Drywall - USA?

Question

In the U.S.A. what is the most common finish for drywall.
Also on new builds do you use metal or timber or the internal stud partition walls

Answer 1

For most new construction, walls and ceilings, after the drywall is installed, the joints are taped and "mudded", the nail/screw head holes are also "mudded", then it just gets a coat of primer, and a coat of paint. The primer and paint are both rolled on with a standard paint roller (and brush, for "cutting in"). Some builders may opt for more than 1 coat of paint. In new construction, that drywall is attached to wooden wall studs. Now if you are doing some remodeling and want to move an existing wall or create new walls, you may choose to use metal studs. They have limitations such as, they cannot be load bearing or some building codes may not allow metal studs below grade (say in a basement). They are extremely easy to work with and I would rather carry 50 metal studs into a job site than 50 2x4's. They work well for quick wall building, and most of them have precut punch outs to run electrical or plumbing. You need to know if you can or want to use metal studs, there are trade offs; you gain speed, but lose strength. It depends on each project.

Answer 2

One of the most common drywall finishes is called Knockdown. It is applied with a hopper type sprayer. A compound somewhat like the joint compound is randomly shot onto the walls and then "knocked-down" with a flat trowel. It is a flat, but raised finish. Back a few years, a sand finish was applied. This looked nice for a while but dust caught up in it and it was almost impossible to clean as it was so rough, it tore up sponges. Most residential buildings use wood studs. Commercial uses metal studs for fire protection.

Answer 3

Primer then paint.
Each state, and some municipalities, have their own codes but wood for homes and metal for commercial are standard.