Q: When hanging drywall, do you place the bottom of the sheets on the subfloor or are they raised up to allow for expansion?
A: Many pros hang the 4-foot-wide sheets horizontally, almost flush with the floor and ceiling (a little expansion room couldn’t hurt). If the wall is taller than 8 feet, you can then cut a band of drywall to width to patch the gap between the upper and lower sheets. This is because it’s relatively easy to mud the center band and feather out the spackle to disguise the joint. This minimizes the vertical joints, and horizontal joints are less noticeable than vertical joints.
Depending on your ceiling height, you might hang the panels horizontally, but butt the panels together rather than cutting a band of drywall. Any gap between the bottom panel and the floor can be hidden with base molding.
