How To Put Drywall On A Ceiling The Easy Way

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While there are several things you need to know to hang drywall like a pro, most are not difficult. For instance, a standard sheet of ½-inch, 8x4 drywall weighs around 50 pounds, which most people can lift just fine.  The main challenge comes when you're trying to lift those boards above your head and screw them onto ceiling joists. The board that was reasonably easy to move around at ground level is now really awkward to manage. Trying to get it up there while standing on a ladder is seriously dangerous and is one of those mistakes when installing drywall to avoid at all costs. Even if you get some scaffolding, it's difficult to hold the drywall steady and fix it at the same time. Having two people would help, but it is often not practical.

Fortunately, there's a tool to put drywall on a ceiling the easy way. It's called a drywall lift. One major hardware store, Home Depot, has them for hire at around $60 per day. Although you may find it cheaper, you might also want to consider buying. For example, the FDW Drywall Lift is currently $165.00, so you could be saving money in just three days. These tools are also pretty durable, so if you sold them when you finished your project, you would likely recoup a good chunk of the cost.

To use a drywall lift, you'll need to load your drywall onto the lift and maneuver it into position. First, the board is put on the drywall lift with the support arms in the vertical position and then simply tipped to the horizontal. The tripod base offers excellent stability, and three wheels make it a breeze to move around. Getting the drywall to ceiling height is just a question of cranking a handle. Once in position, stand on a trestle (a ladder would be fine for this) and drive in a dozen screws to secure the board. A lever then allows the support section to be lowered so the drywall lift can be moved out of the way. 

The remainder of the drywall screws are then inserted. An ordinary drill driver could be used, but a tool like the DeWalt 20V Max Drywall Screwgun would be better — this drives screws to a precise depth every time, making the job much faster. Once you've seen a drywall lift in action, you'll realize how easy it is to put drywall on ceilings. It's also a whole lot safer. While we're on that subject, make sure you're aware of drywall dust dangers so you stay healthy.