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Sizing Up and Reckoning

Preparation is the key to a top-notch job. If you're aiming for a presentable appearance with the least amount of effort, it's possible to skip much of the groundwork-but your lack of attention will most likely show in little ways.

Ideally, you'll be starting in a space devoid of drywall-all that's visible should be wall framing and ceiling joists. Naturally, that may not always be possible. The room you're looking at could very well be covered with cracked, buckled, or mildew-soaked gypsum. If so, that mess will have to come off before you can do any serious work-it's a dirty process, but it can be sort of fun.

To do the job right, you'll need a flat pry bar, a crowbar, and a framing hammer. Remove any rugs. If you can't take up the carpet, at least cover it (and any other flooring worth saving) with a heavy drop cloth. Turn off the power to the room's circuits, unscrew the outlet and switch covers, and use the pry bar and a thin block of wood to remove good baseboard, molding, and casing trim (if you're careful, it won't split and you can reinstall it later).

The rest is simple demolition. Once you've made a foot-square starting hole in a cavity between framing studs, you can rip away great hunks of wallboard, then remove with the pry bar the ragged strips still nailed to the wood. Sawing through the drywall is also effective, but you've got to take care not to damage hidden wiring, plumbing, or the panels on the other side of the wall.

What if the existing drywall is rough in spots, but otherwise straight and sound? There's no reason to tear it all out unless making the needed repairs would involve cutting away and replacing a great many small areas. Most surface damage can be patched and smoothed with excellent results, as you'll discover further on.

OK-now let's assume you're starting from scratch. Begin at the ceiling, and sight down across the line of joists to determine if any are high or low. "Saggers" can be trimmed with a circular saw, and "crowners" built up with thin shims. If the ceiling's especially wavy-or sagging through the center-it may pay to nail up 1 X 4 furring strips perpendicular to the joists. These, too, must be shimmed to level, then secured with two nails at every juncture.

Sight-check the wall framing in the same way. Badly bowed studs can be shimmed, trimmed, or replaced if needed. (An easy way to confirm your repairs is to stretch a line between corners.)

At this point, you're ready to estimate what size of drywall you'll need, and how much. Figuring out the thickness is easy. It's determined by the stud spacing. Framing that's

set on 16" centers will accommodate 3/a" panel on the walls, and on the ceiling, 3/a" and 1/2" material, as well as 5/e" board running parallel to the ceiling joists. Frame members 24" apart are OK for '/2" and 5/a" wall panels and for Sls" ceilings in which the long side is placed perpendicular to the joists.

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