Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting Drywall: The Family Handyman 1/14/15, 11:43 AM
Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting
Drywall
Learn about the five simple tools and basic techniques
you need to successfully cut drywall.
With a few simple tools and special techniques you'll be cutting drywall like a pro in no
time. Plus we'll show you how to plan your installation to make the best use of materials
and avoid waste.
By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine:June 2002
TIME
One day
It'll take a day to drywall one room or a weekend for an addition.
COMPLEXITY
Moderate
You have to measure accurately and be strong enough to handle sheets of drywall.
COST
$100 - $500
Cost depends of how much area you're covering with drywall
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Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting Drywall: The Family Handyman 1/14/15, 11:43 AM
Step-by-Step
Cut drywall faster with less waste
There are lots of stories out there about drywall projects gone bad. Inevitably, the story
involves a circular saw and lots of dust. The irony is that drywall cutting is about the
easiest, cleanest and quietest of all remodeling tasks. Even an “all-thumbs” do-it-
yourselfer can master the basics without worry, and even a big, sheet-wrecking mistake
only costs a few bucks to remedy. In other words, it's work that's easy on the mind. So
consider hanging the rock yourself in the new family room and save the 30¢ per sq. ft. the
pros generally charge (or much more for a small job!).
Buy These Tools Before You Start
A small investment in these five tools will make your job less frustrating and
give you better, faster results.
Drywall rip saw ($10; Photo 10)
Drywall keyhole saw ($5)
Surform rasp ($7; Photo 5)
4-ft. square ($15; Photo 2)
Utility knife with extra blades ($5; Photo 2)
CAUTION!
Sheets that fall over can injure you and even kill small children. Stack sheets with
sufficient angle against the wall to prevent them from tipping easily.
Cutting to length and width
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Photo 1: Lean the drywall
Lean drywall sheets at a slight angle against the last wall to be covered. Tear off the
paper strip and flip the front sheet so all the finished faces are toward the room. To
prevent warping, make sure the top edge is evenly supported against the framing.
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Photo 2: Cut the face
Mark the length on the sheet of drywall along the top, then line up the right side of the
tongue with the mark (lefties will be more comfortable lining up the left side of the
tongue). Trap the bottom tip of the tongue with your foot against it, and starting at the
top, score the paper about two-thirds of the way down. Finish scoring the paper from
the bottom up. This method best protects you from slips of the knife.
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Photo 3: Break the core
Lift one end of the sheet away from the stack and rest the sheet on the floor. A little
knock from your knee will break the gypsum core so you can fold open the sheet.
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Photo 4: Cut the back
Cut halfway down through the paper crease on the backside and finish the cut by
coming up from the bottom. Catch the two halves by steadying the top with your free
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hand.
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Photo 5: Smooth the rough edge
Smooth the rough core edge with a Surform rasp to make it smooth and square. (Rest
the end of the sheet on your foot to smooth near the bottom.)
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Photo 6: Cut thin strips
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Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting Drywall: The Family Handyman 1/14/15, 11:43 AM
Cut off strips narrower than 3 in. by scoring both sides of the paper before
snapping off the piece. Then rasp off the edge. If you try snapping with just one
side scored, your strip will break off in small chunks and you'll have a lot of
rasping to do.
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Photo 7: Rip sheets to length
Tip sheets to width by pulling the utility knife behind the 4-ft. square. Dig the blade into
the aluminum tongue a little to hold the square against the sheet and then pierce the
paper with the blade tip. It takes a bit of practice to get the hang of this. Score the
sheet by pulling the top of the square and the knife the length of the sheet with both
hands moving at the same speed. Here we show scoring two strips at the same time.
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Photo 8: Snap the sheet
Lower the sheet close to the floor and snap the cut open with a soft karate punch.
Make sure the floor is clear of scraps and screws so you don't mar the face of the
sheet.
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Photo 9: Cut the back
Slice through the paper on the backside along each crease.
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Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting Drywall: The Family Handyman 1/14/15, 11:43 AM
When you're hanging drywall, there's more at stake than saving money or keeping on
schedule. The next step, taping, is the toughest part of drywalling, and the keys to saving
time and effort are making accurate cuts and knowing the tolerances. If a taper has to fix
poor cuts, big gaps and ragged ends, you'll eat up all the money you saved by hanging
the drywall yourself. This photo series shows the basics of drywall cutting and the tools
you'll need for fast, accurate cuts. It concentrates on cutting to length, cutting door
openings and ripping.
