BoardMate - Drywall Fitting Tool, Supports The Board in Place While Installing

Why I reached for the BoardMate

Hanging drywall solo is a dance between gravity and leverage. On ceilings and high walls especially, I’ve always relied on a mix of T-braces, a lift for big panels, and the occasional improvised cleat. The BoardMate promised a simpler approach: two small, red support clips that screw to the framing and hold the sheet in place while you fasten. I took a pair onto a job with angled ceilings and a mix of 1/2-inch and 5/8-inch boards to see if they could meaningfully speed things up without adding hassle.

Design and build quality

Each BoardMate is a compact plastic bracket with a small lip that the sheet rides on, and a screw hole to anchor into a stud or joist. They’re lightweight, bright red (hard to lose), and arrive as a set of two. The simplicity is the appeal: no moving parts, just a shaped ledge that becomes your extra hands when you’re aligning a sheet.

The plastic is stiff enough for typical loads, but it’s still plastic. Under the heaviest panels—long 12-foot 5/8-inch boards—I could see a little flex as I maneuvered the sheet into place. It never failed outright during my use, but I’d categorize these as helpers rather than substitute supports. For 1/2-inch, 8-foot ceiling sheets or cut-down pieces, the stiffness felt adequate. For heavier or longer sheets, adding more points of support is wise.

Setup and how I use it

My process looked like this:

• Mark joists/studs and pre-plan screw lines.
• Set the BoardMates with coarse-thread wood screws long enough to bite solidly into framing (I used 1-1/2-inch).
• Snug them down so they don’t swivel freely, but don’t over-tighten to the point they deform the drywall edge once the sheet sits on the lip.
• Hoist the drywall onto the lips, center it to marks, tack it with a few screws, then fully fasten before backing out the BoardMate screws.

On ceilings, I set the clips a few inches in from each end so the panel doesn’t cantilever excessively off either side. On walls, I used them along the bottom course to keep a consistent reveal at the floor. On angled ceilings with exposed rafters, the lips gave me a repeatable reference point that sped up alignment for each subsequent piece.

Performance on ceilings

With two clips, I could reliably hang 8-foot ceiling sheets on my own. The BoardMate effectively removed that awkward first minute of fighting the sheet into position while trying not to drop an edge. Once the sheet rests on the lips, you can fine-tune side-to-side positioning and verify joist alignment without the constant shoulder burn.

Did it cut my time in half? On straightforward runs, not quite—drywall is drywall—but it did streamline the fussy parts. Where I noticed the biggest gain was consistency: edges were more predictably flush, seams lined up, and I needed fewer “do-overs.” Over a day of ceiling work, that cumulative efficiency adds up.

For 12-foot or 5/8-inch ceiling panels, I prefer adding a third or fourth point of support (even just a temporary T-brace in the middle) to take stress off the clips and my arms. A lift still makes sense for those longer, heavier boards when you have the space. The BoardMates are excellent for the pieces that lifts complicate—tight corners, partial cuts, and peak infills on cathedral ceilings.

Walls and angled ceilings

On walls, the BoardMate is a simple way to hold the first course off the floor by a consistent amount. I’ve used scraps and pry bars for years; the clips are faster. For angled ceilings or knee walls, the lips provide a consistent datum, and because they’re small, they’re easy to position between irregularities like beams or trusses. I found it helpful to pre-shim with a sliver of scrap drywall in situations where the framing wasn’t perfectly flush, letting the BoardMate’s lip become a true plane for the sheet to rest on.

Where it falls short

• Heavy loads: Two clips are not a complete solution for long, heavy panels. There’s a point where you either need more supports or a lift.
• Flex and confidence: The plastic can give a bit with 5/8-inch boards. It never worried me for 8-foot sheets, but the flex is noticeable with 12-footers.
• Seam gaps if over-tightened: If you crank the clips hard into the framing, you can introduce a slight gap at the seam because the lip presses into the board’s edge. “Snug” is the right torque; let the sheet sit flat without being pinched.
• Limited lip depth: The lip works, but a touch more depth or a slight down-curved entry would make it even easier to catch the board, particularly if the sheet bows a little at the ends.

None of these are deal-breakers if you use the clips as intended: a temporary, alignment-first helper rather than a load-bearing device.

Tips for best results

• Use more than two on longer runs. For 12-foot boards, I like two near the ends and a simple T-brace under the center.
• Don’t over-torque the mounting screw. Keep the clip fixed but forgiving so it doesn’t deform the drywall edge.
• Pre-shim if needed. A thin scrap behind the clip can correct for framing irregularities and keep seams tight.
• Mark your joists clearly. The time the clips save is multiplied when you’re not hunting for screw lines while holding a sheet overhead.
• Keep them visible. The red helps, but I still keep both in a small pouch when not in use; they’re easy to misplace on a busy job.

Alternatives and complements

A drywall lift remains my go-to for full-size ceilings in open rooms; it’s safer and reduces fatigue. For quick wall work, a simple wood cleat or a couple of 2x blocks will do in a pinch. The BoardMate’s advantage over improvised solutions is speed: they mount with a single screw, reposition quickly, and won’t chew up edges like a rough block might. They’re also compact enough to live in the bottom of a bucket without becoming shop clutter.

If you’re hanging board occasionally and already own a lift, these are still worth having for the odd-shaped pieces a lift doesn’t love. If you work mostly solo without a lift, they punch above their weight in usefulness.

Durability and value

After several rooms’ worth of use, mine show scuffs but no cracking. I wouldn’t expect them to survive abuse—stepping on one on concrete or prying hard against an edge—but for normal use they seem up to the task. The plastic keeps the price and weight down; a metal version would inspire more confidence under heavier boards but would also cost more and risk scarring surfaces. For the cost of a small accessory, the time and frustration saved paid for themselves quickly on my jobs.

The bottom line

The BoardMate is a practical, well-thought-out helper for solo drywall work. It won’t replace a lift for heavy, full-length ceiling sheets, but it’s excellent for what it is: a fast, repeatable way to hold and align drywall while you fasten. The clips accelerate the fiddly parts of ceiling and high-wall boarding, improve consistency at seams, and reduce fatigue, especially in tight or angled spaces where larger tools are clumsy.

Recommendation: I recommend the BoardMate for anyone who hangs drywall alone or in small crews and wants a compact, inexpensive aid for ceilings, walls, and angled runs. It’s at its best with 8-foot and cut-down sheets, and it complements—not replaces—a lift for bigger panels. If you keep your expectations in the “extra pair of hands” lane, it’s a simple tool that makes a noticeable difference in speed and accuracy.