Gym Project: Drywall

The goal of this project is to hang a TV in the home gym. At the last update, all the electrical wires had been run.

Less than 4" of drywall is going to be seen. Nevertheless, I need to straddle three studs to properly secure the drywall to the frame. 

I found a piece of water & mold resistant drywall in my scrap pile. I then carefully measured what I needed.

Cutting drywall is easy. First, you score it with a knife.

Then you hit one side and the board will snap break at the cut.

Next is to cut out holes for the electrical outlets. It is always a challenge to figure out where to cut the holes. I have tried lots of things such as putting lipstick around the edge of the electrical box, pressing the board against the wall, and the lipstick transfers to the drywall. Unfortunately, lipstick made a huge mess and got everywhere. I have also tried to use chalk from a chalk line..

The idea is to rub the blue line chalk on the edge of the box so that, similar to lipstick, it will transfer to the board when pressed. For this project I have a great advantage: I can just stick my head through the wall and trace the electrical boxes!

Next comes cutting out the holes.

Cutting drywall leaves a large mess. Cleaning the drywall dust with a shop vac can ruin the shopvac's filter. The dust gets everywhere and is easy to track. I clean it up with a broom and dustpan.

Next comes the fitting to make sure everything is cut right.

Then I can screw the drywall in place with drywall screws.

I am not going to mud this drywall. Most of this drywall will be behind mirrors or behind the TV and it will never be seen.

Next task? Some caulk and some paint.