Drywall Taping - Rule of Thumbs and Slogans

[Doc Tinker]

Gradually, this house on the swamp has been stripped of it's old 3/8" drywall and 2" insulation, which is replaced with thicker everything. I have always done all the work myself, but now that I have limitations to protect my back my son has become the laborer and I'm now the moron that tells him what to do.



Over the past week, we have stripped out my daughter's bedroom to completely rebuild it. Even though my son does most of the labor, I will have the privilege of taping the drywall. Since I seem to forget what I learned between taping each room, over the years, each time I pick up the hawk and knife I make a bunch of mistakes that requires lots of sanding in the end. Seeing as it's past Christmas, I really don't wish to look like Santa Claus before the job is done. Can anybody offer some "rule of thumb" suggestions to help me along?



Doc

 

[gitchesum]

Yeah, hire a guy to do it.



Or if you're like me, call in a few favors from your contractor buddies. :-laf

 

[klenger]

Rule # 1:

Hire someone to do it.



Rule # 2:

See rule #1.

 

[Rman]

definitly an art that requires much practice. I can do it, but I have no pointers... the stuff I do generally must be in the corner covered by a plant or behind a big picture or painting. I've done patches in garages



I like to be liberal with it at first, but remember the least amount to sand is the best. Good luck

 

[Philip]

I am no where near an expert.



I use the fiberglass tape instead of the old style paper tape. It saves you from having to lay the mub down then put the tape on, then mub over it. The fiberglass is self sticking. So you save one step there.



I do not use a cornering tool. I work one side of corner till I get it straight. Then let it dry. Then lay the other side to it. I seems to work better that way. I watched the contractor do that in my house when I had it all remodeled about 10 years ago.



Go down to NAPA and get some of the square sanding sponges they have. Med grit will work fine. These help in fine tuning corners.



Get a pole type sander. It works good with less wear on you than a block sander would. If you don't mind a mess and have a jitter bug body sander. Use it 100 grit sand paper. You can sand a large room in no time. But it is messy. LOL

 

[lschultz]

Doc through your sandpaper away. You don't need it. Get one of them gas masks from Whitmore so you don't splatter it all over yourself. Remember what you splatter you got to clean up. If you pay my way up there and feed me I will look at it cause I like to get dirty. But that don't mean I will do it.

 

[AKAMAC]

The easy way to tape is to follow these steps:



Do your corners first. Use glass tape in field and paper on inside corners.

1:Using corner trowel apply light coat of mud, apply your pre-cut and folded tape into corner and wall-ceiling joint using a 2" corner trowel that you keep WET with a thin mixture of mud and water. Be sure to hold the trowel at a very sharp angle, 5 to 15 deg from board. Follow with wet 6" corner trowel to clean edges left behind.

2: Apply glass tape to field joints then using an 8" trowel liberally fill joint and leave slightly mounded, ie. don't take too much mud off yet.

3: Using a 12" flex trowel at same sharp angle float excess away with light pressure. Use 6" corner & 12" trowel for finish work.

Like stated above it all about feel and being able to float the trowel edge off your work to lessen or eliminate sanding. Also I wouldn't use a hawk, a mud box is much easier. Doing this will make your second "finish" coat sooooooooo easy. Get a hopper for your texture coat and do a knock-down finish it's much easier than skip-trowel.

Mike

 

[Doc Tinker]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Mike sounds like a pro. I hadn't thought about thinning the mud, but it sounds like a good suggestion. I'll try to incorporate your suggestions into my method and see if the job goes easier. I have preferred the hawk, although I sometimes use a stainless steel box. I feel clumsy with the box and it's harder than the hawk to wash out. I guess if I'm going to thin the mud out, the box would be the right tool though.



Doc

 

[QRTRHRS]

Dust? Try wet sanding but watch the drips and splatters as they will leave surface grooves on any area below your work area. Or, there are attachments for your shop vac. This consists of a five gallion bucket with two hoses through the lid. Hook one hose to the vac, put water in the bucket and close the lid. The other hose has a rectangular sanding pad that uses mesh kind of like dragon skin. The water catches the dust. No production deal but okay for the average homeowner.



If you do continue to dry sand, an old sheet stapled over the doorway kept wet by misting with a spray bottle does a good job to keep the dust contained in that room. No neighbors? Put a fan in a window and blow the dust outside.



For filling gaps, I like Durabond. Comes bagged powder form. Add water and stir up a small amount. Different setup times. Much better than drywall compound which takes to long to dry when you glob it on. I even like it for the base/tape coat but don't leave ridges as it sands hard.