What is the procedure for finishing drywall?

Question

I had to replace a 3ft by 3ft square piece. I have bought the tape,mud,and putty knife. Putty before tape or vise versa?

Answer 1

Sometimes I put the putty on first, sometimes not depending on the type of tape I am using.
Put tape on, making sure there in mud underneath and press on so there is no air bubbles under the tape and let dry. Do not leave a ridge.
I hope you have a drywall knife to spread the mud over the tape and far enough out that you don't see a bump/ridge in the surface.
The best advice I ever received was don't be sloppy, keep the mud smooth.
You may need to smooth the walls once it is dry. You can sand it but be aware it can be dusty and hard to clean up. I use a damp sponge but you need to be careful as you can damage new drywall.
Take your time and with trial and error and practice you can learn to do a good job.

Answer 2

I have read through some of your answers and that's why I felt the need to contribute. Since you are only doing a small area make sure you have something to attatch to a stud or a backer, because you are doing a patch, use a thinner drywall than what is up now, so if you have 5/8 use 1/2 so you can float the joints without them bulging, sheets have indents along the edges to absorb the transition, when you do a patch you don't have that. Next after it is all screwed in then you can apply the tape, you first butter the joint with some mud and then put the tape and use the 8" knife to smooth it down. Get it as smooth as you can, let it dry, Do not sand it between coats, you only need to scrap it lightly with your knife, then apply the next coat and continue doing this until it is even with you walls and you can no longer see the joint. Now you can lightly sand out any imperfections and apply a good coat of primer, check it now for any areas that may be showing after paint and use a light weight wall patch to cover those spots, you should now be ready for paint or texture if you need texture you can by the premixed can at Home Depot and match what you have, Good luck, it's pretty easy but it also takes patients. Don't forget to put a drop cloth it is messy.

Answer 3

Plan the layout of your project to use full sheets whenever possible and make the cuts so that the joints fall in the center of a joist or stud. Hang ceilings first.

Measure and mark your panels with the light colored face paper towards you.
Line up your straight edge or "T" square with the marks and press firmly against the panel.

Score through the paper and lightly into the core with your knife. Now break the panel core by grasping the panel edges near the score line and break the board by pushing the ends away from you in the directionof the uncut side. You can also just push one end away from you while holding the other end firmly in place. Now use your knife to cut through the back paper for the length of the cut. After cutting the panel,place your knee on the board over the cut and with a quick snap pull the two ends towards you,the board will snap clean. Smooth the cut edge with sandpaper or a surefoam rasp.
Keep the edges as square as possible.

For openings such as an electrical outlet, measure the near, far,top and bottom sides of the box to the nearest edges of the wallboard and trace the outline at the appropriate position on the wallboard. Then cut the opening with a saber saw or keyhole saw or plunge-type router.
Cutting Circles: you can use a special "circle cutting" tool but if you don't want to invest in something you will probably never use again, simply take a bowl or can, anything round that is the same size as the circle you need, trace the pattern onto the board and use your utility knife to score the board around the line. Cut thru with your utility knife or use a keyhole saw.

Attaching or Hanging Drywall:
Prior to drywall attachment inspect framing to ensure that it is straight and free of nails or other projections. Warped or crooked framing should be repaired or replaced.
For best results, remember to always stagger the end (butt) joints like brick is laid with offset end seams. This will help avoid cracking.

You should hang your ceilings first so the walls can help support the ceiling sheets.
Mark the joist locations along the wall top plates so they are easy to find once covered. Use screws for best results. They provide more holding power than drywall nails. Usually it is best to run the panels perpendicular to the joists. Also applying construction adhesive to the joist will help provide a better hold.

