Drywall is made from gypsum also called limestone, it is crushed into powder and mixed with a few chemicals then manufactured into wallboard and joint compound, the compound is mixed like mud and used to hide the nails or screws and the joints between the boards after they are fastened to wall studs.

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Mesothelioma and drywallers. Some old drywall is known to have asbestos in it. drywall , joint compound, and spray ceiling texture were manufactured with asbestos in it. Manufactures quite using asbestos around 1980. There has been attorneys get money for families who had someone die of mesothelioma when they were a drywaller all their life. the person would have been in the trade a very long time and symptoms don't show up for 20 years. If the drywall in a house has asbestos in it; don't worry it will be ok. just dont sand it or demo it. Its the drywall dust that is bad for you. Painted drywall seals in any asbestos that can harm you.

 

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Words that drywallers use

• Adhesive  ----  Glue, liquid nail, drywall adhesive, for added strength to fasten drywall to studs. also spray glue to fasten beads like tear away stop bead where the drywall returns into the window.

 

• All purpose compound  ----  A pre mixed gypsum compound that is used for the finishing process of drywall installation. also called mud, Spackle, joint compound.

• Banjo  ---  automatic taping tool that brings the mud and tape together inside the tool then the tape is applied to joints and wiped with knife to remove excess mud from behind tape.

• Bead  ---  The raised section of a stop bead or a corner bead that gives drywall sharp straight  corner or edge            

• Bed coat   ---  The first coat of joint compound with the tape  embedded into the tapered joints.

 

• Beveled edge  ---  On every sheet of drywall has 2 beveled or tapered sides. when the 2 beveled edges of the board are together it makes an indentation in the joint and the indentation can be taped and filled with mud and finished flat.

• Bit  ---  The removable part of the screw gun that fits into the screw, #2 tip is what is standard for drywall screws.

• Bleed  ---  when marks from ink pen, markers, chalk, mold or stains that come threw the paint and you can see after the final coat of paint. Use kilz primer paint to cover most anything that bleeds threw your paint.

• Block Coat ---  Second coat of joint compound, after the tape dries the block coat is applied to feather the joints smooth and even. 

• Blister  ---  A small section of tape that did not get mud behind it or the facing paper broke away from the board and was not cut away and in the end result will leave a blister on the wall.

• Blowout patch --- A patch custom made to fix hole in drywall. can be used without studs or nailer's.

• Board knife  -- Knife used for applying second and third coats.             

• Bugle head screws  ---  A drywall screw head designed so that the head of the screw will set below the face of the board, will not tear the paper and gives the best integrity for fastening to studs.

• Butt joint  ---  is the joint comes from butting 2 ends of drywall together, the end of the board that does not have a tapered or beveled factory edge.                      

• Calcine  ---heat to a point that the water is released from the crystallized gypsum.  When the room temperature is warm enough to dry the joint compound. Effect of dryness on compressive strength. Gypsum strength increases only slightly until 93% of free moisture has been removed

• Caulk  ---    Most drywallers use caulk to fill gaps where drywall meets and butts against a different material like at windows, block walls or metal.

• Circle cutter  --- cuts different size holes in drywall.

• Chalk box  ---  box has string on a reel and when the string is pulled out of the box the string has chalk on it. pull the string tight from point A to point B then snap the string and the chalk will leave a line where the string was.

• Chalk line --- A line left from the chalk box

• Chase wall  ---  a space between two walls that is usually left for pipes duct work and electrical conduit.

• Code  ---  Specifications, rules, and laws, for building regulations governed by engineers, architects, township and city building enforcement.

• Control joint  ---   a small gap left in drywall to allow for expansion and contraction, so the drywall wont crack in that spot. 

• Core  ---  The Gypsum between the face paper and the backing paper of a drywall panel. 

• Core board  ---  a gypsum panel 2 feet by 12 feet by 1 inch thick designed for shaft walls.

• Corner Bead  ---  a preformed angle bead that covers the ruff cut drywall corners to make a smooth sharp finished corner.

• Drywall --- A building panel used for building walls, made of gypsum. also called, sheetrock,

• Feather  ---  To taper out a layer of joint compound so that it will evenly blend in with the wall and hide butt joints, or any uneven joints.

• Field  ---  the surface area on a board between the joints.

• Fire taping  ---  On a fire wall above the ceiling, the joints must be taped to eliminate the path of possible spreading fire.

• Fire Wall ---  Wall that goes from floor to deck ( floor above ). Most walls in a commercial building stop at the ceiling, but anything can get over that wall because of the space between the ceiling and the next floor above. With a fire wall going all the way to the deck then no fire or people can get passed that wall. 
• Finishing --- After the board is hung, the finishers start their job by taping the joints, block coat,  skim coat, and sanding.
• Finisher --- The person doing the finishing.
  

• Float  ---  to let the drywall run past a stud and float on its own strength.

• Floater stud  ---  A metal stud that is not screwed in place, but left floating so the hanger can run his drywall threw an intersection of walls then after the drywall is hung the floater can be screwed into place for the connecting wall to make a strong corner. 

• Furring  ---  A layer of metal or wood strips that are fastened to an existing wall, that drywall can be fastened to it.

• Green board  ---  the color of moister resistant drywall. referred to as green board.

• Gypsum  ---  Hydrated calcium sulfate. Used in drywall and joint compound.

• Hatchet  ---  on a drywallers hammer; instead of claws it has a hatchet looking side. most commonly used for wedging and prying.

• Hanger --- Person who hangs drywall.

• Header  ---  Metal or wood framing over top a door or window.

