Drywall

Removing Drywall

Equipment Needed

Safety/Protection

Before you start, make sure you don't hurt yourself or the elements around it (ceiling panels, floor boards, etc.)

  1. Check for electrical (via receptacles in the wall, lights, etc.). If there is some, flip the breaker off for those fixtures to ensure your own protection.
  2. Check for plumbing the same way (via sinks, etc.). This is more difficult, as there may be pipes in the wall that you don't know about, but do your best. Safe bet is to just turn off your water.
  3. Remove all fixture covers, like light switch covers, socket covers, vent grills, etc.
  1. Remove any baseboards and moulding. On manufactured homes, this is everywhere; the ceiling, the floor, sometimes down the wall to cover up where the drywall panels meet. Use a prybar to get them off.
  2. Use a razor knife to score multiple times along the corner where the drywall meets the ceiling. There is a paper bead that if left uncut could rip off parts of your ceiling.

Removal

The goal here is to make a cut horizontally from one end of your wall to the other, to make removal easier.

  1. Use a stud finder to mark where your studs are. This will save you from accidentally cutting into them, but also make it easy to judge where to start/stop.
  2. Find a spot in your drywall where you know there won't be an obstacle (electric, stud, etc.). Push the drywall saw through the wall wherever you are looking to remove and cut horizontally until you reach the stud (your angle should be slight, certainly not perpendicular to the wall; too obtuse an angle and you may cut wiring/plumbing).
  3. When reaching the stud, adjust your angle until it is almost flat and cut the drywall while avoiding the stud.
  4. Once past the stud, return to the original angle and continue. Stay vigilant on avoiding electric and plumbing!
  5. When you reach the corner, your corner studs will likely have a metal bead running along it. Stop before you hit that, as it will definitely dull your blade.
  6. If your pieces are up high, you will want to repeat the previous steps but vertically, to cut the pieces into manageable chunks. Make sure you don't get absolutely slapped by a huge piece of drywall coming at you.
  7. With your pry bar, find a spot between the studs and put the pry bar in the cut you made. Using either that or the claw of your hammer, pull back on the dry wall to separate it from the studs. Adhesive, nails, or screws could be holding it on, and we want to remove or loosen those as best we can.
  8. Once the sheet has been loosened, you should be able to use your hands to pull back on the sheet, hopefully getting the whole sheet out at once. It'll probably break off in chunks, but do your best.

References

  1. How To Remove Drywall from a Wall

Last modified: 202304211619