SHEETROCK HANGING & DRYWALL FINISHING TOOLSAn assortment of drywall finishing tools (mudding/floating) and tools for hanging (boarding) Sheet-rock (drywall) are usually needed when doing interior wall construction.If on the other hand your looking for other information related to drywalling like hanging or muding drywall or sheetrock then use this drywalling and Sheet-rocking. page to help you out. All the tools below are in most cases designed for working with drywall (Sheet-rock). When you see a drywall finishing tool that you would like to try, ask your home improvement representative or tool rental agent for the dry-walling tool needed then describe what it will be used for. As an example, you might want to ask for an electric cut out tool, designed to remove the Sheet-rock where light switches or wall recepticle will be located. Giving as much detail as possible regarding the project being done, helps you acquire the proper tools and having the appropriate tools gets the work done faster. DRYWALL CUTTING KNIFE Weather you need drywall finishing tools or a tool for hanging Sheet-rock, a utility knife is the first one to buy. Utility knives are used to trim the drywall when hanging board and doing drywall repairs. Be sure to have a good sharp blade (1” wide or so) along with replacement blades on hand. DRYWALL SAW Hand held drywall saws are about a foot in length, have somewhat the same teeth as a regular wood type cross cut saw and are tapered to a point on the end. A drywall saw looks sort of like a fish filleting knife, with sharp jagged teeth on the blade. Drywall saws are good for small jobs especially when cutting out around sections where a light switch or wall plug will be, if on the other hand your dry-walling a room or larger area, you might want to consider some larger electric tools. HOLE SAWS FOR AN ELECTRIC DRILL Hole saws weren't made for cutting drywall but they do work well if you have them on hand. When cutting a round hole in drywall, a hole saw will work well. You of course don’t want to go out and buy a hole saw just for your dry-walling project, if your going to buy a tool for cutting drywall an electric cut out tool will be your best choice. ELECTRIC CUT OUT TOOL There is a tool made specifically for cutting drywall board that looks like a small router or Dremel with a special drill type bit as the cutter. Having an electric drywall cutter is a must if your doing a lot or drywall boarding and want to save some time. HAND HELD WOOD SAW A wood cross cut saw can be used to cut drywall board when dealing with larger pieces. With that said if your doing an entire room, then you may want to purchase a tool specifically made for cutting drywall. JIG SAW A good jig saw, especially one with the adjustable speed will work well for cutting drywall, just use the correct sharp blade in the saw (very course teeth ) doing so will cut down on the amount of the drywalls paper from bunching tearing or ripping. I have seen electric circular saws along with table saws used to cut drywall but the amount of dust created is unbelievable, I wouldn't recommend cutting drywall board in this manner. DRYWALL BOARD LIFT A drywall board lift (or jack) is not an essential tool to get a drywalling project compleated but if your going to be applying Sheet-rock to ceilings then a lift would sure help. MUD STIRRING TOOL Some drywall mud needs stirring before application (including the premixed stuff). A drywall stirrer fits into a hand held commercial drill and can look kind of like the stem from a milk shake maker only much bigger. If you need to stir some mud, use this mud mixing tool with a top of the line drill. Be sure the drill is made to handle the stress of stirring up a thick pudding like drywall mud. DRYWALL SCREW DRILL For fast hanging of drywall board there are drills made that will hold screws like a machine gun holds bullets. If you are doing a larger size drywalling job check with your tool rental agent regarding a drywall screw drill. HAMMER Even though most drywall board is hung with screws, there are still a few who would rather use drywall nails and a hammer. When going the hammer and nail rout, make sure you hammer the nails below the surface of the board (without breaking the paper on the drywall). Hamering below the papers surface leaves a divot that you can fill with mud, otherwise the nail head might show in your painted finish. TAPPING & MUDDING TOOL Professional dry-wallers use a tool that can apply both the mud and tape at the same time. For most jobs you will not need such a tool but if your interested you might want to check them out at your local tool rental agency. MUDDING KNIVES (FLOATS) Corner mudding knifes, and other spatula type drywall finishing tools can range in different widths, shapes and sizes and are used to apply the drywall mud over holes and cracks or in the case of deeper larger crevices, drywall tape. When it comes to using mudding knives the only way to get good with them is practice, also, start out by applying less mud letting it dry, do a light sanding then apply more mud. Keep applying layers of mud and sanding until your happy with the results. TROWEL Some professional dry-waller like to use trowels (the concrete type) as drywall finishing tools for apply drywall mud. A trowel can be much faster in the right hands than a regular mudding knife but you will most likly find that different sizes of mudding knives starting with the smallest knife for the first coat, medium sized one for the second and the widest knife for the last coating will work best for those who don’t have a good deal of drywall mudding experience. HAWK When drywallers talk about hawks it's not the kind that would fly around a room. A drywall hawk is about 16" BY 16'' square, made of flat metal and has a handle at the bottom. By holding the handle you will have a flat metal plate to place your wet mud on. With a drywall knife remove some of the mud from the hawk and apply it to your walls. Some dry-waller prefer to use a long ( bread pan type) thin container that is a little wider than the widest mudding knife but skinny enough to hold with one hand. ELECTRIC LIGHTING Use an electric light, such as the type for automotive repair to see scratches, holes and divots on the drywall board once the mud is dry. A good bright light held close to the walls will more than likely show a number of areas that need touching up with some extra mudding, drying and sanding. Priming the drywall board with drywall primer, then letting the primer dry before checking the wall finish with a light should help you find a number of imperfections to repair and re-prime. WALL SANDERS Always wear a dust mask when sanding, texturing or cleaning up drywall dust. Pole sanders, hand sanders and spounge sanders are the only tools you will need for your drywall sanding project. Never use electric sanders on drywall mud. There's a drywall finishing tool that's a wall sander and attach's to your shop vacuum but I have never used one and have not seen a dry-waller use them either, so I would not be able to give you an opinion on how well they work. SHOP VACUUM Vacuum cleaners that are designed for construction will pick up drywall dust better than your house vacuum. Home vacuums are usually not made to suck up such tiny little dust particles and when used to do so, could actually damage your vacuum. Your better off to sweep up with a broom and dust pan along with damp moping, rather than operating your house vacuum just to be on the safe side. TEXTURE HOPPER Drywall finishing tools for apply splatter, knock down or popcorn to ceilings and walls with the help of an air compressor are called texture hoppers. When texturing talk to your tool rental agency and start by texturing a room that you don’t mind practicing on. Different hoppers, compressors, environmental conditions and texture can give an assortment of finishes. By starting with a room that you don't mind screwing up "the garage for instance", you will have a better idea as to whether you still want to do the rest of the house. Looking for solutions other than drywall finishing tools. Click on the home link. You should be able to find an idea or project by reading the text. If I have missed something or you would like to ask a question, e-mail me. Your address will be held in the strictest confidence. 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