How to Hang Sheetrock on the Ceiling After the Walls

Fewer gaps means less filling.

Drywall workers prefer installing ceilings before walls, for two reasons. First, the top edges of the walls help support the ceiling boards, strengthening the installation and decreasing movement along the seams where the walls and ceiling meet. Second, installing the ceilings first allows room for error when measuring and cutting. The thickness of the wall boards will cover jagged edges along the borders of the ceiling boards. Installing the ceiling after the walls won’t cause any serious problems, but you likely will create wide gaps, which you must fill before the drywall finishers can begin.

Things You'll Need

• Utility knife
• Measuring tape
• Screw gun
• Drywall screws
• Joint compound
• 6-inch drywall knife

Instructions

1. Install the largest boards first to minimize the number of seams you create. Each seam requires sealing and several subsequent coats to hide the tape embedded in joint compound, so minimizing seams means less work for the drywall finishers.

2. Trim the board so its short edge, when installed, will rest halfway over a wood joist. Score the drywall’s paper face with a utility knife and then bend along the score line until it snaps. Leaving half the joist uncovered allows you to attach the next board in that series to the same wood joist.

3. Ask assistants to hold each board up to the ceiling so the long edge of the board is perpendicular to the wood ceiling joists. Have them butt each board as close as possible to the walls and adjacent boards to minimize gaps.

4. Install drywall screws every 6 to 8 inches along each joist, including the one that is half-covered. Each screw should penetrate through to the wood ceiling joists.

5. Fill with joint compound any large gaps around the corners of the installed ceiling, using a 6-inch drywall knife. It might take several coats before the corners are square and ready for the drywall finishers.

Tips & Warnings

• Measure carefully when it’s time to cut a board to fit a small area. If you remove too much, the gap you create will be large and difficult to fill.

• Minimizing gaps requires precise fitting. An effective approach is to leave the board slightly bigger than the target space. Then use a utility knife to shave down the edges, test-fitting often until it is snug.

• Chances are the widest gaps will be where you had to cut the drywall to fit. In the future, install drywall on the ceiling first so your cut edges will be hidden by the wall boards.

References

• Installing and Finishing Drywall; William P. Spence