb]

Kinda figured it wasnt something us three ladys should try ourselves. I could care less about a celing. I just need some walls.

 

[KristaTX]

Putting the actual sheets of drywall up isn't too terrible if you have the man power. Doing the taping and bedding is a messy, dusty, hard-to-do-well nightmare, though . We did it ourselves a few years ago at our previous house during a bathrooom/laundry room remodeling project. If I ever need new drywall again, I'll hire someone.

 

[HelenePA]

What are you trying to drywall too? like is the basement studded with wood or just concrete? You'll need furring strips for concrete, I'm not sure about the work that is involved with that. Also if there are wires on your basement ceiling you'll need to keep that semi-open by putting in a drop ceiling. see if you'll need a building permit. This probably isn't going to be as that easy. I'd do an upstairs room but I'd never even try to finish my basement myself.

 

[princess momma]

It takes a lot of time and a lot of patience. Unless you have somebody with experience who could help you, I wouldn't attempt it.

 

[TaraPA]

We did drywall once. Never, ever again. It's worth every penny to hire someone - and just drywalling isn't that expensive to hire someone to do (in our area anyway).

 

[flying_babyb]

were looking to do a simple basement with studded wood. personally I wanna just slap up some paneling between the studs and call it my home LOL. no permits needed, we already checked. sounds like we need to hire us a man...

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

Drywalling is like Golf. Its easy to do, but damn near impossible to do well.

 

[PatsMom]

When DH and I built our current home, we hired a builder to do the exterior. The only interior work we hired out was the drywall. We both hate doing it and doing it well is even worse as someone has already pointed out. We have a finished downstairs (walk out full daylight basement with real windows so its more like a split level). DH did the suspended ceiling himself and it came out really well. We did have to rent a laser level to get the thing right but it was still cheaper than paying someone to do it!

The drywall looks great - I'm looking at it now. It was worth every penny that we paid for a pro to come in and do it. And this is from two people who bought unfinished lumber for the baseboard, window casings, etc and finished it ourselves. DH also makes furniture and you couldn't pay him to drywall!

 

[winnapooh]

We've done quite a bit of drywalling ourselves. That said...I absolutely hate mudding and sanding it, but I do it. However, if you are just looking for a quick fix, go with the paneling. It's easier to do...I would probably add a vapor barrier and some insulation first though. They sell panel nails...you just need a hammer. Good luck!

 

[SandrA9810]

paneling is much lighter, and probably easier to get up. Are there any outlets in the walls?? cause you'll have to cut out holes and pull those forward. And if there's not, you might want to run some wiring for it. You'll at least need some lighting.

 

[OctMtnWoods]

Another vote for paneling if all you care about is walls & doing it yourself.

Drywall has to be done WELL or else it looks like crap.
Paneling.....well, not so much.

I'm going to guess that if you had to ask if drywall is difficult, that you probably don't watch any home improvement shows? And if you don't watch any of those shows & have an interest in that type of stuff, I certainly wouldn't suggest trying to drywall yourselves.

 

[tonilea]

I agree, the paneling would be much more forgiving than drywall.

 

[Castlebound]

I agree with the paneling. Is this room already framed? Is there any heating and cooling ducts going to the room? It could get pretty cool in there without heat. I would put some insulation in the walls to help cut down a little on sound.

 

[Feralpeg]

The secret to successful drywalling is to make sure the studs you'll be fastening the drywall sheets to are 16 inches apart. If not, you'll have gaps with no way of fastening the sheetrock.

I finished my basement in Missouri. I put up the framework and the drywall by myself. It can be done, but it takes a long time and it's heavy work. The sheets of drywall are heavy. They will break and crush easily, so you need to be careful. It is better to put several light layers of mud over the tape than one thick layer. You can't sand until the mud is totally dry.

Good luck!

 

[flying_babyb]

Well, its sorta framed, its only missing one wall, the one to divide the basement in two. there electical outlets and were gonna run heat. The biggest perk..... THERES a toilet! No sink but a toliet. Theres a shower too but its accrossed the room and no one feels like trying to move it LOL.