Hold your panel tight against your framing and with your screwgun,screw the center of the panel first and the perimeter last. If you are nailing instead of using screws, it's wise to invest in a specially designed drywall hammer. The head is shaped so that it creates a perfect dimple while setting the nail. You may want to get a couple strong helpers to maneuver the panels overhead or use T-braces.
Make sure the screw or nail heads are driven to create a small dimple but without breaking or tearing the paper face. If you drive a nail crooked or bend it over don't try to pull it out. Drive a second nail about 2" away then make sure that first nail is driven in below the panel surface. Space nails a maximum of 7" apart on ceilings and 8" apart on walls. Space screws a maximum of 12" apart on ceilings and 16" apart on walls.

Next you can hang the walls.
Hang the drywall horizontally and remember to stagger the butt joints. Install that top row first. Position it tight against the ceiling panel and fasten it to the studs in the same way as was described for ceilings. Again, using construction adhesive will be helpful. Then install the lower panels so that the tapered edge meets with the tapered edge of the upper panels. Do any necessary trimming on the edge nearest the floor only.
Avoid vertical joints directly above or below door or window openings whenever possible.

Apply corner bead,available in either plastic or metal,to all outside corners of walls, soffits, and window returns. Hold the bead firmly against the corner and try to maintain the 90-degree angle. Nail it through the existing holes located every 9" on each flange. Be sure that the nails hit studs. Plastic bead can be fastened with staples. Drive all nails to below the nose of the bead being careful not to dent the metal.

Nails VS. Screws
Overall, screws are generally the preferred fasteners because they hold into the framing better. The job will also go faster if you have the right kind of screw gun. You want an adjustable gun that will almost automatically sink the screw a little below the surface whenproperly adjusted. You can use a regular hand drill or screw gun but you must control the depth yourself. Sears sells a nifty bit for use with a regular drill that countersinks the screw perfectly.

Drywall nails (1 ¼" ring shank for ½" thick drywall) are often easier for a person who is not comfortable with a screw gun. The job will be a bit slower and you will need to use more nails (closer together) because they are not as strong as screws. Remember prying out a bent nail may cause more damage than nailing it in so that it is below the surface and then mudding over it later.

Answer 4

Apply a thin coat of all purpose tape mud over joint. Stretch tape over mud, and with knife at approx. 30 degree angle off of wall, pull over tape, removing excess mud, but not so hard as to remove all. Let dry. Use knife to spread mud over tape, again smoothing out, but not removing too much mud. You can sand between coats with 80 or 100 grit D/W sand paper, or for cleaner work area, us a damp sponge to smooth out imperfections. Again avoid removing too much. Done right, that patch should consist of 1.)tape application, 2.)top coat, 3.)smooth coat. As far as texturing it depends on what is existing. You can use the taping mud, just thin it down with a little water and mix thoroughly. You can experiment as long as the mud is not dry, you can lightly scrap off if you're not satisfied with the results. Good Luck, and try it out. It's not brain surgery.

Answer 5

You can get a self adhesive netting tape, adhere to all the spaces and use a wider knife, the wider the better so as to hihe any creases, sand when dry and apply a second coat of filler and even a third till there are no marks after sanding, prime and off you go.

Answer 6

Woven tape can be applied directly to the wall, then mudded over with several coats of mud. Paper tape must be set in wet mud first, then mudded over with several coats. Always sand between coats for a good finish and make sure you feather the mud way beyond the patch so it will blend with the existing wall.

Answer 7

It depends on the type of tape you bought. If it is the mesh type with an adhesive back, it goes on first, the then the mud. When dry, mud again if necessary, then sand and prime.

If you bought the paper type, put on a thin coat of mud, then press the tape over it, and put mud again over the top, When it is dry, mud again over the top, then sand and prime.

Answer 8

Go on line and search for drywall finishing. There are a lot of sites that give great directions and some with pictures. It is not hard just takes a bit of time to get it right.

Answer 9

Install drywall. Tape, then putty. Sand it smooth. Putty again, sand it smooth. Final coat putty, then sand again.

Answer 10

Putty before tape. Get it as smooth as possible.