Bill's Drywall, Question & Answer Page.

If you have any question's of your own, please feel free to e-mail me at Bill's_Drywall@hotmail.comI'll try to answer all questions, and put the answer here on this page, or e-mail you back with the answer.

Just remember that if you have a block on your e-mail, I can't reply to your questions. I've recently had a few e-mails come back to me, so if you don't get an answer from me, this is most likely the reason why.

Question: #1
How do I fix a hole in my wall from a door knob?
Answer: Well there are many way to fix a hole caused by a door knob, but basically it all depends on the size of the hole. For smaller holes you can take some small scraps of wood (lath works best,or small pieces of pine 1" thick) that will fit into the hole. You place the scraps of against the drywall, leaving wood where you can see it in the hole. Then you take a few drywall screws,screw threw the drywall so that the scraps of wood will be held in place, it only take a couple of screws to hold in each piece of wood. After your pieces of scrap wood are in place, take a small piece of drywall and cut it to fit in the hole. Drywall cuts real easy with a utility knife, it's always best to have a sharp blade in your utility knife. After you cut your drywall to fit the hole, place it in there and use a couple of screws to hold it in place. Next step is to put on some drywall tape (there is two type's of drywall tape,paper and fiber glass,I prefer to use fiber glass tape)and put your first coat on the tape. For first coat you can either use Durabond,Easy Set,or Joint Compound, for the do-it your-selfer I recommend that you joint compound. You don't have to mix joint compound,and it's pretty easy to sand off if you don't apply it real smooth. To cover the hole best,I recommend three coats of joint compound then sand it with some 100 grit sand paper. Remember to let the joint compound dry in between coats, 24 hours is basically enough time between coats. If you don't let the compound dry properly in between coats, when it does dry it shrink and you'll be able to notice the patch. Next step is to paint, first use a primer, then your finish coat of paint. But sometimes it's best to leave it to a profesional, remember one call does it all! Bill's Drywall.
Question: #2
I live in a older home, and the ceiling in my bedroom looks like it's hanging down. How do I fix this?
Answer: Well I recommend that you call a profesional to do this job, you could get into a little more then you can handle. Older homes were done in lath and plaster, plaster is very heavey and you don't want it to fall on you. I recommend that you have this ceiling fixed as soon as possible. One thing that can cause plaster to sag like that is a leak in your plumbing or your roof, but after time plaster does sag by itself also. Basically you don't find plaster in new homes, now a days homes are done in drywall. The reason is, drywall is alot cheaper then plaster, around half the cost, and there's not to many people that can do plaster. If I built a home for myself, I would plaster it, plaster is alot more durable then drywall.
Question: #3
What is the fire rating for a wall?
Answer: Well the fire rating is different in each county or town, you can call the building inspector in the area were you're at to find out. In most single family homes, the fire wall is done in the garage. 5/8" drywall is used on the ceiling and the walls facing any living space. For a business, in between two business's, you have to have a three hour fire rated wall. That's six layers of 5/8" type X drywall, and the drywall has to go all the way up to the roof.
Question: #4
I've had a few people e-mail about the weight of drywall. I've writen USG and they're supposed to get back to me about it, they sent me an 800 number to call so if anybody needs it, just e-mail me and I'll send it to you.
Well I finally got ahold of USG,I sent them a fax number and they sent me a chart with some numbers to figure out the weights of drywall. I didn't list all the weights here, so if what you're looking for isn't here, just e-mail me and I'll get right back to you.

Regular Drywall Panels.
- 4' x 8' x 3/8" = approx. 45 lbs.
- 4' x 10' x 3/8" = approx. 56 lbs.
- 4' x 12' x 3/8" = approx. 67 lbs.
- 4' x 8' x 1/2" = approx. 54 lbs.
- 4' x 10' x 1/2" = approx. 68 lbs.
- 4' x 12' x 1/2" = approx. 82 lbs.
- 4' x 8' x 5/8" = approx. 74 lbs.
- 4' x 10' x 5/8" = approx. 92 lbs.
- 4' x 12' x 5/8" = approx. 110 lbs.
Firecode Core Panels
- 4' x 8' x 5/8" = approx. 70 lbs.
- 4' x 10' x 5/8" = approx. 88 lbs.
- 4' x 12' x 5/8" = approx. 105 lbs.
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