Oh, the things you’ll learn!

… if you volunteer for Habitat for Humanity! Last “construction-y” post for a while, I promise!

Three things I have learned from participating in the installation of drywall.

1. Holy cow, Batman! — So many screws! In the photo, the wall is 12' wide. There are 9 columns of 5 screws for each of the two panels of drywall. That’s 90 screws for one wall, in one room. (For the ceiling panels, it was 5 pairs of screws across the panel into an overhead truss. So that’s 90 screws for just one ceiling panel of drywall!) So when I see the “contractor’s box” of 500 screws or 1,000 screws at the hardware store, I now recognize that such a box really doesn’t last very long.

2. I always assumed 8' drywall panels were installed floor-to-ceiling in spaces with 8-foot ceilings. For this project, the 12' panels have gone up horizontally: notice the horizontal seam between the panels. Huh. I Googled “vertical vs horizontal drywall.” Apparently it’s not a settled question; there are advantages and disadvantages for both vertical panels and horizontal panels.

3. Note that the electrical and cable outlet boxes are cut out. No measuring with this clever device:
    » clip small component inside the box;
    » install the drywall;
    » attach large component by matching its magnets to the piece behind the drywall;
    » trace around the outline;
    » cut the drywall (drywall cut-out tool);
    » remove the drywall, exposing the box and the first component of the magnetic tool!
There is also a similar tool for round boxes like smoke detectors and light fixtures.

Brilliant!

[ PXL_20231207_155827607_12x9tm :: cell phone ]

December 7 posts
  1 year ago: “The collaboration hits the local shelves!”
 2 years ago: “Advent calendars come to jigsaw puzzles [Filler again]”
 3 years ago: “New precautions”
 4 years ago: “Anatomy of a [tumble] dryer”
 5 years ago: “This should not be this difficult…” (changing phones)
 6 years ago: No post
 7 years ago: No post
 8 years ago: “Learning about wood”
 9 years ago: “Dude — it’s December 7!”
10 years ago: “Shoveled!”
11 years ago: “Sorry, Charlie!”
12 years ago: “Our family crèche…”