Lydia Crowder breaks down one of drywall's most overlooked details: board orientation. The smooth, light-colored paper face is engineered for finishing — it bonds properly with tape and compound, accepts paint evenly, and creates a consistent surface. The darker, rougher back side absorbs moisture differently and can cause waviness, uneven texture, and paint discrepancies if accidentally hung facing out. Specialty boards — mold-resistant purple and green varieties — follow the same rules but have a slightly slicker face that handles compound a bit differently. When the paper face is damaged or missing entirely, the exposed gypsum core requires coating before any finishing work can proceed.

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