Drywall Questions

We know you have questions about drywall. We try to address many common questions about drywall here. Feel free to contact us by phone or email if you have additional questions.

1. Are drywall screws waterproof?

Common black drywall screws are not waterproof. This isn't usually an issue since drywall isn't waterproof either, and both should be protected from moisture.

2. Are drywall and plasterboard the same thing?

While most people use the terms interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Plasterboard is designed for use under a layer of plaster, and is covered with a highly absorbent face paper (that is typically blue) to help plaster adhere to it.

3. Are drywall screws rust resistant?

Common black drywall screws do have a phosphate coating which is designed to help them be resistant to corrosion, but they do rust, which is why it is best to keep them protected from exposure to moisture.

4. Are drywall screws strong?

Drywall screw strength can vary depending on the manufacturer, but common coarse-thread drywall screws are designed to withstand a "pull-out" load of approximately 142 lbs.

5. Are drywall sanders worth it?

Properly finished drywall will be very smooth so no blemishes show up when the surface is painted. In order to obtain this smooth surface, sanding is required. Hand sanding can yield a superior finish, but sanding a large surface by hand takes a lot of time, and is thus cost-prohibitive. Even experts will usually use a drywall sander, and can sand large sections to obtain a very good smooth surface. Bottom line, sanding a small section by hand is fine, but for anything larger than a square foot, you really want to use a drywall sander.

6. Are drywall screws ok for wood?

While drywall screws can be used for wood, wood screws are a better choice fort woodworking projects. Drywall screws are made of a hardened brittle metal that can snap, especially when screwed into hardwoods. Drywall screws have threads their entire length, so when screwing two pieces of wood together, the threads can actually cause a small gap between the two pieces of wood. For this reason, many wood screws do not have threads over their entire length.

7. Are drywall and sheetrock the same?

Sheetrock is a brand name for drywall, and represents a branded product line of drywall products. Many people, contractors included, will sometimes use the terms drywall and sheetrock interchangeably.

8. Are drywall anchors necessary?

Drywall is essentially gypsum powder compressed and sandwiched between two layers of paper. This makes drywall fairly soft, and once exposed, it can crumble easily. You can drive a nail into drywall for something very light. Anything with any weight to it or something that will be moved repeatedly is likely to cause the drywall to crumble around the hole causing the object to become loose unless you use a drywall anchor to give the hole some support and rigidity.