Loose nails may be driven the proper depth but a twisted or deformed stud can still allow the drywall to move in and out as it does not actually contact the twisted stud. If this happens the nail will eventually "pop" through the joint compound so make sure the drywall is firmly attached to the studding behind it. If it is, though, you can simply add a very thing coat of mud over the area and sand it smooth. So suddenly the light fitting became a socket for running the "wireless" or ironing. All Purpose Compound – Can be used for all phases of drywall finishing, from taping to the final coat, even the texture. It's not a matter of the job requiring three coats for some mechanical reason; it is purely aesthetic. Use all-purpose joint compound for taping and first coating corner trims. By using our site, you agree to our. Second, the knife should be held with the index finger on the metal part of the blade, and the other fingers gripping the handle. I don't mind taping and mudding drywall, but I hate sanding it. All-purpose compound is a pre-mixed mud sold in buckets and boxes. Check to make sure the compound is "adhesive". Is there any reason why I can't just use two coats of mud, the first to cover the tape and then a finishing coat? But joint compound is called something else in other countries, and the Elmer’s brand isn’t available at all in some places. But, there is some question in my head that I need an answer. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 45,440 times. Applied joint compound that has squeezed out from under the tape is scraped off using the same knife and can be reused unless it has picked up trash from the wall. Not sure what you mean, but all joints do need the tape for a little extra strength. The following DIY drywall finishing tips will help explain the Why, When and How to use setting-type compounds. Thanks for the comment, and I'm glad the hub was of some value to you. Second, why do many drywall workers frown on the idea of using a sponge to wet sand the drywall; after all, does not this dramatically reduce cleanup? USG claims it to be 25% lighter than any other conventional joint compounds. The objective is to fill the holes in the mesh tape as much as possible while still covering the tape completely. Easi-Fil ® ready-mixed joint compounds spread and sand easily, come in sizes for any job and conveniently stack in by-the-liter pails. Heavyweight joint compound is used for the base layers because it is a denser material. However, like any dry powder mix, it is susceptible to dampness, clumping, etc. Because of the non-existence of socket outlets, it was commonplace in the past for an adaptor to be screwed into light fittings that added a secondary lighting outlet to the fitting. Dip it in the compound and shake of some excess if you find you are dropping too much compound. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Again, any protrusions will result in an unsatisfactory job. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. We used three or 4 coats, the last one topping compound. Here, the goal is to cover the joint while maintaining the minimum crown effect. Dan Harmon (author) from Boise, Idaho on October 28, 2012: You're more than welcome, John. Do not, however, cover the tape with a thick layer of joint compound; just the minimum to cover the tape. As textured ceilings and walls have become more and more common the block coat has often become the final coat, needing only sanding, texturing and paint for a complete project. Until then, there will always be a nice pile to sweep,mop, or vacuum up and fine film of dust throughout the house whenever it drywall time. In this Building Skill we’re going to talk about ready mix mud and I’ll show you how to mix it so it goes on easily and spreads smooth. Again, check with a straight edge. Press firmly to create a tight hold. Appearance will be greatly improved if the compound is spread over a wider area; the inevitable crown is not nearly as noticeable that way. First, any decent quality straight knives are actually curved just slightly. Don't make that mistake. As regards solid concrete walls, yes they are a pain. It had at least one outlet in every room and sometimes even 2 in the larger rooms! Consider applying a small amount of joint compound into the seam if the gap between the 2 sections of sheetrock is somewhat pronounced. All Purpose Joint Compound is designed for tape application, fastener spotting and complete joint finishing of gypsum board. So I may try that on an inconspicuous joint and if it doesn't work out to well, I'll invest in a wider knife. It is preferable to mix lightly even if there is no separation; mixing changes the consistency somewhat and will make it easier to handle on a knife. Hope this helps someone. Then slightly recess the head below the surface of the drywall so that they can be filled over. The mud is ready for the paper tape here - note the depth on the penny. When primer sealer is applied it looks great until it drys, when the dimple appears. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Apply second … This is a powder that is mixed with water, and sets up rather than simply drying out - it is a plaster based compound. Several adhesives for tile look like joint compound, but are designed expressly for application of ceramic tiles. The butt joint will need two passes to apply the joint compound. @wilderness, Aye, there is certainly room for personal comfort and preference. This joint compound is sometimes also referred to as drywall mud by the profes… He ended up sanding off nearly an inch of joint compound, using a belt sander to do it, and nearly destroying the drywall underneath. Normally there are at least two coats of paint applied (counting primer) and often three; it would be unusual to have a little dust show through that much paint. A vacuum will do much better if you have large quantities of dust still on