Score, snap and cut
Ninety percent of the cuts made on any drywall-hanging job consist of three basic steps:
scoring the front paper, snapping and folding open the sheet, and cutting through the
paper on the back. You'll use variations on that theme for nearly every cut. Other cuts are
made with two types of drywall saws: a small keyhole- type saw for short cuts (mostly
electrical box openings) and a larger coarse-tooth saw for longer cuts like those around
doors .
Working with drywall
Drywall is really just a simple sandwich of mined gypsum rock encased in a wrapper of
recycled paper (hence one brand name, Sheetrock). Although neither component has
much inherent strength, together they form a remarkably strong, highly fire-resistant wall
sheathing. When you score the paper with a utility knife, the crumbly gypsum breaks
cleanly, directly in line with the score.
When you're scoring with a utility knife, use only enough pressure to barely cut the paper.
Cutting deeply into the gypsum core will only result in dull knives and a strained wrist.
When the blade stops cutting cleanly, you'll notice the paper begin to tear behind the
knife edge as you score. That's when it's time to change blades.
Here are a few hanging tips to help the job go smoother and with less waste:
Hang all horizontal surfaces like ceilings and soffit bottoms before you start on the
walls.
Do intricate layouts with the sheets lying flat on the floor rather than standing on edge.
It'll be easier to use straightedges and chalk lines.
You have to cut openings for existing doors and windows before you hang the drywall
sheets (Photos 10 – 12). Protruding jambs and insulation prevent cutting the sheets in
place. Make those cuts while the sheets are standing against the stack instead of
mounted over the opening. It's helpful to have another person support the sheet to
prevent breakage while you cut, especially if the cutout calls for narrow, fragile drywall
legs on either side of the opening.
Save waste by cutting pieces to length before cutting to width.
Use 12-ft. long sheets instead of 8-footers if you can handle the pieces and wrestle
them into the room. The leftover pieces will be longer, so they're more likely to be
useful, and you'll have fewer joints to tape.
As much as possible, minimize the number of joints, especially hard-to-tape butt
joints.
How to cut door and window openings.
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Photo 10: Saw the sides of openings.
To hold the drywall in place while you're cutting, nail or screw it directly over wall
openings whenever possible. Leave the area over the top of the opening unfastened
until you finish cutting out the opening. Cut upwards with a drywall saw using the
framing as a guide until you feel the saw hit the wood at the top of the opening.
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Photo 11: Score the top of openings
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Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting Drywall: The Family Handyman 1/14/15, 11:43 AM
Score the backside of the drywall along the top of the framing.
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Photo 12: Cut the opposite side
Snap the flap up and cut through the front paper following the crease.
Attempting glove-tight joints will often result in cracks and broken corners when you're
forcing the sheets into place. You're much better off cutting lengths 1/4 in. too short than
trying to shoehorn in perfect fits.
When you're cutting around windows and doors, remember that trim will usually cover at
least 1 in. of the surrounding drywall, so you can afford wider tolerances. In fact, a 1/2-in.
space between the opening frame and the drywall will often make applying wood trim
easier.
But outside corners that get metal corner bead (Photo 10) are a different story. There,
drywall joints should be overlapped and rasped as flush as possible. A 1/4-in. mistake on
a corner can make fitting and nailing corner bead tricky and prone to cracks later. Also,
avoid using the tapered edge of the drywall at any corner that receives corner bead. The
recess of the taper won't leave any gap between the outside bead and the flat drywall
surface to fill with drywall mud.
Tips:
Always span openings with a single piece of drywall. Joints that fall in line with the
edges of openings are vulnerable to stress cracks. It's even best to avoid joints that
fall over the middle of openings because it's hard to apply wood trim over built-up
tape joints.
Use your 4-ft. drywall square to mark the centers of framing members before you
hang the sheets; you'll miss fewer studs and joists when you're screwing off the
drywall.
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Master the Basics of Drywall: Cutting Drywall: The Family Handyman 1/14/15, 11:43 AM
Tools & Materials List
Required Tools for this Project
Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you start—you’ll save time
and frustration.
Tape measure
Dust mask
Drywall saw
T-square
Rasp
Safety glasses
Shop vacuum
Utility knife
Tool belt
You'll also need a keyhole saw and a drywall rip saw.
Required Materials for this Project
Avoid last-minute shopping trips by having all your materials ready ahead of time. Here's
a list.
Drywall
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