How to Drywall an Attic

Finishing your attic adds affordable living space to your home. Before you start hanging the drywall panels, switch your attic ventilation system to rafter venting, which involves installing a thin metal vent in each rafter space. You’ll also need a knee wall, a short vertical framed wall under the sloping wall that serves as a sidewall, since you can't install drywall panels in the narrow space where the attic floor meets the rafters. Once those items, and any desired electrical wires, are in place, it’s time to install the large drywall panels.

Measuring tape
Utility knife
Drywall screw gun
Drywall lift with tilt option
Two helpers

Instructions

- 1
  Position the first sheet of drywall horizontally, so the length of the panel runs perpendicular to the rafters. The first sheet rests on the top of the knee wall framing, at one side of the slanted wall. You’ll need at least two workers and a drywall lift to raise and hold the panels.
- 2
  Align the edge of the first drywall panel in the center of the rafter farthest to one side. Standard rafters are spaced 16 or 24 inches apart and each drywall panel must start and end on the exact center of a stud.
- 3
  Insert drywall screws, using a drywall screw gun 8 inches apart along the sides of the panel and into every rafter that runs beneath the center of the panel.
- 4
  Install a second drywall panel next to the first. Because the panels come in standard lengths of 8-, 12- and 16-feet, the panel edges will fit from the center of one stud to the center of another. This is called “breaking on center,” and is essential for attaching the panel edges to the rafters.
- 5
  Butt the panel edges tightly together before inserting the drywall screws.
- 6
  Measure and cut the final panel in the row with a utility knife to fit the space at the end of the attic wall. The cut end of the panel fits on the far rafter.
- 7
  Use a drywall lift to install the next row and all subsequent rows. The lift must tilt in order to support the panels at the correct angle.
- 8
  Continue cutting and attaching the panels, making sure every panel breaks on center. When you reach the uppermost row, you’ll probably have to cut the panels horizontally in order to fit the space at the top.
- 9
  Start at the side of the knee wall after installing drywall on the upper slanted walls. Push the first knee wall panel as high as it will go. The top side of the panel should fit tight against the slanted drywall you installed on the rafters.
- 10
  Screw the panel in place using the same method you did for fitting the slanted panels and continue installing panels in a horizontal row. Depending upon the height of the knee wall, you may have to install another row beneath the first row on the knee wall.

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