Been there, done that (several times), won't do it again. However, this link has a method I didn't try.

My second time around, I was taught by a professional DW installer, and say without pride that I'm darn good at taping and finishing. Took a LOT of practice, but not wanting to hear 40 decibels of #@@# from the boss is a real incentive to improve.

My main hint would be to invest in carriers and make good props and holders for the sheets. They are heavy, awkward, and some brands will crack easily if bent. Pick a sheet up wrong and it will flex. Cra-a-ack. 9 feet is too tall to work comfortably; invest in adjustable scaffolding; I happen to prefer the folding ladder type, but look around to determind whether you wish to buy or rent.

Second hint is to practice. A lot. Take a sheet or two, slice into sections, and learn to do smooth seams and crisp corners. Wall a garage or storeroom first, because there WILL be beginners' mistakes -- no need to show off the learning curve in the LR.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drywall for beginners

Rent a drywall lift for the ceilings. This is what they look like:

Here is a link that might be useful: Drywall lifts

Oh my yes. We did our own drywall (hanging and mudd) and with a little practice you may be surprised at how well you do.

Definitely do the least public / important room first as your practice room. Get a copy of Myron FergusenÂs book and read it through before you start. He recommends hanging your sheets horizontally and it really did help us. We also found it best to hang the ceiling first.

Check the framing before you start. Nudge any errant bracing back into place and shim where needed.

Lay down felt paper or some type of protection on your flooring. If you are cleaning up after the mudding and sanding you will be very glad you did!

Assign each person a job so there is no Âkeystone cop scrambling between sheets. It also makes each job easier as the person doing it gets the hang of it.

We used short scaffolding from the BORG and a drywall lift for the ceiling and higher wall panels. We purchased these as the cost was cheaper than the rental. For the 2 story room we rented big scaffolding.

We loved our Senco collated screw gun, it was worth every penny!

Get a good drywall knife with a rasp on the side for smoothing your cuts. A dremel type tool is great for cuts with more than one angle and outlets.

For marking the outlets and lights we used the Blindmark system and found it very helpful.

Try not to be intimidated by the big picture. Just look at it as one room at a time and it wonÂt seem so impossible. Good luck!

(In case you are interested we are done with our drywall tools and are looking to get rid of them  cheap!)

Here is a link that might be useful: blindmark system

Ellied,

It's definitely doable. I did our 2000 sq. basement, and am now doing our 550 sq. foot bonus room. A one man show. I did buy a cheap drywall lift from Max Tool for $189 and it paid for itself on the ceiling. Working 12' sheets by myself is a challenge, but can be done. I used construction adhesive as well as screws on all panels. I recommend that. I'll start taping and mudding this weekend. Drywallschool.com has some very good tips on finishing. Good luck.

perryrip

Been there, done that. Best advice...hire it done!

It took me six months of weekends to do what the pro's would have done in a week. In my upstairs I had dormers that made for some tricky cuts...which I wasn't good at and thus had 1/2 to 1 inch gaps to deal with in the taping/finish. (Also got sloppy around recessed lights and recepticals because I figured they had a trim ring/wall plate that would cover it...NOT...well anyway not as much as I needed covered. I became quite creative in using torn up newspapers dipped in mud to make "paper mache" patches for these gaps because mud just drips out.

If you are intent on doing it. Advice above is good...especially the drywall lift...buy one. Cheaper in the long run than renting. I also saw one in a recent harbor freight catalog. So check their price with Max Tool. (Or ebay as some of us that follow this path will someday be selling ours....I still need to put up some 4X8 porch ceiling panels...so mine won't be out there for a while yet...)

Wood flooring and soffit/facia was a much easier do it myself project and saved as much or more $$ than I ever did with the drywall hanging. (I also heard that some finishers will increase their finishing charges if they don't hang it...I hired an acquaintance to finish the big expanse ceilings and did the rest myself.)

