Finishing My Garage – Seal, Insulation, Drywall, Paint

I thought I would start this thread & keep updating it as I go, I really like seeing other peoples projects from start to finish.  I also thought since this is my first time doing this alone, i would ask questions here when i get stuck. I live in a 4 bedroom 3 bath house w/ a 2.5 car garage.  Only 2 of the 4 walls have drywall (ones touching the inside of the house) & it has bothered me for a while now (I spend a lot of time in the garage).  This was a weird project from the start b/c my walls are not OSB or plywood, they are rare for my area & style of house … solid gypsum board.  Took me a while to learn this, I have a thread about the walls a while back on here about it, you can also see the original pics of the garage there too — http://bit.ly/2bqYi57

So far, i have used foam and caulk in places that there were holes in the gypsum, around the 2×4’s where there were gaps, around the receptacles, and a variety of other places I tough air could come thru.  I then found a good deal on some R-13 rolls at HD that were bonus rolls w/ extra in them. I have used 2 rolls so far for this wall.  looks like it will take about 1 more to finish this one…

I have some questions which i will post in the 2nd post here after the pictures below…

Yes i know… Not the best looking caulk and sealing jobs, but i thought who cares it works just as good as if i made it look nice for the pics, haha.  My questions are the following right now…

–  Around the receptacles, should I tape around them since its does not look like i did just a great cutting job with the insulation?

–  Should I tape the seams of any place on the insulation? …and if so, what kind of tape should i be using?

–  I just stuffed some extra pink insulation around the windows. Should I be using foam or sealing?

–  At the bottom of the walls (where the horizontal 2×4 is connected to the concrete) should that be sealed as well?

–  At the top of the walls, should the also be sealed?

–  Should i be using rigid anywhere or is it ok to use the paper faced insulation everywhere?

–  Should i be covering everything with a plastic vapor barrier before i have the drywall or not needed b/c this is paper faced?

I want to make sure i do not miss anything big before i have all my drywall in a few days, so if anyone see’s things wrong please let me know before its too late, I want honest feedback/help and usually seem to find it on here.

Also, before i do any more insulation tonight, See the pic below. there is about 4″ of drywall around the top of the walls. I think its there so they could tape the corners at the top when it was put in.  Should I rip this out around the top of both the walls or should i just run the new drywall up to it and tape and mud the seam??

Check this out for some insulation help:

…

Also I would leave that strip of drywall up and put sheets up to it because it’s easier doing that seam versus the wall to ceiling corner.

I don’t think it’s necessary to tape around the receptacles. I would seal at the bottom and top plates tho.  

Don’t put plastic over the insulation batts, read up on that in the link in the other thread. 

Hope this isn’t misleading.

Looking good, I like to use spray foam around windows, a little less tedious than cutting bits and pieces

Thanks guys. Anyone have any good videos or guides that may help me not miss anything 

so i know it was not necessary, but i have an extra roll of ramboard tape (brown paper tape).  I used it to tape a lot of spots that were not perfect and also where bats met. not sure if it well help, but cant hurt i guess.

Nail plates or w/e you call them  the metal plates you put on the stud in front of remex… go crazy and put in every single space or just where i may nail

Guys i also need advice about starting to dry wall!  where should i start? haha.  left or right, etc?  can someone draw a rough layout in paint over this pic or something?

Decide whether your going to hang horizontal or vertical and go from there… I prefer horizontal but I’ve heard both sides of the coin, I usually work clock wise, and hang the bottom sheet first

OK so I am making progress and will start  to hang drywall in the next two or three days. I still need to decide whether I’m going to lay it vertical or horizontal but my main concern now is what drill to use to hang it.  Should I just use my Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill with those drywall bits or would it be better to pick up a dedicated drywall gun?   I’m pissed Milwaukee hasn’t released their drywall gun yet but I was at Home Depot yesterday and saw this one for 50 bucks get it or just use my fuel drill…?

Drywall guns make it easier, they have a ridgid collated screw gun too in the nailer aisle

How high is it to the strip of drywall at the ceiling? If this were my garage, I would hang the drywall however I felt easiest, just do it either way, don’t think it shoudl matter, especially in a garage…

olletsocmit wrote:

On 8/24/2016 at 7:57 PM, olletsocmit said:

OK so I am making progress and will start  to hang drywall in the next two or three days. I still need to decide whether I’m going to lay it vertical or horizontal but my main concern now is what drill to use to hang it.  Should I just use my Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill with those drywall bits or would it be better to pick up a dedicated drywall gun?   I’m pissed Milwaukee hasn’t released their drywall gun yet but I was at Home Depot yesterday and saw this one for 50 bucks get it or just use my fuel drill…?

