Drywall Questions

[TexasBob]

I'm adding a room to our house- closed in part of a patio essentially. I have it framed up and the walls covered in OSB. I'm ready for drywall this weekend but my head is spinning in all the types of mud and tape. What mud to I need to initially fill the joints, tape, topcoat and then texture? Is the self adhesive mesh tape acceptable? Do I sand between coats?

[mmoses]

Im sure there are lots of guys better than me so I will only give one piece of advice.

Its so much better to waste pieces than try and cut some pieces to save material.

[Texastaxi]

Taping and floating is best left to Home Depot parking lot employees.

[Tx.Fisher]

Hire a couple of guys to do the tape and bed and texture. It’s not worth the hassle if you don’t do it for a living, trust me on this. They can do it in 1/3 of the time and it will look good.

[JhuntsAlot]

Box of lightweight mud

6", 8" & 10" knifes.

Paper tape. Mud on joints first, then roll out tape.

Apply joint tape with 6" and let dry. Scrape off debris if present and float 8" and let dry. Sand if needed and then float 10". Sand and re-float again if needed. If you do more that 2 final sand and floats, its not going to get any better and move on.

Water down lightweight mud as needed for texture.

Make sure you have everything roughed in the walls you want, i.e. electrical.



J

[hog_down]

Roughly how big an area are you trying to drywall?

[Brett A]

Hire a couple of guys to do the tape and bed and texture. It’s not worth the hassle if you don’t do it for a living, trust me on this. They can do it in 1/3 of the time and it will look good.

I agree 100%. I hung all my sheetrock and a guy came out and taped/bedded in one afternoon and it looks much better than if I had finished it out.

[Txhunter3000]

If you have to ask, hire it out. It will drive you nuts

[tdwinklr]

I agree 100%. I hung all my sheetrock and a guy came out and taped/bedded in one afternoon and it looks much better than if I had finished it out.

I agree too but it will be hard to find someone to do a small job, at least it was for us. They all wanted to do big jobs instead. Did it myself, not what I wanted but it looks good enough.
If you do it, use paper tape for large gaps and the mesh for close sheet-to-sheet joints. Get them as smooth as you can before it dries, less sanding later.
That's the frustrating part for me.
The pre-mixed mud is fine to use, stir it well before using each time.

[bowhntrmatt]

Box of lightweight mud

6", 8" & 10" knifes.

Paper tape. Mud on joints first, then roll out tape.

Apply joint tape with 6" and let dry. Scrape off debris if present and float 8" and let dry. Sand if needed and then float 10". Sand and re-float again if needed. If you do more that 2 final sand and floats, its not going to get any better and move on.

Water down lightweight mud as needed for texture.

Make sure you have everything roughed in the walls you want, i.e. electrical.



J

this is pretty close to what I did recently.

I just did a similar job, closed in part of my sunroom to create a walk-in closet for my youngest girl. I had never done drywall before and spent some time watching youtube until I was confident. I just used a bucket of AP joint compound. You need to add some water and mix well as it is pretty thick to start with.
I also used paper tape for the joints, but got some of the perfect corner tape for the inside corners. It is really stiff and made it pretty easy. Got a cheap texture gun on Amazon. Also used the AP mud for that, but thinned it down a bunch.

if I do it again i'll probably use easy-sand 20 or 40 so I don't have to wait for the all purpose mud to dry for so long between coats.

Don't be afraid to DIY this. it really isn't that bad if you are patient.

[TexasBob]

Thanks all. 600 square feet, just walls so doubt anyone will want to mess with it. I wouldn't mind learning how anyway.

[Txtourist]

Pro tip- use a paddle mixer to whip your mud. As you whip, thin it a bit with hot water and a few drops of dawn dish soap. The soap will reduce surface tension in the water/mud mix and eliminate a lot of the small pock marks and bubbles.
It takes a little bit to get the hang of it and there’s good advice above.
Thin coats are better than thick. Buy premium quality primer and paint and that will go much better as well. Sherwinn Williams CHB I believe is what we’ve used. The Home Depot/Lowe’s stuff is frustrating to say the least.

[bowhntrmatt]

Here is the one I just finished. Ignore the dusty floor. If I can do it, anyone can!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BuckSmasher]

I'm adding a room to our house- closed in part of a patio essentially. I have it framed up and the walls covered in OSB. I'm ready for drywall this weekend but my head is spinning in all the types of mud and tape. What mud to I need to initially fill the joints, tape, topcoat and then texture? Is the self adhesive mesh tape acceptable? Do I sand between coats?

Box of lightweight mud

6", 8" & 10" knifes.

Paper tape. Mud on joints first, then roll out tape.

Apply joint tape with 6" and let dry. Scrape off debris if present and float 8" and let dry. Sand if needed and then float 10". Sand and re-float again if needed. If you do more that 2 final sand and floats, its not going to get any better and move on.

Water down lightweight mud as needed for texture.

Make sure you have everything roughed in the walls you want, i.e. electrical.



J

I agree too but it will be hard to find someone to do a small job, at least it was for us. They all wanted to do big jobs instead. Did it myself, not what I wanted but it looks good enough.
If you do it, use paper tape for large gaps and the mesh for close sheet-to-sheet joints. Get them as smooth as you can before it dries, less sanding later.
That's the frustrating part for me.
The pre-mixed mud is fine to use, stir it well before using each time.

Pro tip- use a paddle mixer to whip your mud. As you whip, thin it a bit with hot water and a few drops of dawn dish soap. The soap will reduce surface tension in the water/mud mix and eliminate a lot of the small pock marks and bubbles.
It takes a little bit to get the hang of it and there’s good advice above.
Thin coats are better than thick. Buy premium quality primer and paint and that will go much better as well. Sherwinn Williams CHB I believe is what we’ve used. The Home Depot/Lowe’s stuff is frustrating to say the least.

I agree with most of the above. Never have I seen dawn dish soap added though curious about that one. Even though it has been mentioned, be sure to get the mud thin enough. "Wet" mud will shrink more and require more coats but it is easier for the amateur to apply and will not build up an edge requiring as much sanding. Definitely go for more thin coats over fewer thick ones. I recommend watching a few youtube videos to get an idea of it.

I use paper for inside corners, quick tape mesh for all the taper and butt joints, and steel mesh corner bead attached liberally with a staple gun. I use 120 grit to sand, any rougher than that and it will gouge the mud and you will see it through paint unless you put on a ton of texture.

My dad was a sheetrock finisher by trade and I picked up enough from him to do my own stuff but I am by now means a pro. I actually like to finish drywall on small odd jobs around the house. I like the progression.

[Mike D]

I will pay (almost) whatever it takes to never have to work with sheetrock/tape/mud/sand or concrete.

I have better things to get frustrated with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro