TIL most people are putting up drywall wrong and it blows my mind

I keep seeing people on here and on Youtube just staggering their drywall joints wherever but never actually cutting them over a stud or joist. That means you're just asking for cracks to show up in 6 months when the house settles. I noticed it after my neighbor bragged about finishing his basement in a weekend and now has a crack running right down the middle of his ceiling. So which is it, are you team "butt joints anywhere" or do you actually take the time to plan your seam locations? Has anyone else dealt with this or am I just being too picky?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara_taylor839d ago

Oh I'm definitely team "butt joints anywhere" if by that you mean "I like watching people cry when their ceiling looks like a road map." You said your neighbor bragged about finishing his basement in a weekend, and that right there tells me everything. A weekend basement drywall job is like a weekend heart surgery, you're gonna have problems. I've seen folks hang a whole sheet without cutting the taper edge off the end and just shove it up there willy-nilly and wonder why their seams are bulging like they ate a bad burrito. If you're not cutting those joints over a stud or at least putting a backer block in, you're basically paying for future cracks in installments.

grant.jason9d ago

And Barbara, I feel personally attacked because I once tried to hang drywall with nothing but hope and a butter knife.