Drywall Experts Required

JohninAB · #1 03-19-2009, 05:52 PM

Good day, I am busy drywalling chez poverty flats and have a question in regards to the drywall tape. Is this stuff necessary? If so, how does one use it? The gap between my drywall is 1/8 of an inch max. I put a light coat of mud and then put the tape on and try covering it with more mud well it cannot be done. I cannot force it into the gap and I cannot put enuff mud over top of it to cover it so do I need it? Please help an aspiring renovator!

WCTHEMI · #2 03-19-2009, 05:55 PM

Check this site out, helped me with lots of info when I did my garage.
http://www.drywallinfo.com/

Cowtown guy · #3 03-19-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohninAB

Good day, I am busy drywalling chez poverty flats and have a question in regards to the drywall tape. Is this stuff necessary? If so, how does one use it? The gap between my drywall is 1/8 of an inch max. I put a light coat of mud and then put the tape on and try covering it with more mud well it cannot be done. I cannot force it into the gap and I cannot put enuff mud over top of it to cover it so do I need it? Please help an aspiring renovator!

It can be done. It is done every day. Did you know there are different kinds of mud for each stage of taping? How well was the mud mixed? Was the mud mixed? Are the board ends tapered or are you working with butt joints? There are way too many variables with this crap.
I have been working in construction for almost 20 years and I still will not do taping. It is an art. Honest!

I have been shown by many a taper how to do it right, but unless you have done it a bunch it will not......I repeat.....Will not look right. If it is at all possible to fit a taper into the budget then do so. If the budget is too tight you can always look at a Home Depot as they do have decent classes from time to time.

roughneckin · #4 03-19-2009, 06:23 PM

Taping is terrible. I hate doing it and all of my taping jobs always look like crap, but I have a good friend that is great at it for some odd reason. You can fill in the gap first then put the tape over top of it and smooth it over, have seen this done in a few houses we have worked on. It helps if you get the tape damp it goes on well and stays. The tape is used to make a fireproof seal, seems like a weak way to try and fireproof but it works so you definitely want it.

BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES · #5 03-19-2009, 06:36 PM

John , check this out http://www.discoverychannel.ca/Showpage.aspx?sid=13025 . It might help you . You could maybe try some Duct tape LOL and just mud over top . LOL Might be worth a shot .

graham1 · #6 03-19-2009, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohninAB

Good day, I am busy drywalling chez poverty flats and have a question in regards to the drywall tape. Is this stuff necessary? If so, how does one use it? The gap between my drywall is 1/8 of an inch max. I put a light coat of mud and then put the tape on and try covering it with more mud well it cannot be done. I cannot force it into the gap and I cannot put enuff mud over top of it to cover it so do I need it? Please help an aspiring renovator!

If it's a butt joint you're dealing with what I usually do is use that fibreglass mesh tape. It's in the drywall isle. It's kinda sticky so you just put it on the wall and put a thin coat of mud over it. It usually takes me 3 coats to get it the way I want it. If you are using proper drywall trowels they have a slight curve one way on them to allow you to make a slight rise over the tape. I use a 6" trowel for the first coat right over the tape and a 12" trowel for the other coats. On the second pass (after the first one is dry) I run right down the middle again leaving a very thin layer. For the third coat I run the trowel either side of centre with the edges slightly overlappin in the middle to feather out the slight hump you made from the first two coats. I usually end up with about a two foot wide bead of mud when I'm done a butt joint. There will always be a rise over a joint because the tape has some thickness, the trick is to make the rise not noticeable by feathering it out over the wall.
Oh yeah, and if you don't put tape on it it will almost definetly crack. But if the joint is good and tight you don't have to worry about forcing mud into the gap. The better your joints fit the less chance it will crack. If you have a real big gap and fill it with a bunch of mud it will probably look like crap in a few years.

Be patient, it's easier to put another thin coat on than to sand off a big pile of mud.

JohninAB · #7 03-19-2009, 06:56 PM

Thanks for the tips. I see my oops already. What a great site! Oh and I do have the tapers joining, it is not a butt joint.

Tuc · #8 03-19-2009, 08:09 PM

Yes, you need tape. Use fiber tape on the flats and paper tape on your angles.

Use CGC filler, already mixed. Three coats of mud required John, using a flat trall, let em dry between each coat, thoroughly. Feather out each coat and sand with a pole sander after second coat is dry, then put on a skim coat. May or maynot need sanding as long as the mud is clean and free of air bubbles. Also make sure you have no bubbles under your tape.
John, just a word of friendly advise. I have fixed too many rooms where novice drywallers figured, well it's just a small job, I'll do it myself. I use to drywall alot in my younger day and was taught by some of the best. If you don't have someone there that knows what they are doing, leave it for the pros. OMO....

PS
I suppose you are doing your angles too, I like using a 4" knife for my top and corner angles. There was no such thing as mud boxes or bazooka guns when I was taping so I can't help you there. We did it the old way.
G'luck with it...

Grizzly Adams · #9 03-19-2009, 10:23 PM

I always figure it's like putting body filler on the old wreck.

Use the pre mixed mud, in the boxes, but put it in a plastic bucket and aerate it thoroughly, with a power mixing paddle. The idea is to put enough mud on that it fades into the surrounding sheet, after sanding. Probably looking at 3 coats minimum, each wider than the previous. Curved trowels help for the later coats. Butt joints should be 16" wide Trick is not to put on too much at a time, otherwise you'll be sanding for ever. I hate the fiberglass tape, haven't seen a pro use it yet and its not recommended for corners, though a sales rep told me last week I should use it with their mould resistant tile sub-strate. Paper tape will grow mildew.
Grizz

prospector · #10 03-20-2009, 06:01 AM

I've always used the Synko brand in a box. You should use the taping mud (Yellow box) for taping because it has more glues etc to hold the tape well. And usually use the Classic finish (red?) for everything else. Home Depot and Totem sell these boxes. You'll also need a 5 gallon bucket and a mixer of some sort (attached to a drill works best). Dump the mud into the bucket, add water until you get a smoother consistency.
For taping I mix it quite thin (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a box at a time) into the bucket, then spool about 40' of paper tape into the bucket and push it into the mud. Then you can pull it out of the bucket as you walk around the room, just pull it between your fingers to leave both tape sides a little muddy, and lay it over the joints. Its best to do this with someone behind you to clean up the mess and trowel the tape on tight, just tight enough for a smooth finish and work the lumps/air out of the backside, you still need enough to hold the tape in place... its a messy job but very fast like this.
Before taping I always go around with "fast set", it's available in a bag (powder) that you mix for each batch, usually just a small amount (drywall trowel tray full) at a time because it sets fast! It's ok to mix this thick. And fill in anything over 3/8" wide, any smaller gaps are ok with just taping over.

I always keep the mixed mud in the 5 gallon bucket over night, just dump water on top of the mud and keep a few inches of water on top of the mud, then it won't dry out. Scrape the mud off the inside of the bucket with a 4 or 5 inch drywall knife & dip a sponge or rag in the water and use it to wash all the mud down off the sides of the bucket & tools to keep them clean, this will avoid the small dry chunkies from building up. I usually have a few buckets going at a time, one for taping, one for finishing, one for water. Keeping things clean with the sponge and water, it's just fine to get the water mixed up with either mud. I try to keep the dry chunkies to a minimum because they make a mess when you're doing the finish coats, don't be afraid to make a mess though! That's the fun part!

This link may help:
http://www.drywallschool.com/