Confession: I Heart Drywall

Yes, it's true; I love drywall, or Sheetrock, if you will. In fact, I used to hang it for a living, as well as taping and floating, framing, and installing acoustical ceilings. The only time I didn't particularly care for drywall was when I was an apprentice. All us peons got to do was stocking jobs.

Hanging drywall isn't exactly an art form; that's where finishing comes in. But there are are a lot of tricks involved in a production environment. Like marking a line on a sheet with a pencil and a tape measure. A true pro has a callus on the first knuckle of the index finger.

Back in the day we didn't use a RotoZip to cut out for electrical boxes. Just mark the sheet, score the paper on the finish side with a utility knife, score a larger circle on the back, and Whack! Out it came with a slam of the hammer.



Another trick was like judo; you use the weight of the sheet work to your advantage. That was you don't struggle and work yourself to death.

About the only thing I didn't like was hanging lids. We didn't have panel lifts, so it was a case of holding the sheet up with your head while wielding a screw gun with your hand.

And another important lesson is that if your work was sloppy, the finisher would make your life very, very hard...