Drywall / Taping question

[Bagor]

You don't need to tape the screw heads.

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I may be wrong though... what the heck do I know... I'm not a drywaller, I just watch Mike Holmes's tv show a lot.

I can't stand that guy anymore. He's become a bit too self-righteous and contradictory for me. He's said more than once "You don't get your plumber to do your drywalling" or something like that and then what do you see him doing? Framing, electrical, driving a Bobcat, tiling, insulating, roofing, plumbing -- whatever suits him.

I've come to like that Disaster DIY show. It's honest, the host has some charisma and doesn't look like he's going to cry for the first quarter of every episode, and it actually shows useful advice for a home renovator.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Bagor

You don't need to tape the screw heads.

I thought you did. What do you do... just mud them?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

Or use mesh which is way easier for the amateur user.

I'm going to throw in a big caveat to this. It's easier in that that it's self adhesive, but it does potentially create problems in sanding if not enough mud is applied over the tape. Otherwise when you sand you'll expose the threads and unlike paper tape you're pretty much left with recoating and starting over again.

Ken - Having just done my own basement drywall work, let me give you one piece of advice. Hire someone to do it. It ain't worth it, and there is zero tolerance for crappy craftsmanship. A crappy joint will look like a crappy joint in perpetuity.

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I thought you did. What do you do... just mud them?

Yes. Slap it on vertically, scrape it off horizontally.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

I can't stand that guy anymore. He's become a bit too self-righteous and contradictory for me. He's said more than once "You don't get your plumber to do your drywalling" or something like that and then what do you see him doing? Framing, electrical, driving a Bobcat, tiling, insulating, roofing, plumbing -- whatever suits him.

I've come to like that Disaster DIY show. It's honest, the host has some charisma and doesn't look like he's going to cry for the first quarter of every episode, and it actually shows useful advice for a home renovator.

That is a pretty good show. He teaches the home renovator how to do it themselves.... properly this time. By watching his show you can learn lots of helpful info.

I think the Mike Holmes show is more about proper construction while the DIY show concentrates more on renovation.

Although I do get some good info from watching the Mike Holmes show.
Like the time I was watching and they were installing hardwood floors. He said that you always want to install the flooring so that it lays in the same direction as the longest wall in the room (ie. you have a 11 x 17 ft room... lay the flooring so that it is parallel to the 17 ft wall) as it looks better. I would have never thought of that... but its true. it does.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I thought you did. What do you do... just mud them?

on canadas worst handyman, one guy did a full tape run for each row of screws!!

Where do they get those people?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Ken - Having just done my own basement drywall work, let me give you one piece of advice. Hire someone to do it. It ain't worth it, and there is zero tolerance for crappy craftsmanship. A crappy joint will look like a crappy joint in perpetuity.

Yes, this is my advice I now give out as well. Unfortunately I learned this lesson too late.

Fortunately by posting this thread I have received a PM from somebody I also know in the real world who is going t lend me a hand fixing my current mistakes.

As for the Holmes vs Baumler debate- I agree that Holmes does really pile it on thick lately. It's too bad Holmes' right hand men haven't been picked up for their own shows as I think they would do great. And don't waste your money buying Holmes' book if you a DIYer- all he does is slam everybody who doesn't do things his way.

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

I can't stand that guy anymore. He's become a bit too self-righteous and contradictory for me. He's said more than once "You don't get your plumber to do your drywalling" or something like that and then what do you see him doing? Framing, electrical, driving a Bobcat, tiling, insulating, roofing, plumbing -- whatever suits him.

Absolutely agreed. Plus he rips apart and trashes things every episode that are actually serviceable or fixable. Drives me crazy, what a waste.

Also the way he puts up basement partition walls one stud at at time might be technically the best solution, but practically is insane.

Back OT- good advice in this tread. The best advice of all is to hire someone to do the taping/mudding.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by automaton 3

Absolutely agreed. Plus he rips apart and trashes things every episode that are actually serviceable or fixable. Drives me crazy, what a waste.

