The secret to mudding sheetrock!!

[Ben Franz]

I was a remodelling contractor for about 20 years and I've hung and finished a fair amount of drywall myself. My skills are probably SOMEWHAT above the average DIYer but not anywhere near what the average pro has. I found that it was usually cheaper to the client to sub out even small jobs like a single bathroom, etc. Now that I'm retired (emphasis on the TIRED!) I do my own work, usually renting a lift if there's much high work. I'm not above bribing a neighbor's teenager to help out. The finishing is tedious, tiring (I won't use stilts) and slow. Pros have bazookas, mud boxes and many other specialty tools to speed up the work. Bottom line for me is to do my own work if I have time to spare but drywall work is one of the most cost effective trades to sub out.

[David Helm]

Mixing it to smooth it out also helps. Use a drywall paddle with you drill for mixing. It doesn't need to be thinned. And by all means, keep each coat as thin as possible. The goal is, as someone said, to minimize sanding. It really isn't that difficult to get a good job. The high quality of a smooth finish isn't necessary in a shop.

[Mark Bolton]

Am I the only guy that doesn't mind finishing? I'd rather finish than lug sheets of drywall around.

Thin your 2nd and subsequent coats of mud a little bit. The pail says it is ready to use. It isn't.

I would much rather finish than hang but I would much rather have hung it if it's a horrific hang job and I have to come behind and make it look good. We try to never let the homeowner hang and if we do it's stated clearly in the contract that we are not responsible for a poor hanging and subsequent screw pops and joint problems.

There is a lot to hanging a good drywall job especiallly in a remodeling situation where things are never square. You see and hear the "f-it the mud will cover it" all the time and it ain't true. Most of our jobs are running low luster at the lowest and semi-gloss or gloss on the finish. These finishes show every ridge, bump, tape swell, and so on. If you mention to the average finisher that you are running semi on the wall they will likely run for the hills. Ask them if they spotlight their walls, poof.

The average finisher around here cringes if they think anything higher than eggshell is going on the wall and even then in low angle light they will look
bad.

Mark

[Darius Ferlas]

Mixing it to smooth it out also helps.

I'd say it's critical. Smooth and creamy it lays down very well.

No sanding between coats, and hardly any after the final coat. These days, for the little jobs at home, I prefer moist sponge rather than sanding.

[John O'Brien]

In a past issue of Family Handyman there was an article about mudding and using a rubber floor squeegie to spread it. Went in 1 deirection, let it dry and then go in the other direction. I don't remember if it was a 12 or 18" squeegie they used, but it seemed like a simple technique.

I'll have to look back and find the issue.

John

[Jason Roehl]

Most of the pros I've seen in recent years use the boxes. They're way out of a sensible cost range for a DIYer, but they are much, much faster. The mud gets put on much more consistently and quickly. After 3 coats, then the knives come out for a touch-up here or there before sanding. That's where the quality difference lies between an okay job and an excellent one.

Personally, I avoid mesh tape like the plague. It's thicker than the paper tape, so it takes more mud to cover it, and if you accidentally sand into it, it will telegraph, whereas paper tape may not. The whole key to paper tape is to get it wet, either with a really wet coat of bedding mud (the mud should gloss over by itself after stirring), or since I do a lot of patches that I need to have dry quickly, just dip the paper tape in water before applying it to the bed mud.

Another thin coat is ALWAYS quicker than extra sanding. But, even the pros sand, and for a good reason.

Those Radius sanders are the bomb...

[Phil Thien]

It doesn't need to be thinned.

http://www.drywallschool.com/mud.htm

I've never bought a pail that couldn't use a little more water. Again, I'm talking 2nd coat and beyond.

It will go so much faster, trust me.

[Doug Carpenter]

I don't mind doing it. I used to hate it untill some of my subs gave me some hints.

By the way. Mixing soap in the mud is an old union trick. It is the drywallers equivilent to the lumber stretcher and the plaid can of paint.

The only thing it really does is make the dust burn your eyes when you are sanding it.

[Jim Andrew]

When I hung the rock in my shop, I made sure my butt joints would be easy to hide by applying shims to the studs on each side of the joint. Made the butts the easiest part. I think a banjo would be a fantastic thing to own, if you finish occasionally. I just thinned some mud and put the tape in the bucket. Had to drag the tape through the mud to get it coated thoroughly. Not one blister.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I don't mind hanging drywall. I just hate cutting it.

[Alan Schaffter]

I'm in the middle of the drywall part of a home project extending an upstairs bedroom into an adjoining walk-in attic. I didn't mind hanging the drywall but dislike working with the mud. Like my workshop, this room addition has knee walls and sloped ceilings on two sides- that means four inside corner joints that are greater than 90 degrees. Also like my shop, I can't seem to get a good, straight joint on the obtuse corners.

I finished taping and first coat of mud tonight. Anyone have any tried and true techniques for getting a good joint on obtuse corners?

(and yes, I know I got a little carried away with drywall screws I also plan to widen the non-tapered edge joints (probably +/- 10")

[Van Huskey]

I don't mind hanging drywall (when I can physically handle it) but I also hate mudding it. I think a lot of people feel the same way.

Mike

This is one person that agrees, though I think I am also done with hanging it after doing our house with 800 ft^2 of 21' ceiling... Nothing like being under a 4x12 sheet of rock standing on walkboards with your feet 14' from the floor. I will probably do my new shop but that will be IT, maybe pay my nephew to mud it, he isn't great but he is fast and always broke, and he is more than good enough for a shop level finish!

[Mark Bolton]

http://www.drywallschool.com/mud.htm

I've never bought a pail that couldn't use a little more water. Again, I'm talking 2nd coat and beyond.

It will go so much faster, trust me.

Absolutely, always add water. We add to every pail regardless of the coat.

Mark

[David G Baker]

Adding water does really help but if you plan on saving the mud for use at a later date you may get a surprise when you open the bucket. I did it once and found that the bucket had one of the most horrible odors I had ever smelled growing in it. Guess my city water mixed with mud created some form of bacteria that caused the mud to rot.

[Jason Roehl]

David, that's just mold. To store mud for a while, make sure the sides are scraped clean and the top surface is troweled flat (no peaks or valleys), then put about 1/4"-1/2" of water on top, and add a splash of bleach. No dried chunks, and no mold.