And Then There Was Drywall
It’s been 222 days since we began construction, and we finally have drywall. I’m actually shocked how quickly everything was installed—The insulation and vapour barrier was delivered on March 21st and subsequently installed on the 31st. Drywall was delivered on April 1st, and installation was completed this afternoon. They still have to mud, tape and sand everything, but for some reason I thought it would take a little more than 3 days to install the boards.
The installer’s efficiency has been quite remarkable and they seem to be leaving very little waste as well. I originally didn’t understand why they’d install 2 boards, skip a spot and then install another 2… but after noticing it in various places around the house, I realized they were leaving the odd sizes until they had leftover pieces that could be cut to fit. I’m also impressed their craftsmanship… These guys clearly understand how to measure and use a router.
For the most part we’ve used 1/2” drywall throughout, although we have 5/8” type X board along the south wall (which is close to the lot line) and Durock cement board around the tubs and shower.
All in all, I’m quite happy with how everything looks so far. I was certain that the rooms would all feel smaller once the drywall was installed, but thankfully that’s not the case.
I’ve posted a number of photos here.
Post Tags: drywall, insulation
It is totally unnecessary to use anything but ordinary drywall under any tile in bathrooms, showers, steamrooms, etc. if you are using Schluter’s Kerdi product and integrated shower pans and drains (which Mike Holmes uses all of the time). I used them in my house and it is like a plastic glove under the tile. It also makes the sloping of the floor of the shower a breeze (which 95% of installers in Toronto do wrong, which is to put the polyethyline barrier on the bottom of the shower pan instead of after the floor has been pre-sloped).
The fact that people use something that is semi-water-resistant, like Durock, under tile is very telling in terms of how well they expect the tile to act as a water barrier.
— posted on April 26, 2009