In this do it yourself renovation post, we will cover in detail “how to tape and mud sheetrock drywall”.
The tools you will need to complete this job are as follows:
- drywall knives (trowels)
- utility knife
- inside corner trowel (disposable)
- sanding block
- extendable drywall sander
- dust mask
After the sheetrock or drywall is installed, the next step is to tape and mud. Unless you are a professional, taping and mudding drywall is a very tedious and specialized job. Yes, anyone can do it, but it takes skill, time and a lot of patience.
Note: drywall mud is also known as drywall compound.
Mudding drywall is done in stages, applying thin coats to all areas, and feathering it out as smooth as possible. It all depends on your ability, but many experienced drywallers apply 3 to 4 coats of mud during any given project, and sand when required.
Your first step should be to scim-coat a thin layer of mud over the screws, which are counter sunk slightly, under the drywall paper. This is done by applying a generous amount of mud to the screw hole, and scraping it off; and is done to each screw hole. See illustration.
The next step is to tape and mud all the drywall butt joints.
As you may have noticed, the drywall comes factory made with recessed edges on the top and bottom of each sheet. When these sheets are butt up against each other, it provides plenty of area for tape and mud. On the other hand, when the sides of the drywall sheets butt up against each other, they require for the installer to cut the butt edges of the drywall sheets at a 45 degree angle, allowing for a gap between the sheets.
Firstly, apply a generous amount of drywall compound to the end butt joints, allowing for compound to be spread approximately 3 inches wide. Once the area of the side butt joint is covered in mud, spread the drywall tape over the mud, ensuring that the tape extends to where the top and bottom sheets butt up. Push the tape into the mud all along the entire butt joint, working from top to bottom. Afterward, using your 4 inch drywall knife, smooth down and out all the excess drywall mud.
When working with the factory end butt joints, the principle is the same, doing one wall at a time, working your way from one corner to the next.
At this time, there should be no high or low spots on the butt joints, and the tape should be flat on the wall, and without bubbles. See the pics below for a better understanding.
Inside and Outside Corners
After the butt joints are done, the next thing to do is, the inside and outside corners.
When doing the inside and outside corners, you can buy whats called “corner bead”, which comes in various types of material; such as metal, plastic and paper.
If you are doing outside corners and using the metal or plastic corner bead, secure it to the corner with screws and apply the drywall compound in layers over the bead. The pic below shows the different types of outside corner beads.
If using the paper and metal reinforced paper outside and inside corner bead, you must adhere them to the corner by means of drywall compound or mud.
The most common forms of doing inside corners is using regular drywall paper. This method takes much more skill, rather than using the new metal reinforced inside corner beads. Either way, if using paper, apply a thick coat to the inside or outside area, crease the paper and push it evenly into the corner. Once done, apply a thin coat of mud over top of the paper and smooth out the drywall paper with a trowel, ensuring the corner is as straight as possible; removing any excess drywall compound. See the pics below for a better understanding.
Note: If you are inexperienced at drywalling and mudding, my suggestion is to use a plastic inside corner trowel to make things a little easier.
Mudding the Ceiling
Applying drywall compound to the ceiling is very similar to the walls, therefore all the principles are the same. The only difference is, you will likely end up getting a lot more drywall mud falling to the floor…so, you may want to put a drop sheet down to cut down on the mess.
Feather Edging
As stated previously, when applying the drywall mud to the drywall, you must apply several thin layers. Each layer is applied only after the one before is dry enough to do so. Depending on the the size of the area which is being mudded, you may have to feather edge or spread the drywall mud out along that area further. The further the the mud is feather edged out, the less noticeable the area will be when painted. When doing feather edging, you should use larger and larger trowels as the layers go on. See the pic below.
Sanding
One of the last phases of drywalling as a whole is sanding. An experienced drywaller will have very little sanding to do when the job is done. He/She will apply the drywall compound almost perfectly during every phase of the process, and will have a small amount to remove. On the other hand, many of us are not that familiar with this skilled procedure, and will have to sand alot to get our desired result. The most common tools for this is a sander which can be attached to a broom handle and a sanding block.
When sanding areas that need a lot of sanding, use a medium sand paper (120 grit) Â first and then switch to a more fine paper (220 grit) to finish the job. Sanding should be done using a wide stroke with the sander, to feather the edges a bit finer than they were done with the trowel. See the illustration below.
Finishing the Job
To the finish the job, you should go along the wall with your hand and a light close to the wall, looking and feeling for any imperfections in the wall. If you find some, simply circle the area lightly with a pencil and come back to it. Spread a thin scim-coat over the area and sand when dry, hopefully fixing the area in question.
When painting the drywall, a good practice to abide by is to apply a couple coats of primer to the drywall before painting.
We hope you enjoyed our post, and wish you Happy Renovations!
