**Home Improvement Questions**

[Shockwave]

OK, I have a few questions about around the house type projects. Figured I'd get'm taken care of with one nice post.

1) Whats the difference between sheetrock and drywall? Any advantage to one over the other?

2) How do you hang drywall / sheetrock? Nails? Screws?

3) See 2, if using screws do you predrill the holes?

4) When staining exterior wood (deck for example) how do you prep the wood? Wash? Scrub? Sand?

5) When painting, do I just find the color I like and put it on? Or is there any prep involved? What kind of prep? Do I need an undercoat of any kind?

6) If I use blowin insulation (The shredded paper stuff) is it safe to lay it over outlet boxes in the walls? Or do the boxes need to be covered. I have some walls I want to add insulation to but there already finished, so dont know if I can just fill'm up or if I need to cover the boxes first?

Thats all I can think of for now...
Thanks!

 

[bunker]

1. Same thing...sheetrock is a brand name
2. Either
3. no
4. Don't know
5. Depends on the surface. If it is a drastic change in color you may want to put down a primer first.
6. You don't want it in the boxes, but over them is okay.

EDIT: I'll expand on five a bit.

When I paint I go over the wall looking for nail pops (nails backing out of the wood/drywall) and pound them back in and fill with spackle (sand flat when dry).

If there is any kind of an oily stain such as cooking oil, baby oil from that night of wild monkey sex, etc... then they sell a special paint/primer to cover that. Otherwise it will soak right through the new paint.

If you are going from a light color to a dark color, usually primer is not required, but to go from a dark color to a light one, you should probably put down a primer. Ask at your local paint shop (Lowes, Home Depot) and they can tell you what you need.

 

[radioouman]

:beer:

 

[Shockwave]

Thanks bunker!
*Off to demolish the house*

 

[teckmaster]

on hanging sheetrock. use screws because they will hold in better. Go find a local rental shop though and get yourself a drywall screw gun. They have very little torque and will back off as soon as the screw is in. The whole purpose is so that the screw head doesn't tear through the layer of paper holding the sheetrock together. Once the paper is torn your not really holding anything.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: teckmaster
on hanging sheetrock. use screws because they will hold in better. Go find a local rental shop though and get yourself a drywall screw gun. They have very little torque and will back off as soon as the screw is in. The whole purpose is so that the screw head doesn't tear through the layer of paper holding the sheetrock together. Once the paper is torn your not really holding anything.

This will result in a time savings of approximately five bazillion percent.

It is well worth the rental cost.

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: teckmaster
on hanging sheetrock. use screws because they will hold in better. Go find a local rental shop though and get yourself a drywall screw gun. They have very little torque and will back off as soon as the screw is in. The whole purpose is so that the screw head doesn't tear through the layer of paper holding the sheetrock together. Once the paper is torn your not really holding anything.

Would this require predrilling the hole? Or does the screw barely set into the wood, so the minimal torque is still enough?

 

[PanzerIV]

Good post Shockwave. I know absolutely nothing about home improvements which is frightening since I'm looking for a house! LOL. But, like you I have to dive in and get my hands dirty. That and lots and lots of advice from my dad

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Good post Shockwave. I know absolutely nothing about home improvements which is frightening since I'm looking for a house! LOL. But, like you I have to dive in and get my hands dirty. That and lots and lots of advice from my dad

*heh* I already got the house.
Experience is the best teacher right?

 

[308nato]

Good Luck !!!!!

...remember, anybody can hang rock......its the taping, mudding and sanding that take some effort and skill. the better you hang the rock the easier the finish work will be. If you screw it up you can just do over.

Since its a remodel, get yourself a good chalk line as many of your cuts may not be square.

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: 308nato
Good Luck !!!!!

...remember, anybody can hang rock......its the taping, mudding and sanding that take some effort and skill. the better you hang the rock the easier the finish work will be. If you screw it up you can just do over.

Since its a remodel, get yourself a good chalk line as many of your cuts may not be square.

NJot so much a remodel as an unmodel. When we had the house built we saved about 6,000 by having an unfinished basement. That buys ALOT of drywall. Hence, I'll be doing it myself.
Course, it would help if I knew HOW to do it, but shyte. If I can manage a fiber network for a 20 billion dollar company I can sure as hell finish a basement!

 

[faZZter]

Painting....

Prep the walls.....clean them thouroughly if needed. If they are mostly clean use a damp towel to remove any dust or spiderwebs and stuff. Fix any holes with some spackling paste. Sand them down after they dry to get them smooth. Wash again.

If I were you I would find the color you like and get a quart of it to put on the wall and see what it looks like in your house. Most colors look darker when they are put on a larger area. Don't buy a crapload of paint and find out its the wrong color.

If you are changing the color much I highly recommend using a primer such as "killz" or whatever. They block other colors from seeping through and help the paint cling to the walls better. Believe me it can save a ton of time repainting to get the color looking right. BTW if you are painting over glossy painted areas I'd lightly sand those also (very fine sandpaper) to aid in keeping the new paint stuck on.

Make sure you buy quality paintbrushes or you will regret it. Cheap ones lose bristles and just don't do as good of a job. Same with rollers. If you have a lot of wall to do I'd suggest boroowing a power painter roller or something to save time. Also in any high wear areas I'd use at leat a satin or you may not be able to clean the wall very well without wrecking the paint. Of course flat paint is preferred because it hides defects better but it usually won't clean up well. (so if you have kids/pets and such you are warned.)

Have fun......I just repainted our whole house interior and it took 3 days to prep and paint. Looks good now though.

 

[Shockwave]

So a gloss or satin paint is recommended for easier clean up?
the paint on the wall snow is HORRIBLE for clean up. Cleaning them with even a damp rag takes off as much paint as it does dirt...