the wall, but a small handbroom will do the job as well. It would be unusual over screws, but it is possible, and it can take weeks for mud to dry completely in high humidity coupled with low temperatures. Level joint compound surface with a knife and cover container tightly. Small amounts of dust left are normal and nothing to be concerned about. What is the difference between joint compound and sparkling? Eugene Brennan from Ireland on February 17, 2018: The house I live in was built in the thirties and was then only wired for lighting, probably because appliances were few and far between. The more vertical it is, the fewer air pockets will be produced and the smoother the surface, but also the more gouges you will produce with very small movements and changes in the knife. LOL "Modern houses have a double wall of 4" thick concrete blocks...". It may feel dry, but that doesn't mean that anything but the surface IS, and that would result in delayed shrinkage later on. This is the last chance you will have to produce a perfect job, so make the best of it and check carefully for any imperfections in the block coat. First, thank you for writing such a powerful post. In any case, start mixing the compound with a mud masher or a drywall mixing paddle in a 1⁄2-in., low-speed (450-650 rpm) drill. When to Use Hot Mud Ready mix joint compound comes in a variety of formulas including all purpose, lightweight, and with dust control. In such cases, it is common to use only two coats as the texture hides a lot of imperfections even on the butt joints. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. We have tried several brands of primer sealer. Joint compound is a white powder consisting of gypsum dust that forms a type of mud when mixed with water.Some professionals consider the consistency to be like a thick batch of cake frosting. Thank you for the compliment. Any imperfection at all will show up in the final, skim, coat; it is not uncommon to lightly sand the block coat after it is dried to make a superior job. I must say this is the most technical treatment of the subject I've read. No. The closest we come to that is a stud wall covered with a thin layer in plaster and even that's rare today. It cannot emphasize enough that preparation is necessary before you begin to apply tape and joint compound. Use topping compound for the final two coats. Then use it full strength or slightly thinned for the top layers. I would note a couple extremely basic things that may help someone. I learned the hard way at my old house about taping the joint. When I added a range for a basement renter I disabled the oven so he couldn't blow the main fuse every time they were both cooking. Topping Compound to the Rescue. Most people prefer sandpaper, around 100-150 grit. Butt and corner joints will not be flat; a slight crown is inevitable as you apply joint compound over an already flat surface. ProForm 61.7 lb. Make sure the joint compound is not only set hard but dry before continuing. There is an art to applying joint compound and now is the time to begin learning. Probably reasonably safe for the wireless unless you touched the earth at the back, but definitely not safe for ironing in the days before GFCIs. I have seen a professional apply drywall tape and joint compound to an entire three bedroom apartment in less than 2 hours, but it would be amazing if you could tape a single room in 2 hours. It also requires less coats over fasteners and beads. You will sand this coat when finished, but it will pay large dividends to take extra time during the application to produce as flawless a surface as possible. With a little time and effort, the average homeowner who is reasonably handy around the home can successfully do the finish work prior to painting. Room temperature is good for this and individual coats should dry in about a day, but colder temperatures or high humidity can increase the time to as much as a month in very unusual circumstances. I'm doing this at the moment with insulated drywall sheets. I've been looking at some YouTube videos and some plasterers us a float and hawk to apply second and third coats rather than a wide knife. You’ll soon notice that the compound has fluffed up and feels softer. Shake it up before use. Is temperature a factor when using joint compound? Sand the final coat lightly when it dries and the drywall is ready for priming and painting. The convex side of the curve should always be the side pressed against the wall. As you continue the stroke, slowly flatten the knife towards the wall, providing more joint compound to the wall. Apply a light polish coat to the plastered surfaces around the repair area by wiping on the joint compound and then quickly wiping it off. No, we don't put drywall on masonry much. Let it dry before covering with regular drywall mud. An all purpose drywall mud, along with two common types of drywall tape. Your finished job will not only depend on this, but so will the amount of time and work needed as you proceed. Below ground there is always the dampness to consider (which will degrade drywall) and above ground we put in either steel or wood studs, likely to provide for utilities. The flat joint will need one pass with the knife to apply the joint compound followed by one or two more to smooth the compound, remove air pockets, clean up the edges, etc. Dan Harmon (author) from Boise, Idaho on October 01, 2012: Thank you Chris. Cover joint with a thin layer of compound and embed paper tape, leaving about 1/32 in. As the center of the joint is already crowned slightly from the tape you must apply joint compound to each side of the crown, to about six or eight inches out on each side. It is ready to use and can be applied in all the drywall finishing phases. Dan Harmon (author) from Boise, Idaho on August 21, 2010: While I've worked with people using Ames tools, I've never personally used them - none of my home jobs were worth the effort to try to learn how. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. It can be used for all phases of drywall finishing: embedding joint tape and filler and finish coats, as … Modern houses however are built using a double wall of 4 inch thick concrete blocks with a 3 inch cavity in-between which is filled with insulating slabs. Make each coat as near to a finished product as possible, given what you are trying to accomplish with that coat. If storing, cover leveled surface of joint compound with approximately 1/2" of clean water and cover container tightly. You will be left with a joint around 10 inches wide. It is set with the angle at a little over the normal 90 degree wall angle so that when pressure is applied it is still just slightly over 90 degrees; this produces a layer of applied joint compound that thins as it gets further from the center of the joint. The question wasn't whether to sponge *instead* of sanding. If your remodeling projects involve old plaster walls with moderate to severe damage, bathrooms with new tub/shower installations, or jobs that need to be completed in a hurry, then you need some inside information about how to use setting-type joint compound. Walls should be reasonably clean before proceeding. Taping compound is used for taping and bedding coats. Flat joints are expected to be flat when finished as you will apply joint compound to fill in the taper in the drywall. Joint compound comes in two "flavors"; hot mud and pre-mixed. If using paper tape, apply a thin layer of joint compound to the wall (see picture for how much) and gently press the tape into it using only enough pressure so that it stays on the wall without holding it. We refill and sand the holes and paint again - same thing, although a little less. Gaps between pieces of drywall need to be filled if large. Before applying the second coat of joint compound, make a quick look-over of your tape coat and repair or sand away any protrusions from the surface. It's always interesting to see different construction techniques and materials in differing countries and cultures. This drying compound hardens through evaporation—which means waiting up to 24 hours between coats. The skim coat should be at least eighteen inches wide over both flat and butt joints, and at least a foot each way on the corners. The block coat needs to be done as neatly as possible - you are approaching the finished product. If you're painting with a high gloss paint on a wall without texture you might consider vacuuming the wall or simply wiping it down with a rag or towel. Take a great deal of care to produce a flawless surface, without ridges, air pockets, or grooves from trash in the mud or on the knife. Of course, your knife will never be perfectly clean while using it, but one of the major uses of the pan is to regularly wipe the knife, both front and back. Any protrusions will make a smooth surface impossible to achieve. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Perform your repair as normal. For taping the walls it should be used as received without any dilution as any water addition also dilutes the glue and bonding ability of the joint compound. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Some jobs require that the entire wall be skim coated to produce the best possible finish, so spreading the skim coat out some won't hurt a thing. Take a few minutes to check out the installation of the drywall, correcting minor problems as you discover them, and you will find that the job will be much faster and easier with better results. When up apply it, don't let it protrude beyond the surface of the drywall or it will need sanded off before taping. If you have never tried to apply joint compound, a little practice with a piece of scrap drywall to learn how to handle the knife and how much pressure produces a layer of mud would be advantageous, but you can also learn while applying the drywall tape. If using a fiberglass mesh tape, stick the tape to the drywall down the center of the joint, and apply joint compound over it with a four or five inch knife. Dan Harmon (author) from Boise, Idaho on April 02, 2014: Not only does a tight grip give poor control but it is also very tiring. A little paint and your home improvement project is complete. Apply it full strength across the joints and at corners for bedding the tape. It is also possible that the difference in surface texture between mud and wallboard is making it look like a depression when it really isn't. I've always just stuck with the hand tools for my home repair or inprovement jobs and think most homeowners should do the same. USG sheetrock all Purpose joint compound is a professional-grade convenience for taping and topping, laminating and repairing, low VOC emitting with Greenguard Gold Certification. Do not discard the liquid; it is not simply water, but part of the joint compound. Like, How do you fill gaps before drywall taping? The side to be applied to the wall is the outside of the roll, but can also be found by grasping the tape on each side and gently bending it. You may get tired of working on it, but you will be happy you did in the long run. I'm not sure if a wet sponge is a reasonable idea or not. Corner joints to be taped with paper tape must have both sides done at once, and a corner knife is a very useful tool to have for that purpose. If you used that 6" knife to produce a 12" wide joint, and have no butt joints - they're all tapered - it is quite possible to get a smooth finished product with two coats. After drying the block coat, you are ready to apply the final, skim, coat of joint compound. "Mushroom" fixings (not sure if there's a proper name for them) are metal wedge type fixings for attaching drywall/insulation slabs to masonry walls. I would suggest using a straight edge to make sure it is actually flat. Not as hard as you thought. We visited Scotland a couple years