Installing Gypsum Board, How to install gypsum board

Installing gypsum board and hanging gypsum board speaks to how to install gypsum board and states that the board may  be installed over either wood or light gauge steel studs, using self drilling, self tapping screws to fasten to steel and either screws or nails to fasten to wood.

Wood studs can be troublesome with gypsum board because they usually shrink somewhat after the board is installed, which can cause nails to loosen slightly and pop through the finished surface of the board. Nail popping can be minimized by using only fully dried framing lumber, by using ring shank nails that have extra gripping power in the wood by using the shortest nail that will do the job.

Screws have less tendency to pop than nails. When screws or nails are driven are driven into gypsum board, their heads are driven to a level slightly below the surface of the board but not enough to tear the paper surface.

To inimize the legth of joints that must be finished and to create the stiffest wall possible, gypsum board is usually installed with the long dimension of the boards horizontal. The longest possible boards are used to eliminate or at least minimize end joints between boards, which are difficult to finish because the ends of boards are not tapered.

Gypsum board is cut rapidly and easily by scoring one paper face with a sharp knife, snapping the brittle core along the score line with a blow from the heel of the hand, and cutting the other paper face along the fold created by the snapped core. A special metal T square is used to make straight cuts that are perpendicular to the edges of the board. Notches, irregular cuts and holes for electric boxes are made with a small saw or small electric router.

When two or more layers of gypsum board are installed on a surface, the joints between layers are staggered to create a stiffer wall, and a mastic adhesive is often used to join the layers to one another. Adhesive is also sometimes used between the studs and the gypsum board in single layer installations to make a stronger joint.

Gypsum board can be curved when a design requires it. For gentle curves, the board can be bent into place dry. For somewhat sharper curves, the paper faces are moistened to decrease the stiffness of the board before it is installed. When the paper dries, the board is as stiff as before. Special high flex ¼ inch (6.5 mm) board is available that can be bent dry to a relatively small radius and bent wet to an even smaller radius.

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