 

[Kaervak]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
So a gloss or satin paint is recommended for easier clean up?
the paint on the wall snow is HORRIBLE for clean up. Cleaning them with even a damp rag takes off as much paint as it does dirt...

Semi-gloss is pretty much what you should use. As far as brand goes, Benjamin Moore. Runs about $25-30 per gallon. It's no exactly the cheapest, but it is the best.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
So a gloss or satin paint is recommended for easier clean up?
the paint on the wall snow is HORRIBLE for clean up. Cleaning them with even a damp rag takes off as much paint as it does dirt...

What will the room be used for? The sheen of the paint has nothing to do with the cleanup.

Flat - Bedrooms (not kids)
Satin - Hallways, Dining rooms, Family rooms
Semi Gloss - Kids bedrooms, Kitchens for sure
Gloss - This is usually an enamel which is good for kitchen cabinets, trim, dressers, etc.

Flat is basically very hard to clean dirt off after dry. Satin is a little better. Semi Gloss is a must where there are kids and walls get dirty.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: Kaervak

Originally posted by: Shockwave
So a gloss or satin paint is recommended for easier clean up?
the paint on the wall snow is HORRIBLE for clean up. Cleaning them with even a damp rag takes off as much paint as it does dirt...

Semi-gloss is pretty much what you should use. As far as brand goes, Benjamin Moore. Runs about $25-30 per gallon. It's no exactly the cheapest, but it is the best.

IMHO that is too much to spend on paint. Valspar paint is ranked #1 IIRC and it's not that expensive. They make their own paint, Walmarts (different standards obsiously), and Farm and Fleet. They may make others also.

I've sold Walmart paint for three years and it's pretty good paint for the price.

Flat = $8.94/gallon
Satin = $9.94/gallon
Semi Gloss = $10.94/gallon

 

[rgwalt]

You do not need to pre-drill holes for drywall screws. Dry wall screws are self threading. They'll go right through your drywall and studs.

The mudding, taping, and sanding are the toughest parts. You'll learn how to use a banjo...

R

 

[Shockwave]

3 kids. 7, 3 and 1. Good clean up is a MUST. I've got hand prints all over, walls, around lightswitches, door handles. Basically everything from my eye level down. Its a nightmare, because when I clean I take off paint.

 

[teckmaster]

they make some really nice paint where you can wash it like you would your floor. Its gloss but not your everyday gloss.

 

[UTmtnbiker]

In regards to staining a deck or exterior wood, what I did was buy a wood cleaner from your local home improvement store. I believe I bought a Behr one. It's slightly acidic, you cut it with water and basically put it on the wood. Get a soft brush and scrub over it. Wear shoes and NOT shorts. It is acidic and burns a little when in contact with skin. It removes a lot of the dirt/grime/bird crap/whatever that's probably gotten on to your deck. Let it dry 24 hours.

Then, and this is the pain in the butt part, sanding. I got a high grit count, something like 600 or 800 I believe, and sanded the entire deck, including rails, ballisters, EVERYTHING. That took about two days with two people doing it for about 4 hours a sitting on a 12'x18' deck. This makes everything beautifully smooth, takes all the slivers out and if by chance you have/had stain on before, it takes a lot of that out.

After that, I used a UV resistant stain, Behr in a natural color (Behr No 400 if you're curious). That was the fun part. The deck took about 1.5 hours to stain, the rails and ballisters took about another 2 hours to stain. Should be good for around 2 to 3 years if you can believe what's written on the can and then....start all over.

 

[Kaervak]

Originally posted by: amdskip

IMHO that is too much to spend on paint. Valspar paint is ranked #1 IIRC and it's not that expensive. They make their own paint, Walmarts (different standards obsiously), and Farm and Fleet. They may make others also.

I've sold Walmart paint for three years and it's pretty good paint for the price.

Flat = $8.94/gallon
Satin = $9.94/gallon
Semi Gloss = $10.94/gallon

What type of coverage do you get with that paint? With a little less than half a gallon of semi-gloss white BM one coat covered a 9' x 15' room that hadn't been painted in eight years. No bleed through or streaks. If the walmart paint can do that, I'll switch.

 

[lowtech1]

4. Wash, scrub and/or sand as needed.

 

[Ornery]

1) Whats the difference between sheetrock and drywall? Nothing Any advantage to one over the other? The thicker, the better, but it gets freakin' heavy!

2) How do you hang drywall / sheetrock? Nails? Screws? Screws for sure.

3) See 2, if using screws do you predrill the holes? No.

4) When staining exterior wood (deck for example) how do you prep the wood? Wash? Scrub? Sand? Don't even bother. Just let it age naturally, or you'll be doing this staining chore forever more.

5) When painting, do I just find the color I like and put it on? Or is there any prep involved? What kind of prep? Do I need an undercoat of any kind? Wash walls with Trisodium phosphate. Do the ceilings first, with bright white, flat ceiling paint. You can slap it in the corners without worrying about getting it on the walls. Learn how to cut in the wall paint, so you don't have to bother with masking tape. It's a skill worth learning!

6) If I use blowin insulation (The shredded paper stuff) is it safe to lay it over outlet boxes in the walls? Or do the boxes need to be covered. I have some walls I want to add insulation to but there already finished, so dont know if I can just fill'm up or if I need to cover the boxes first? Cellulose insulation will NOT catch fire, no matter where you put it. It's ideal around electric boxes and plumbing.

 

[Squisher]

Good answers so far.

I'm a Benjamin Moore man myself.


This man is my hero--->masterhandyman.com. There is something spiritual about working on the house on saturday and sunday mornings and listening to him answer questions.

 

[teckmaster]

as far as paint, from what I've used, I prefer the BEHR premium from Home Depot. Has a nice glossy finish and really brightens up a room.