Walls and Ceilings - Ready to take on about 4000 sq ft... Or not...

I've been finishing my basement , and its finally time for drywall. I have roughly 400 linear feet of wall to finish - the largest room is nominally 20 x 40 . For the most part, the walls are just under 10' tall. The 20x40 and an adjacent 15x10 storage area will have suspended cieling - the other rooms will have drywall.

I plant to hang the board, and have professionals tape.

A few questions...

A) I've been reading this forum for the past hour or so, but I feel I should still ask. Vertical or horizontal ? ( I'm guessing I should use 4x10x 1/2" vertically).


B) Can I use the same sheets for the ceilings ( largest room is just under 15x15 ) What is this anti sag stuff ? Is all sheetrock (excluding green and X created equal)?

C) How much gap do I leave on the bottom ?


Thanks in advance... ...Mike

I always hang drywall horizontally in residential. Since you have a drop ceiling it would be a lot easier to hang it vertically. Here is what you have to watch for: Most cracks occure vertically (butt joints). If you get a crack it will be a 10 foot crack not a 4foot one. Anothe thing is if your studs aren't run exactly 16" or they are bowed or warped you won't hit the center on 4 feet thus having to cut or add more framing. now if you cut a sheet and butt it to another one you don't have a band anymore you have a ten foot butt joint.

If your ceiling joists are 16" centers then you can use 1/2" on the lid. Run them across the joists not with them. Screw every twelve inches(perimiter of sheet and 3 in the field). Make sure you stagger your butt joints. Never heard of anti sag drywall. Most sheetrock is the same, however, where you get it is not. Some places store their rock outside and it is full of moisture. when you hang it and it dries it could crack. So buy it from someone who stores it indoors(home depot-lowes are O.K.).

The max gap at the bottom is around an inch. Any more and you will have trouble with your baseboard.

Actually, the unsuspended ceiling is 24" oc. Can I still use 1/2" ?

...Mike

You can but it will be pretty wavy. Better to use 5/8"