Everyone that has ever attempted a remodeling project that includes drywall has gone through this consideration. Do you install it horizontally or do you install it vertically? The answer to this age old question is that it is best to install it horizontally. Half of the people reading this just said no you are wrong but the fact is for the most part under normal conditions, for most rooms it is best to install it horizontally and we will go into the reasons below but professionals wouldn’t do it that way if it was easier, quicker and less costly to do it vertically. There are some exceptions and we will cover that too but for the most part when you see people making a living at doing work and for the most part they all follow a specific method then that method is normally the best method. Think about it no matter what your profession you are not going to go to work every day and not learn tricks or methods to make your life easier and get your job done quicker and better.
Drywall Is Not A Structural Material
One thing I hear a lot is that installing drywall horizontally is better because you are tying more studs together with the same piece of material. This really isn’t true. Although your framing and the building will get much tighter after installing drywall the material its self is not structural and will easily crack under even light compression. This is why new homes should often wait a year to apply their first coat of high dollar color paint because you can experience cracking, popping and tape lifting when the home is heated for the first season and begins to settle. Unfortunately no one does wait and they expect their new home to be colorful from the day they move in but then if repairs are needed you are trying to match colors. Even if you save paint from the original batch the way it is applied and the mixing conditions and the number of coats can result in slight variations.
Installing Horizontally Reduces The Number Of Taped Seams
When you install drywall one of the hardest things is to hide the seams where the pieces come together. By installing drywall horizontally you will reduce the number of vertical seams and you will have your primary seam at chest height where it is easy to tape, mud and sand.
If you install vertically then you must hope that all of your studs are laid out perfectly so every edge of the board lands on the center of a stud. Even if the framing is perfect things like door and window openings will throw off the framing. This will result in you making many more cuts and wasting drywall to fit the wall.
Think about it most rooms are not built on perfect dimensions. They might be 7 foot wide and then the corners hide the vertical seams. They might be 12 foot wide and then if you install vertically you have 2 vertical seams if you install horizontally you have 1 seam.
Installing horizontally will hide more vertical seams and it will place that long horizontal seam at a good height for finishing.
Final Note
Whether you install vertically or horizontally is really up to you. However its always best to take advice from people who do things professionally because they have a vested interest in doing things the easiest and best way. Thats not to say whatever you are doing can’t be done another way its to say its best to take advice from those that do it all the time.