Finishing a Garage

Mirz2000

Hello,

I am thinking about finishing my garage. Currently, the ceiling and all walls connected to the house are finished, so it just leaves 2.5 walls. When I measure the height, I am coming up with 9.75 ft. (can this be correct?) What would be the best course of action with this height: should I go with 4x10 sheets, and hang them vertically (which I understand is more difficult), or hang them horizontally still, leaving almost 2 feet at the bottom to be completed with joints? Both options make me nervous.

Also, how possible is it to complete this project by myself? I read that the 1/2" sheet rock is about 40-50 pounds, which doesn't seem too bad, but I can imagine it could be unwieldy. Ideally, I would like to be able to do this by myself.

Thank you for any insight!

jlhaslip

One sheet up to the ceiling.
One sheet on spacer blocks off the floor.
Balance of a sheet between them.

All sheets horizontal. Stagger any butt joints.

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bjbatlanta

You CAN stand the board up IF your framing is done correctly where you don't end up with a cut edge butted to a tapered edge (actually you CAN butt the two, but it's hard to get a good finish for a DIY'er).
If you lay it down, your back will thank you if you put your "rip" at the top. No need in bending over to finish a 2' (approx.) joint when you can stand on something to finish it up higher. You'll want to use 12' sheets to minimize butt joints. Hang the "rip" piece first, cut edge to the ceiling. Then a whole 4'x12' under that. Then a 4'x12' under that by jacking it up tight to the first full sheet (you need to allow a 1/2" gap at the floor so the drywall won't "wick" moisture from the concrete). As stated above, stagger you butt joints on each run. Drywall weighs approx. 2 lbs. per sq./ft. so a 10' sheet (40 sq./ft.) is about 80 lbs. A 12' sheet is about 98 lbs. You'll need help....

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Mirz2000

Thank you for the advice! This is very useful information.

There is a concrete lip at the bottom that is about an inch off the garage floor. I am not sure what that is called, but it looks like the drywall would have to sit on top of it. Am I going 1/2" above that, or is that sufficiently far enough off the floor to save the drywall from moisture? I can attach a picture if needed, because I imagine I am not doing a good job of describing it.

bjbatlanta

Not sure what the "lip" would be for, but if it's concrete and part of the floor, the drywall should not come in contact with it. A pic wouldn't hurt if you can post one.....

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newfie49

I agree, put 2' rip on top followed by 2 full sheets, using 4x12's for fewer joints.