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Trade jobs, drywall finisher.
Oakie
Member Posts: 40,510 ✭✭✭✭
Rehabbing one of our rentals, I discovered one trade I absolutely can NOT DO!!! Drywall finishing. I did all the HVAC, Plumbing and new electrical service. I ran a new service entry cable from the wires coming in from the pole, to the meter, and upgraded the box to 200amps. All new plumbing and new duct work and heater.
I hung the drywall, but cannot tape worth a darn!!! WTH. You guys that can tape and finish drywall, are truly magicians. What is the trick??? I can tape, but cannot get a smooth finish and the tape always shows through. If I add more compound, I end up having to sand until the tape shows though again. I finally hired a guy to fix my mess. What is the secret???
Comments
Trying to do to much is the downfall of any first time taper.
Put enough mud in the right places, let it dry and sand.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
Being a jack of all trades is commendable but IMO it is not always possible to meet the goals of a perfectionist. In certain things I fall under that category. By hiring an experienced dry wall finisher, you did exactly what I would have done.
My dad is such a perfectionist with drywall it can drive you crazy. Patience is a virtue.
"Independence Now, Independence Forever."
John Adams
it is a craft that I have not mastered either
craftsman make their crafts look easy to others in reality they got good at them by practice and hard work
The tape must be moistened first. It cannot be bedded while dry or it will peel.
Ain't there no Mexicans around? While waiting on my wife one day, I watched two 5'0" Hispanic men hanging 12' drywall on metal studs. On a Sunday.
...Use a broad knife and wipe just enough mud on the joint that is a hair wider than your tape, THIN layer of mud(!)...stick your tape on at beginning of the joint...hold the end with your broad knife and pull enough tape off your hanger to reach the end of the joint...hold tape with your broad knife where you want to cut it, pull the tape and its cut...wipe over the tape with just a LITTLE mud, just to cover the edges of the tape...if you need to, wipe on a little more mud, a LITTLE bit...when dry, you should be able to wipe your hand across the entire joint and NOT feel the tape edges...come back using a trowel and wipe on a SMALL amount of mud THIN LAYER...let it dry and another THIN layer, two beds should do it, and VERY little sanding...MAYBE just the edges of the bed using a sanding pole...everybody wants to pile on the mud, no need to unless you like to sand...
I agree with leave it to the amigos.Its amazing how fast and good they are.
like some of you I pride my self on being able to do just about anything with in reason of course ,
when younger I worked construction and was around every trade from carpenter to carpet and tile installers to electricians and plumbers dry wall hangers plasters and lath even heavy equipment well really any trade needed to build and finish a project
also mechanical skills working on automobiles from rebuilding to body work and painting not bragging just the list was /is endless I was like a sponge learning every thing I could and the old fellows of the trades were more than willing to help me as I was young and interested
well to the point 😁 I can do most all of it and do . now I will admit no where near the level of a true craftsman. on any of the trades
they are doing such things every day they are true artist in their crafts and make it look so easy but we all know better 😥
as for dry wall last time i used the self sticking stuff more like matting than tape but still finishing it is a low process for me
many years ago I ask a drywell finisher ( the guys who come in tape and mud and sand ) I bet your great on auto body filler repairs
he just chucked said he tried it a few times and failed miserably. and never tried again
one funny side note our first house I had to do every room 😥 I had a uncle stop by wanted to borrow my tools ( pole sander knifes and so on ) as he had a room or two he wanted to do . I went by severl days later to his place OMG he used a hand held power sander told me hand sanding was to slow so he piled on the mud and had at it with the electric sander I can not image the dust he created. or suffered thru I know he would not have worn a mask
and yes I know they have power disc sanders now just for dry wall finishing but Thay have a vacuum hooked to pull away the dust as they sand ( I have one of course 🙄 it sounded like a good idea tool ) I used only a couple times its just too heavy ) and went back to old fashion ways, th enew sander well its tucked away in the seemed like a good idea tool pile in the garage.