Also the way he puts up basement partition walls one stud at at time might be technically the best solution, but practically is insane.

Uh, this is the easy way. Making a wall and then putting it up almost never works in basements.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Ken - Having just done my own basement drywall work, let me give you one piece of advice. Hire someone to do it. It ain't worth it, and there is zero tolerance for crappy craftsmanship. A crappy joint will look like a crappy joint in perpetuity.

Does this advice include installing the drywall or are we just talking about the taping and mudding?
I've never installed drywall before (not talking about taping and mudding) but it doesn't look too difficult.

If we are talking just about the taping and mudding, is it easy to hire a professional just to do that?

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Uh, this is the easy way. Making a wall and then putting it up almost never works in basements.

Lol, no.

Cut out all the plates and stand them up on edge. Mark out your layout. Measure up to the floor joists a few places down the partition wall and find the lowest measurement. Subtract 3 from that measurement. Cut all the studs. Put together the wall on the flat and stand up it up. The ceiling drywall is 1/2 inch so will generally cover most of the gap. If the gap turns out to be a bit bigger -drywall spans a little ways without any problems.

On really old homes with excessive slope in the basement floor, a few partition walls might have to have the studs cut individually. Otherwise it is a huge waste of time.

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Does this advice include installing the drywall or are we just talking about the taping and mudding?
I've never installed drywall before (not talking about taping and mudding) but it doesn't look too difficult.

If we are talking just about the taping and mudding, is it easy to hire a professional just to do that?

My neighbour in our old house was a drywaller and wouldn't take on jobs that someone else had boarded. His point was that while you may save on paying someone to do the boarding, if you do it badly, you will end up paying much more on the mudding and sanding as that is the job that takes the most time by far.

We ended up giving him some of our jobs and doing some ourselves in the lower visibility areas (like in a bathroom which ends up being covered in tiles, cupboards and mirrors anyway). That led to more experience and more confidence and now it'll be a matter of laziness and desire to keep to a strict timeline that will determine whether we do the drywalling next time 'round.

[algernon]

I am only a Carpenter, not a Drywaller, so what do I know?

But, FWIW, I recommend using the inside corner beads when taping, well, inside corners. They are only about $3 each, and super easy compared to all the scraping/sanding work and steady handedness needed to make a nice corner with tape. You just lay in a nice bed of mud on both sides of the corner, squish the bead into the mud, and then slice off the excess that oozes out. Once dry, lay a bit of mud down each side to feather out the edge of the bead,scrape, and repeat with a third coat and your done.

Oh, and use lite line (blue & green boxes), as the sanding is completely effortless compared to the 'all purpose' crap.

[Antithesis]

Interesting how much hatred there is for mudding and taping out there - I am not finished with my basement and in fact have only done about 1/3 of the mudding and taping I need to do and I don't hate it ... yet. I've made a few mistakes but thankfully I started in placed where they could be hidden. I guess it also helps that I didn't drywall the ceiling, I'd imagine that would be terrible. Is that where most of the aggrivation comes from?

[algernon]

I think most people hate all the Meth and or Crack you gotta do to be really good at it... probably not worth it in the long run.

just kidding

[Antithesis]

Originally Posted by fotze

Have you painted what you mudded yet?

In 2 of the rooms, yes ... one is a bathroom so many of the errors can be covered ... painting exasperates things I guess?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

FWIW, I did find that the new Dust Control mud really did help with the dust. Really cut down on the airborne particulates. CGC adds something to the blend which helps loose airborne particules bind and fall to the floor.

The downside is that it is really thick stuff, I found I had to add water and thin to get better "flow", especially as the bucket ages. I think that's the big difference between the pros and us amateurs - the pros seem to be able to use way more runny mud, therefore making application smoother and thinner.

[Antithesis]

I've found that using a wet sponge lets out little to no dust at all but I'm sure it's causing me other unanticipated problems.

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Didn't have a problem doing corners with wet tape.

I didn't like using thin mud after a while. It's a beginner's trick. Takes forever to dry too.

It's not a beginner's trick, it's a nessecary step if you want to do a good job.