Not many people realize how useful and prevalent drywall is in our everyday lives. It is used to make walls, ceilings, wrap columns, and conceal steel beams. Drywall is very durable, fire resistant, easy to install, and only requires simple repairs when damaged.

Before we had drywall, we used plaster in its place. Plaster required several coats, which had long drying times in between coats and was quite labor intensive. Its installation and repair processes were also very time consuming and difficult to carry out. Thus, drywall became the more popular option and is now widely used in the construction of many homes and commercial buildings.

The Importance of Drywall

Drywall is an important part of any home.
Drywall is an important part of any home.

At first glance, installing drywall seems like a straightforward task. Though the hanging of the drywall itself is not that difficult, the making and preparing of the material is definitely not easy.

Installing drywall yourself will definitely help cut costs but, it won’t be perfect the first time you cover the joints and drywall tape. Unfortunately the saying “practice makes perfect” applies to this situation, requiring experience in order to be time efficient. After laying down the foundations, take a scrub and rub the drywall finish smooth.

The cheapest repair for a drywall are patch jobs. However, drywall repair contractors are capable of performing many other home repairs such as texturing, installing plaster arches, repairing nail pops, and many more. When deciding to hire a professional, carefully weigh your options: how much time it will take you to install a new drywall versus the cost of hiring a professional to put up the drywall in a timely manner.

Design Ideas

There are 4 simple ways to make your drywall more appealing:

  • With a sculptured ceiling, you can bring interest, design, and depth into the room.
  • By changing the square windows to bull-cornered or rounded ones, you can give your house a fresh, updated look.
  • The drywall can also be used creatively to separate the dining room and living room spaces.
  • You can form a divider between the two with an arch, several columns, an extended wall, or a fireplace.

One way to remodel your house is by retexturizing or smoothing the walls and ceilings of your house to modernize an older home. If you want to preserve this old style, then I would suggest covering the designs with a new layer of hand-troweled joint compound to preserve the victorian-esque feel.