Use the sticky fiberglass tape and not the paper stuff. Press it over the joints and tape over it, I always use a 6" trowel and try to get all the mud on it the first time. I sand it three times each time adding a little more mud until the last coat it super thin. I got most of my experience in group homes where the kids beat the walls everyday. I'm not afraid to sand, the first coat is the hardest and the remaining coats easier. I've never had fiberglass tape fail for me, always held up the joint and never cracked.
Fiberglass tape if not for real tape jobs, the pros never use it. I have taped with paper under the supervision of a drywall pro and he gave me a lot of great tips. I would still hire it done. I have hung a LOT of drywall. Since the finish is what is seen after the paint dries hire a taper to do it right. Nothing looks worse than a poor tape job. Just quit while you are ahead and hire it done.
Tape and texture, I hire it out.
I learned long ago, do what you can, hire what you can't........
I helped a drywaller in my younger days do a few houses. Mostly I just help to hang the ceilings/walls by hand and keep everything ready (flunky). That is one job it is best to get somebody that does it for a liven. My dad was a carpentered and that was one job he did not do.
Hot mud and a bigger knife than you think you need. Several coats sanding in between.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I don't know who had the nads to disagree with my moistened tape comment, but whatever..........i guess you have never used a banjo before and thinned out your mud. If using "box mud" you better add plenty of water. If you use it straight out of that box and try to bed your dry paper tape into it......let me know how that works out for you.
I wouldn't get your knickers in a twist about disagrees.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
The house I grew up in had plaster and lath. THAT took talent.
I had a good teacher. Learned so much from Bill. He was a shop stewart, trim man, cabinet maker. Best carpenter i ever knew.
Bill was my friend and we use to shoot competitive together. He fought in Normandy and passed away two years ago. I miss him terribly. After watching Bill for years, I finally got the hang of it. I find that once you get the hang of it you don't pile as much compound on and hence less to take off.
I use paper tape most times but sometimes i use the fiberglass mesh on wall settling cracks. I do taping out of necessity but it is not my favorite job. IF I do a lot of it, I get a twitch in my eye that last for days. I guess it comes from close work. ----------------------Ray
Started hanging wallpaper about 40 years ago
.Learning to mud seams and such was a necessity as frequently we had to do a lot of repair before hanging . Not my favorite thing but there are other jobs I dislike more ..
My daily record is 9 pails in skimming on a banking skyscraper job. That union pension money went to the union, same as every other pension hour I don't get for almost 20 yrs. Nice fellows all around.
Like Ditch Runner stated most of us old guys know how to do a little of everything.That was because we didn't have the money to pay someone else to do it.Either do it yourself or it didn't get done.
That is what I did yesterday. Found this Mexican kid that does drywall. He is coming by this weekend to fix everything. Thank God!!!!. He showed me a house he just finished up the street. Perfect.
I learned from an early age that, if you want something done right, do it yourself, except taping and spackling🤣. I can do anything from rebuilding a Harley Engine, to building a four car garage, which I have done both. I can fix almost anything I want to. When we were young, we didn't have the money to pay someone, for something we could probably do ourselves. Hell, I even fabricated a firewall for a 1929 Ford, for my father in law. Taught myself how to weld and lay bricks and block. So why the hell can't I tape.😫.
I put mud on the way, lay the tape and run the knife over it. I then cover the tape and run the knife over it again. It looks good when it dries. I then put a little more over the tape, after sanding it down, and it looks like chit, or I sand it all the way through the tape. I'm just at the point where it is wearing me down and I'm to damn frustrated to play with it for two weeks. I hope this Mexican kid shows up and gets it done, so I can paint and install the hardwood floors.
Looks like I am with the rest of the group . Growing up on the farm there was never money to hire it done. We did it ourselves . Fairly well skilled in all mechanical trades and such. Can build you a rabbit box or remodel the house . Rebuilt dads ford truck at age 15 and still turn wrenches from time to time .
our old farm house we live in still has a few plaster walls and celling's I managed to save a couple but most were ripped out ( what a great job that was apx 35 yrs ago but made it easy to replace all the old wiring and plumbing