ago and it really was interesting seeing the differences. It's best to use all-purpose compound for the first of these finish coats because it has good durability and adhesion. Dan Harmon (author) from Boise, Idaho on September 29, 2011: Thank you. How to Mix Drywall Mud & Water for Wall Texturing. (A tapered edge meeting a cut edge is unacceptable as it is not possible to finish it correctly). This grip will provide maximum control over pressure and angle of the blade. Pour off water before reusing joint compound. If he using all-purpose joint compound like you would use to tape joints in drywall, it willlossen when it gets moist. Most work is done using normal pre-mixed joint compound, and for the most part an all purpose formulation is more than adequate. Both "taping" and "topping" formulations are available, but I do not recommend them for the homeowner as they are different to work with and have a different feel—stick to one formulation so that you can become more familiar with it. Use a 12-inch drywall knife for maximum coverage. I've done this with one joint and then did the "torch test". For gypsum walls and ceilings applications. Hi, thank you for sharing this article on your blog. Thank you for a great article, by the way. This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. So – I’m hoping you can help out your fellow artists and craftpeople wherever you may live, and help me put together a list of product names for locally available materials that will work to make paper mache clay. This layer of joint compound should be pressed firmly onto the tape, but not so hard as to leave the tape exposed. You drill an 8mm hole through board and slab and hammer them home. This time, each type of joint will get a full knife width on each side with a final pass again in the center to remove the inevitable ridge. Thanks for the hub. A new bucket of joint compound may look mixed, it may look dry, or it may have a little water on top. When smoothing joint compound already on the wall, keep the knife at around a 45 degree angle to the wall. The Sheetrock Plus 3 is an all-purpose joint compound. Do not try to fill a two or three inch hole with joint compound of any type. I use two fingers myself sometimes, especially with wide knives when I have to skim whole walls. My wife would not hesitate to agree there. I hope your project goes well this time. Large amounts of dust, sawdust, or other materials will result in a lumpy wall and difficult application of joint compound. Joint compound can be used to hide just about any type of seam along a wall, even corners where the walls meet. Dan Harmon (author) from Boise, Idaho on June 05, 2012: @wildbillnj: It will actually take quite a bit of scuffing before the paper is really damaged to the point it will flash through the paint. Drywall that has been crushed into an adjacent piece is not acceptable and must be either replaced (preferable) or at least the crushed protruding area trimmed off. It is also considerably more expensive, so larger jobs usually use the paper type. I've been doing a lousy job of mudding for decades and never learned from anyone who was very good. Look for it in the above video, and you'll be surprised to notice he cleans his knife on the pan after almost every single stroke. of compound under feathered edge. Yes you will sand it, but only minimally. Is it better to scrape as much as possible off the drywall when filling and just leave the hole filled with no spread beyond the perimeter? The tape is slightly rougher on one side than the other and you must make sure the correct side is to the wall. The US requires an outlet every 12' in a residence - you're never more than 6' from one, but those B&B's were lucky to have 2 in a room. Use a 9-inch roller cover with a ½-inch or ¾-inch nap. % of people told us that this article helped them. I'll get it down eventually. All-purpose mud goes on smoothly and begins to harden in a couple of hours, depending on the temperature and humidity in the room. You should be left with a screw sized shallow hole filled with joint compound. i didn't use Spackle tape on a pint and now it's "moving". It can be difficult to cover both sides of a corner joint at one time as the knife tends to scrape off the material on one wall while smoothing the joint compound on the other wall. Thanks! I feel like I have a good guide and am looking forward to using this info next week. 3 All purpose joint compound which can be used in bedding and taping coat, filling and finishing coats. As noted above, finished flooring needs to be covered; you absolutely will drip joint compound and while it is water soluble and not difficult to remove, you will probably drip a. And lastly, the most common mistake of a new finisher is to have a dirty knife. This article has been viewed 45,440 times. Setting type joint compounds come in powder form and are mixed with water immediately before use. It results in cost savings for the professional and usually has a smaller crown on the butt joints. The preferred method is a quick set type of material as it has very little or no shrinkage. Since it is a lightweight compound, it can be easily applied and spreads easily. Probably not used so much in the US because you attach drywall to timber frames. If you use hot mud for taping, cover it with topping joint compound, which works well for creating smooth, even coats. Westpac joint compounds provide ease of mixing, excellent working time, and minimal shrinkage and provide a smooth finished surface. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/6f\/Use-Joint-Compound-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Use-Joint-Compound-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/6f\/Use-Joint-Compound-Step-1.jpg\/aid1355450-v4-728px-Use-Joint-Compound-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":306,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":485,"licensing":"