Mudding Drywall

[Brian Rupnow]

Winter is just about over.Wifey and I have decided to have painters come in and paint the upper half of our split level bungalow. Ten years ago, we would have painted it ourselves, but things being what they are, we'll let the pro's come in and do it. Now I've built a few houses over the years, and I've done my share of fixer uppers. One of the things I have seen about professional painters----A lot of them don't fix any drywall blemishes!!! They paint right over them, and by the time the paint has dried and shrunk a bit, there the blemishes are----Ugly as sin and still there and almost impossible to fix and blend in after the fact. So-----today I've been going over the walls, pulling out picture hanging nails, checking for popped drywall screws, seeking out furniture "Gocth-yas" and giving them all a bit of drywall mud attention. For some strange reason, I like this. I really don't care to tape and plaster drywall joints, because of the arthritis in my shoulders now, but fixing up "spot repairs" is something I enjoy. I'll let it all dry for two days, then go back and sandpaper very lightly with 120 grit paper, then give them all another swipe with the putty knife and plaster. Then wait two more days and finish sand the spots. Generally that is enough, although I have seen the odd spot need a third application. Now when the walls are painted, they will be perfect.----Yeah, I know, this is a long ways from building model engines. Right now I'm sick of building my Donkey, so it was great to do something entirely different for a change.-----Brian

 

[AussieJimG]

Here we are, separated by a common language again.

What is "drywall"? Is is plaster? Or Gyprock?

Jim

 

[Catminer]

Gyprock

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Gyprock is a brand name for drywall.

 

[rake60]

I call it drywall. My wife is from Canada and she calls it gyprock.

I have redone several rooms in this house that is 100+ years old.
Corner to corner, the distance from floor to ceiling may vary 1-1/4 inches.

I don't mind hanging the new drywall, but hate the taping, mudding and finishing!
It looks perfect until you paint it.
Then then minor flaws in your finishing work stand out like errant sculptures.

It takes more patience than I have to get it right.

Rick

 

[Maryak]

Jim,

I think it's what we call Gyprock..................but I have been wrong before. :-X

Best Regards
Bob

 

[tel]

Yep, it's Gyprock - which is pretty much the generic term for plasterboard over here.

 

[1Kenny]

A few months ago we had a real drywall guy redo our kitchen and living room. It took one day. There was no sanding, no dust, ready for primer and paint. He is the second drywall-er to tell me he makes the big bucks by people trying to save money by doing the drywall causing them more work.

Kenny

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Kenny---I don't doubt you for a minute. I've seen some pretty lumpy home reno drywall tape/plaster jobs. I did automotive body and paintwork on hotrods for 5 years in the late 1970's . I can get drywall PERFECT but it takes me about a thousand hours to do it.

 

[miner49r]

Grrrrr! I hate mudding sheetrock. Like Brian, I can do it, but it takes days. I farm the mudding out now. The client is happy and I get a cut of his fee.

 

[woodnut]

The trick with drywall compound, the pre-mixed stuff is to add a bit of water to it. It's way to thick the way it is. I never use the stuff in the painting isle, it drys to hard and is almost impossible to sand after. Most people put it on too thick, I might have to do 4 coats, but there hardly any sanding.

John.

 

[Captain Jerry]

Also called sheetrock or wallboard.

If you think someone else can do it better then hire them, but if you want to do it yourself then here a list of tips

1. Use the WIDEST spreader you can, at least 4" but better 6" or 8", and keep the edge clean.
2. Apply mud to a slightly damp surface. Wipe with damp sponge first.
3. Spread it thin and wide. With a wide knife and good technique, there should be no visible marks or edges to
sand but if you want to be sure, sand VERY LIGHTLY with a damp foam backed sanding block and dunk the block in a bucket
of water periodically, to remove accumulations.
4. Keep the beer ice cold. Once you have opened a beer, do not resume working until you have finished the beer.

Jerry

 

[Stan]

For all the little nicks, dings, nail holes, etc., I use Pollyfilla by Lepage or it's equivalent. It comes in a tube that you cut the end of the tip and just force a small amount into nail holes or a small amount on a putty knife to fill depressions. A quick rub with 80 grit after an hour and another swipe with a small amount on the putty knife. Ready to paint in two hours.

Unless you are painting with high gloss paint, don't use fine sandpaper. The very smooth surface will not hold paint like the paper surface on the sheetrock, or existing paint, and every patch will show up as a shiny spot on flat or semi gloss paint.

 

[ShopShoe]

A few years ago we were faced with a poorly-finished room left by the previous owners of our house. After opening the walls for more electrical and HVAC work and replacing doors with wider ones and retrimming here and there, we sanded off the worst of the old mud jobs, then "papered" the wall with a textured fabric that is sold for this purpose and is designed to be painted over itself. We then put in new baseboards and molding and painted it all. It worked surprisingly well without so much dust and without hours and hours of sand-mud-sand-mud-sand that would have been the case.

This has been shown on some of the D-I-Y TV shows here in the US and was everything it claimed to be for us.

--ShopShoe

 

[Tin Falcon]

I have played with drywall and muddling for for pieces of close to 35 years my first project building my own bedroom when I was about 16. Ugly at best . When I was about 27 I bought a house a fixer upper. I had to dry wall what is now my shop the ceiling is 7ft on one side and slopes up to ten on the other. Much better results. the biggest project I worked on was a habitat house for friends from church. The whole family worked all summer virtually every Saturday until the house was done. The insulation was contracted out it was actually cheaper than buying insulation. we did the dry wall on the whole house the Kids helped put the mud on lot of sanding . I have learned with mud less is more the less you put on the less there is to sand. thin layers . The more work gets done faster.
Tin

 

[woodnut]

+1 for the wide spreader. Unless your in a tight area I use a 6" spreader. The biggest I have is 12", this one allows for some nice feathering. Keep your tools clean! Keep the edges of your good mud container clean as well, don't let the mud dry up on the sides as it will flake off and put lumps in your mud making it impossible to get good clean spread. When done for the day I scrap down the edges and throw that mud out, (unless i am sure there are no dryed spots in it), I usually use the pail of pre-mixed mud, level off the top and cover the mud with water to stop it from drying out between uses. Pour off the water and mix well before using the next day/time. To help the mud dry faster set up an oscillating fan in the room and point it at the area(s). Let it run over night. A heat gun will work, but can cause cracking.

I another trick I was taught was for screw and small anchor holes is to take the butt of your screw driver and grind it into the hole to making a dimpled area. This gives you a nice area to fill and keeps the little paper edges out of the way.

John

 

[Hilmar]

Get the right mud, there are pots with a green and I think with a blue lid.
For different purposes.
Hilmar