 

 

This would make it night and day easier to hang drywall, not only because it has a dedicated end on it to hold the screws while you steady the drywall with one hand, but it also spins faster than your Fuel drills, making it go so much faster

I recently had to hang drywall, in one section. I screwed in with my drill about 90% in. Then I went around to each screw and hand tightened to I could get the depth just right without ripping the drywall paper. It seemed to work.

KnarlyCarl wrote:

21 hours ago, KnarlyCarl said:

How high is it to the strip of drywall at the ceiling? If this were my garage, I would hang the drywall however I felt easiest, just do it either way, don’t think it shoudl matter, especially in a garage…

Hey whats up Carl, they are 9 foot ceilings with a attic above.  I am thinking starting from the left bottom and laying horizontal…

KnarlyCarl wrote:

21 hours ago, KnarlyCarl said:

This would make it night and day easier to hang drywall, not only because it has a dedicated end on it to hold the screws while you steady the drywall with one hand, but it also spins faster than your Fuel drills, making it go so much faster

interesting.  I just would hate getting it and really never using again.  was hoping there was a nice adaptor for my drills that would work.

OK so I still haven’t hung the sheet rock yet I hurt myself but the other issue is I think I’m being OCD about the insulation. There are a few spots and corners Where I basically ripped apart smaller pieces of insulation and stuck them in the crevices. I’m still worried about them not being covered with craft paper. I have a roll of craft paper and tape should anything pink thats showing be covered up with the kraft paper before hanging the drywall. Also there are a few spots where there’s two or three 2 x 4 studs that are all connected to each other and aren’t even. should they be sanded flatter real quick with grinder or should I just cover the faces with caulk and then screw the sheet rock down…?

There are also a few things like this… the headers above the windows will sit back about 1/2″ in. Should I put foam board in that space above the window before I drywall there or is it fine to just have that cavity there.

it looks like the headers are doubled up if you look to the right of the header there’s a hole and it’s about 1 to 2 inches deep should I knock the hose out and fill this big gap with foam?
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Today’s progress with one arm I cut a metal band at work and it shot straight in between my tendons so that’s my job is she right now[External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]
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Less void space the better, hope your arm gets better!


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Well that blows banana chunks!! Take it easy..
I would fill those small holes with foam. I would also fill in the 1/2″ space above the window because maybe you want to mount something to that part of the wall later on. Also wouldn’t bother making those 2x4s flush with each other, but you could caulk in the seams between the boards

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JimboS1ice wrote:

Less void space the better, hope your arm gets better!


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Got 1 more up this morning and another for the right side cut. Time to go to work now. [External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]

olletsocmit wrote:

Yea it was not the best cut where the 2 boards met. I was gonna fill in with caulk then tape and mud.

I have been leaving a 1/2″ at the bottom off the concrete. I was also going to fill that gap with caulk I think and then run molding against the floor

I missed this thread so am not in time to give you advice but as a guy who’s done more insulation than he cares to, Some general tips:

-use can foam around windows and doors. So much easier than batt.

-don’t bend, fold, or squish batts to fit cavities, that hinders performance and can make them basically useless. 

Also put caulk/acoustiseal down the seams in gang studs. 

To the right of the right Window in the below picture there is about a 4′ x 9′ space. Would it be OK to run drywall vertical in that spot. That way it’s just one piece instead of running to horizontal there. My only concern is that if I run it vertical, under the right window the piece I put there will be a butt against a long side which is sloped/angled. I know it’s not ideal but is it OK to have a butt and angled side touching. Will it cause and issue when I tape and mud? Or is it just gonna be the same as 2 butts.

On the vertical butts I have, should I be doing anything to curve in the flat butt ends?
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If it was 8ft walls I would have said go vertical so you would have not had any but joints. I can tell from the pics that you have 9 or 10ft walls. As for finishing the but joints you just have to work your dud out and feather it wide,10 to 12in’s

regopit wrote:

If it was 8ft walls I would have said go vertical so you would have not had any but joints. I can tell from the pics that you have 9 or 10ft walls. As for finishing the but joints you just have to work your dud out and feather it wide,10 to 12in’s

It really doesn’t matter you could have gotten 12′ sheets of drywall but they are a pain to handle. Make it easy on yourself the art is in the finishing.

I got the sheet rock for free that’s why am using eight foots I’m just worried is it OK to run horizontal and vertical on the same wall or not

olletsocmit wrote:

16 minutes ago, olletsocmit said:

I got the sheet rock for free that’s why am using eight foots I’m just worried is it OK to run horizontal and vertical on the same wall or not

 You can. Like I said Make it easy on yourself the art is in the finishing.

at the 1/2″ gap at bottom between drywall and concrete…. should i foam from can, run the 1/2″ round black foam stuff, just caulk, or something else.  then after that I want to run baseboards at the bottom should i just let the baseboard rest against the concrete or leave a little space also

I take it that you are talking about backer rod when you say 1/2″ round foam stuff. Yes you can do that or the can foam will work. As for the base board set a couple of carpenter pencils on the slab to use as spacers then set your baseboard on top of them to set the gap. Make sure to prime all side of the baseboards then paint  

Some more slow progress….

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So it’s obvious this is my first time doing drywall… Planning on hiding any mistakes with mud haha.

I didn’t do the best job cutting around the boxes … Suggestions on how or the right way to fix this? Bigger covers? Lol
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olletsocmit wrote:

On 8/22/2016 at 8:03 PM, olletsocmit said:

My posts are being screwy ignore the weird random things above and below..

Sometimes this is how you learn if you just start doing stuff on your own!!

If the top and bottom metal tabs touch the drywall, then you’re good. You might have to take extra compound to fill in the areas around the boxes on some that got cut too large. Unless you can find larger plates. Good luck!!!!

On 8/22/2016 at 8:03 PM, olletsocmit said:

 

This guy is literally just hitting the drywall. Will break if I tighten it. Should I put some small pcs if wood in the gaps then mud over, something else. Want them to be sturdy

Pull the recep back out and mud in around the box if you don’t think it’s going to be stable enough, are you using easysand?

KnarlyCarl wrote:

Pull the recep back out and mud in around the box if you don’t think it’s going to be stable enough, are you using easysand?

Dude just remember when they say 45min they mean it and if its hot out it could be faster. Just mix what you think you can use in that time.

It’s usually at this point in a first-time project I would be sweating the details, so in case you’re like me olletsocmit, just wanted to let you know you’re doing great, progress is looking awesome. Small mistakes sometimes feel like big ones, but they aren’t. You’re learning, and next time around will be go even smoother. Looking forward to more pics!

Bremon wrote:

It’s usually at this point in a first-time project I would be sweating the details, so in case you’re like me olletsocmit, just wanted to let you know you’re doing great, progress is looking awesome. Small mistakes sometimes feel like big ones, but they aren’t. You’re learning, and next time around will be go even smoother. Looking forward to more pics!

Thanks for the thought and support@Bremon

Yea ur right. I am sure I am definitely worrying about small things that don’t matter, but not having much work to compare it to is that reason I think… I will post some more pics tonight. I’m ready to tape now. I cut little “V’s” in my butt joints. I have Mesh and paper tape…I know mesh will be faster for me and will eliminate the first layer of joint compound. Am I really going to notice a difference between mesh and paper??

So all the pictures I see on the Internet, lines are perfectly taped & mudded. I guess I’m not that good I think I’m going to switch to 90 min hahahha. don’t like rushing… These pics are about 10 minutes after I laid it. It’s starting to dry

Yeah forget about making them perfect, it’s your first time. Even your first couple times are difficult, if you’re really going to get it nice and flat, it’s going to take a lot of time and patience. Once you start getting towards where you think you’re ready to start sanding, turn the lights off and shine one source of light along a wall, and any shadows will show the uneven drywall. But maybe that’s getting too picky, might just focus on making it look “garage” nice!

I just picked up a bag of 90 minute it’s way too hot for the 45 minute hopefully this will help me

Mix set muds are far superior in strength to premix, so anywhere you expect the walls will get contact or banged up I’ve found it best to stay out of the buckets. Myself I use 45 but I do a lot of drywall and know what to expect and mix in small batches because I know I can get two coats in a day, but if you have time it won’t matter switching to 90. 

Also with bucket muds if you do end up using it, it’s a classic mistake even professionals make, but you have to add water and mix with a drill. Don’t apply directly out of the bucket or you’re going to fight it. 

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Hugh Jass wrote:

Also with bucket muds if you do end up using it, it’s a classic mistake even professionals make, but you have to add water and mix with a drill. Don’t apply directly out of the bucket or you’re going to fight it.