• Insulation  ---  A material That is installed inside walls between drywall panels and studs to control interior temperature and sound deadening between rooms.

• Jamb  ---  Casing around inside of an opening like a window or door.

• Joint  ---  where two pieces of board meet.

• Joint compound  ---  Mud, Spackle, All purpose joint compound, gypsum to finish joints.

• Joint tape  ---  Material that is applied to the drywall joints with joint compound as the adhesive, Paper tape is used by professionals for taping and the mesh tape is for home owners and beginners.

• Joist  ---  Horizontal structure member that supports the load of the deck above.

• Knife  ---  Tool used for cutting drywall, or a tool used for applying compound.

• Laminate  ---  To hang drywall over top of a different material like plaster, block, or concrete.

• Lath  ---  A building material that is used on walls as backing for applying plaster. their are 3 types of lath, wood, rock and metal, it is screwed or nailed to the studs then plaster is   applied over top

• Live load --- Temporary or movable load on on a structure that isn't part of the building structure.

• load bearing --- A wall or partition that carries the weight of the structure above the wall.

• Loading pump --- Hand pump used to load mud into finishing tools.                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                              

• Mastic --- Adhesive

• Metal stud --- Just like wood studs in a wall, these studs are made from recycled metal. mostly found in commercial construction.

• Mildew --- Fungus that will grow on drywall when damp.

• Mud --- Joint compound

• Mud pan --- hold mud for the finisher to work from

• Nail pops --- When the head of a nail shows threw the face of the wall board after finished.

• Nail spotter --- A finishing tool used for finishing nails.

• Nailer --- Stud or strip to nail or screw drywall to.

• Non-load-bearing --- A wall or partition that does not support any weight from the structure.

• On center  --- When a wall is framed with studs the studs must be 16 inches on center. that means the studs are 16 inches from the center of one stud to the next stud and so on.                                                                                                                                                                           

• Out of square --- when a 90 degree is out of true. It happens a lot and makes an ugly job.

• Parallel application --- Installing drywall with the long tapered edges follow along with the studs.

• Partition system --- An assembly used as a divider between rooms.

• Party wall --- Wall that is common between two different living areas.

• Perlite --- Lightweight expanded mineral products.

• Pilaster --- Square building  column that is part of a wall and projects out of the surface of the wall.

• Plate --- metal track or studs that run horizontal along the wall that are anchored to top and bottom structure and carry the studs on layout of 16 inches on center.

• Plumb --- perfectly Vertical!

• Plumb Bob --- A tool that is used to find  perfectly Vertical using a string and a weight.
  

• Primer --- First coat of paint that is applied to drywall. To seal the surface and provide a base for a final coat of paint.

• Rack --- Side ward force to apply pressure to hold walls and ceilings square.

• Rasp ---  A course file to smooth down drywall edges.

• Ready mix--- Premixed compound.

• Relative Humidity --- A measure of the amount of moisture in the air.

• Resilient Channel --- Metal framing screwed to wall studs perpendicular, designed to deaden sound between rooms.

• Rip ---  to cut the drywall in the same direction of the long side of the sheet.

• Ripper --- narrow long strips of drywall.

• Sanding --- smoothing the imperfections of the joint compound with sand paper.

• seam --- a tapered drywall joint.

• score --- using a knife scribing a line in the drywall where it is to be cut.

• Screws --- used to fasten drywall to studs

• Screw gun --- Power tool used to screw in the screws to the studs

• Scribe --- this is a trick to cut the board in a way that will make a perfect fit in a uneven surface.

• Shaft wall ---   A gypsum panel  that is 1 inch thick 2 feet wide and commonly 10 or 12 feet long, fire resistant, and use for stair wells, elevator shaft, and duct shafts. the wall will start on the bottom floor and run continuously all the way to the top of the building. This prevents fire to get into the shafts while people can escape  the building in an emergency.                                                                                                                             

• Sheathing --- Exterior drywall
  

• Shim--- A tapered slice of wood used for leveling and plumbing doors and panels.

• Skim Coat ---   A thin layer of mud used on the third coat in finishing drywall

• Soffit --- In the drywall world, soffits are inside the building over top cabinetry, They hang down from the ceiling about a foot, and return back into the wall on a right angle. Most people think soffit on the out side their house, Look up the top of the wall and under the roof.

• Span --- A distance between two supports.

• Splice --- to join two studs together and make one lone stud.

• Spot nails --- Is part of the finishing job, to mud the nails and screws, hit each nail 3 times.

• Stop bead --- A bead that is applied to the drywall when it stops and buts a block wall or window.

• Stud --- A framing member that supports the wall every 16 inches.

• Sunburst ---  Texture on a ceiling that fans out around a light that looks like a sun after it is done. click here to see a sunburst being applied
  

• Taper -- Each board has two tapered edges, they run the length of the board on each edge to hold the tape below the surface and eliminates feathering with compound for a smoother surface.

• Taping --- Each joint must be taped to prevent from cracking in the future.

• Texture --- decorating the surface with compound.

• Topping --- A type of compound used for the skim coat.

• Trowel --- A hand tool used to apply joint compound or to smooth concrete

• Type X ---  A type of drywall panel that is fire resistant.

• Utility knife --- Most drywallers use this to cut drywall

• Veneer --- Flawless wall

• Veneer plaster --- or Blue board like drywall ,but the sheet is covered with a thin layer of plaster for a flawless finish.

• wet sanding --- Instead of using sand paper use a wet sponge to get a smooth finish. People try this to eliminate dust, but I think it leaves a slight texture on the wall and doesn't make a nice finish.

• Zip strip --- A tear away stop bead.