A dollar saving perspective: My drywall hanging and finishing bid was $4500. Took me six months of weekends. The soffit/facia bid was $4200, took me $300 in materials (Though to rent a metal folder probably would have added $200. I bought one which someday when the barn and other outbuildings are done will appear on ebay.) This project only took me two weekends.

ellied

I hung the dywall my self - over 90 sheets - in the basement I finished in my last house. Then I hired a mudder & taper team to finish off. Here are some suggestions:

- make sure you glue and screw the drywall on walls and ceiling. get a good screw gun

- mark the floors where the studs are located so that you can get the screws into the wood without missing. I went one step further - sounds annal - but I actually got a long level and made lines on the drywall after it was up to make sure I hit the studs. I did a similar thing on the ceilings. I never missed a stud with the hundreds of screws i put in. The pros only miss every now and then - but they are pros. Unless you do this a lot, it is harder to stay on line than you might think.

- find your mud & tape team first because they might have some special requirements. My team insisted on installing the corner bead trim. The lead guy told me that most DIY installs of the corner bead are not done right so he wanted to put it in. I am glad he did - the corners were perfect

- make sure you stagger the sheets properly. On the walls - you want one horizontal seam for 8' ceilings or 2 horizontal seams for 9 to 10' ceilings, but you do not want the vertical seams to line up running from top to bottom. Use the same stagger approach on the ceilings.

- install the ceiling first. then the upper part of the wall, then the lower part. a lot of people don't do the walls right - they start at the bottom. i have heard of some people doing the walls first - then the ceiling - that is a no no.

- you can rent the drywall lifts and they are worth the money. it is a little slower - but I think worth the time for a DIY install.

- purchase a dremmel tool to cut around boxes and recessed cans. I did not have one and had to raise and lower the drywall lift many times to get the holes just right. the dremmel tool will make things go much faster and you will get nice clean cuts.

After all was done, I was so proud of my work. Then the mudders came in and the guy told me that he would have done all the hanging for another 700 bucks! I should have paid them the money - it was a lot of work and took a lot of time. No to mention the pains of moving the 90 sheets of drywall from the curb to the basement with the DW. I won't DIY drywall again.

Good luck.

I'm not sure if it would be helpful but I found it really good for some DIY projects.
Here are two websites
http://www.findprefab.com
http://www.raisearoof.com
You can find phone numbers of companies listed on it.
They're online directory for Prefabricated homes,commercial buildings and services, etc.
If you have any problems,just turn to them for help.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.raisearoof.com

is very hard to beat a man at his own game, just has 1770 sq ft done with 9 ft ceilings the material , handg it,mud it, sand it paint it and all was

and the ceilings are slick,

7,200 dollars

The drywall lifter is amazing. My DH bought one to complete our drywall because he's using 12 ft. sheets and the ceilings are 10 ft. It's so cool watching that machine lift that drywall and place it exactly where you want it. Worth every penny!! If you can rent one, then do so.

He also used the dremmel tool for cutting around outlets, recesses, etc. Noisy little thing, but very effective.

Thanks to everyone for your tips. DH got on line and found a drywall hoist. He ordered it and it is here. In fact he is on his way to the house right now to work.
If anyone else has tips please feel free to add them.

not mentioned: don't sand until the last coat. Learn to do it that way. If need be use a knive to scrape off chunks, but don't sand after every coat. Use caulk to perfect inside corners if needed also. Get an angle tool so you don't have to do corners one side at a time . Don't use that peel and stick tape. It is weak weak weak!
Good luck, it is tedious work.

The missing foot for the 9 foot ceilings goes in the middle of the wall.
The big problem with non 4 foot multiple walls is placing the mid wall joint.
If you rip 1 foot wide pieces you end up with a flat joint that is slower to finish.
If you keep beveled edges you end up using 1 foot from each edge of a sheet and trashing the middle 2 feet, but have to finish a seam around the room 1 foot off the floor (a lot of hands and knees work).

In commercial work the panels are just applied vertically, but they do not usually have a wall ceiling drywall joint to finish and are not as concerned with drywall strength.

for 9' ceilings just use the 54 inch wide sheet rock and one simple joint in the middle.

I used my future ping pong table as an unorthodox scaffold
(just make sure it's sturdy enough). My table is foldable on wheel so it's easy to move around. I had 2 guys holding the ceiling drywall panel and 1 guy do all the fastening.