I was taught to put the board vertically, making sure that they meet on a stud, if the edge is not a ready chamfered one, then sand it a little to get a chamfered edge, enough for your tape to go in, if you can use the mesh tape then do so it gives a better hold.

If the joins/edges are properly taped and secured on a stud they should never crack, if they join over open space (which horizontal boards will do), then you can almost always rely on crack to appear in the unsupported areas.

IMHO its worth going so far as to put in some trim or additional studding to support joins unless they are well away from potential knocks or impacts.

Back in the UK, we applied it as you say (that is vertically)...but here they don't for the reason stated.

The boards still finish over a stud...but the center joint of course not so much...most houses are finished this way...not only for the crack aspect...but for speed of taping, the stuff is strong enough...and easily repaired if a hole is created....

No extra studs are required.

A pro at drywall (which I am not, but I have helped on a few houses to learn this stuff) would fly around the center joint....anyway....my two cents....

My limited understanding of the preference for horizontal configuration is simply that if you are taping all day everyday its quicker and easier on your back to have the majority of seam to work on at waist height, especially with 12' sheets in a new build... As long as your joints are on a stud then nothing should shift too much, but what you say makes sense for sure. One would hope that professionally installed drywall wouldnt crack anyway, even a little bit.

Vertical seams on a 7ft ceiling saved me doing quite as much mudding and sanding. No cracks in the basement yet (touch wood), more than I can say for upstairs.

Main reasons are speed and cost they can use the 12' lengths sideways so it's quicker and cheaper. Not so easy to get them down the basement stairs in a finished house.

crackin job! you've saved yourself a fortune. When we built our house, thank god we paid extra to have the basement finished $38,000 for 1700 sq ft, which would easily have been double once the house was finished. Not to mention the mess it would drag through! Well done!

Kind sums up my opinion on Canadain build quality!

As you say in the UK, vertically with no edges except ceiling and behind skirting board unsupported, here fast and (IMHO)dirty job with significant amount of the edges unsupported..

If I'm DIY'ing I'll stick to the best job I can do, I prefer not to cut corners on my own house

Speed...that's what I meant by "fly around"....must have lost something in the wash...

Anyway, I wonder what the building code has to say....

But I did Google this: http://www.inspectapedia.com/BestPra..._Practices.htm

Installation Procedures for Drywall: Best Practices Guide

To prevent problems, use good quality framing lumber and follow these recommendations:

"For walls 8 feet high or less, run drywall sheets perpendicular to the studs. This is stronger, bridges framing irregularities, and results in fewer joints."

Bottom line, the choice is yours....but given the shrinkage and movement that will occur in a most timber framed constructs...i think you are asking for trouble.

Aware of both methods as I am, I know which way I will put it up...thumbup:

You are suppose to let the basement settle for at least a yr before finishing.....just sayin'

really? news to us, ahh well its all turned out great and we're still standing after 4 years and 2 earthquakes, with only a handful of nail pops to speak of! Is it because of damp or something?

so for the language challenged like me, is dry wall - plaster board & mudding - plastering?

I now am a firm believer of 'getting a man in', using the nr of hours worked as an excuse. (This followed baby brother moving south & I retired my Dad from manual labour).

looks great though, enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Finished basement about a year ago used about 96 - 4 x 8s ran seams horizontal and had read everything on the net about the best way.

I was simply interested in making it easiest on my back and thought that would be the best way, was happy in the end that was what I did.

I can show many places on the net that will say this way or that, I think it is a little bit of preference.

You are correct. Drywall=plasterboard=wallboard=Gyproc etc. It's just gypsum between two sheets of paper. There are two basic types. One is the bog standard board. There is also a more moisture-resistant version for bathrooms. For really wet bits (ie around baths), you use cement board or Fiberock.

Mudding is pretty much plastering, except you only tape and mud the joints and screw holes.

Here's a thought to ponder next time you're hanging drywall. You are very likely handling something that came out of a power station chimney.

The yanks call is "sheet rock"

Partly, and also because of the inevitable cracks in the floor from settling. There was a mini tremor on Sunday afternoon, did you feel it out your way?

Thanks, it makes many things clearer.
I did snort at the thought of me (am sure you were talking in the generic ) ever attempting something so ambitous. I even shop on line for food!