Drywall Cutting Tools & Installation Tips

Drywall cutting tools
Cut drywall panels to size with a utility knife and a long straightedge, or use a drywall T-square as a guide for the knife blade. Make compound inside cuts around doors, windows and the like with a drywall saw. For rectangular cuts needed to accommodate switch and receptacle boxes, use an ordinary keyhole saw or a special drywall keyhole saw. Either saw can negotiate curves, too, but a drywall hole cutter does a neater job. It works like a compass that has a knife blade in place of the pencil.

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

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,andyou’ll have fewer joints to tape.

As much as possible, minimize the number of joints, especially hard-to-tape butt joints.