Help! I'm in an older house which pretty much needs a complete overhaul. There is one long wall which is 1/2 paneling and 1/2 sheet rock...which is not of even thickness, so it looks silly. I want to take down the paneling and put up sheetrock so hopefully this will make the entire wall the same level thickness (correct?)

The other issue is that I need to replace the carpeting (long-time cat residence--carpet must go!) Plan on doing hardwood/wood laminate, but not sure if I will be able to afford or be able to do both at the same time bc of time constraints. If I have to pick one to do first, which? If I do the wall first, should I maybe pull the carpet up around the baseboards?

 

Welcome to the forums!

When you hang the drywall you'll want to remove the baseboard and door casing so you can nail it back up over the edges of the drywall. You'll need a piece of wood the thickness of the drywall to 'shim' out the jamb for the door casing.

It would be best to do the walls first but you might need to get rid of the carpet ASAP in order to control any odor. I'd rip out the carpet, do the walls and then use the plywood floor as motivation to get the flooring done

 

Thanks for your response, Marksr

Any other tips? I'm a newbie. The floor will be done by someone else, but I may do the sheetrock by myself, possibly along with a friend. I have the general idea down pat, lol--I have done sections, just never an entire wall like this. And someone else bought the materials. Is all sheetrock the same? I was just gonna see if Lowe's or somewhere would deliver it. And pretty much clueless as far as the flooring goes. I have started looking at some sites, and saw where some of it starts getting loose, or making noise, and that doesn't sound good. Cherry sounds pretty, (I like dark wood) but some said it scratched easily, and figured pet claws might not work with that...any good websites welcome.

 

Drywall comes in 4 different thicknesses - 1/4",3/8",1/2" and 5/8". 1/2" is the most common for walls. 1/4" is good for laminating a wall over a fairly flat surface. Paper tape holds up a lot better than the self adhesive mesh tape. Screws do better than nails. It's usually best to hang the drywall horizontally. That makes is easier to get a straight looking wall and you don't have to bend up and down to tape each joint - easier on your back [or at least mine]

I've never installed any laminate flooring but it's not supposed to be all that difficult. Neither is installing hardwood although you do need more tools than with a laminate floor. If you go with solid hardwood, imo, it's best to get the prefinished kind - that way you don't have sanding dust everywhere and don't have to wait for multiple coats to dry

 

Thanks again--you've given me a lot to think about!

 

Yes. Correct. You want consistency and uniformity unless there is a transitional effect which is generally into another room or hall. Ceilings are generally installed first so that the wall supports them at the corners. Floors are last so that they are not messed up by working the former. CHUCK the carpet NOW and live with it until the ceilings and walls are finished. As stated by the moderator, drywall comes in different sizes, but thats not all. 1/2" of gray board is most common. 1/4" or 3/8" is commonly used for lamination which is a whole different game. But "green-board" has a moisture resistency which is used in bathrooms or wherever there is a higher degree of moisture. NOTHING is waterproof ! There is also a "blue-board" which has an even higher degree of moisture resistency, used for (true) plaster. Be sure not to sink the screws too deeply. They should press against the drywall paper and countersink, thats all, no deeper. If it breaks the paper, it's useless. More fasteners are better than less.