I use general purpose “setting type” compound for taping and “topper drying type” for the final coat. I read in a drywall book that this author prefers “High Strength” setting compound to embed the tape. Any opinions? is it better for taping? I use paper tape.
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IMHO it is more a matter of preference and technique.
A guy who is doing it all day every day wants to get a lot done. Setting type will kick in hours instead of a day or so. That way he is more likely to be able to get a second coat on certain areas the same day. Depending on the size of the job, this can be critical to profit or not.
It probably is harder, but that doesn't necessarily equate to better.
You are doing it correctly. Dont forget the metal gets the same treatment. I use paper tape also because I made a living with it. I suppose for some the newer mesh tape might be quicker . I just looked in the ames site and they rent a taper that despenses the mesh tape from the floor. Sort of like a bazooka, but much lighter. I guess Im getting behind on things. I always use the system you use for metal , even on a pretty good size house.
Sites for you to look at ; http://www.tapetech.com and http://www.ames.com. If you are like me , you can learn some new things looking at the new catalogs, and sites.
Tim Mooney
thanks for the info.
I avoid finishing drywall, I'm not in the trade, so I have no great experience with it but from observation it seems most finishers around here use the premixed general purpose compound in 5 gallon buckets. In fact after 20 years working construction, both single and multi-family residential, commercial and government, in this area I can't remember anyone using the fast set mix. I still have stacks of the empty premixed compound buckets. Very handy.
Thanks, I had been thinking of trying the redimix. I use paper tape, a friend keep telling me to try fiber mesh. Any comments?
On small jobs (50 sheets or less), we generally have been doing our own hang and tape for the last three years or so...a lot of the subs don't want our business unless we're doing a whole house, and I know too many other contractors who simply won't touch it (hey...can you say niche-work?). But anyhow, we started using EasySand mixable products last year and I wouldn't go back...once you get the hang of it, it's easy to get just the consistency and set time you want (from 5 minutes all the way to 6 hours...I think). Plus the stuff in powder form can last from one job to the next. Don't like mesh tape...just my opinion, but it seems too hard to build up right; paper's fast, easy to use, and like the rest of the job...works well when you get the hang of it.
mesh for amaturesExcellence is its own reward!
This may be a stupid question but... when you say "50 sheets" or "boards" what does that really mean to someone in the trade? Is that the equivilent to 50 8' sheets? In other words, a 16' sheet is counted as two boards or is a board a board regardless of length?
Jerry
50 of any kind of board. A lot of times, those might be 8 footers, such as in a basement remodel. I just use that figure as an example; we do our own drywalling on small jobs...a big addition or a whole house we hire out. Generally I only work with two drywall subs, and their availability, particularly during the summer is questionable (they are quite busy). Two other times I went with "different" subs for small jobs, and they both sucked...so it was just easier and faster on small jobs to do it ourselves, even though we're not nearly as fast.
Can you share with me your method of mixing these powdered products?I have tried large buckets with a regular mixing paddle...by the time I get these cleaned up,the mud has set up!I now use a kitchen mixing bowl and a mixer beater chucked into a cordless drill,works ok for one pan at a time,and I usually work drywall by myself.Spend a lot of time mixing,tho,if I were doing a big job.I usually use the mixes for metal,problems,and small areas.I switch to the ready-mix when I really get to slingin' mud.Rarely use mesh tape....what the heck was I thinking?
I have used the EasySand products a lot. generaly stay with the 60 set, you get more work time for larger batches. I mix in a painters 1 1/2 gal. bucket with a paint mixer on a corded drill. I put water in the bucket and add the powder with the mixer running. Keep adding and mixing untill I get the thickness I like. I keep a five gallon bucket of water at my mix site and clean the mixing blade by runing it in the clean water. The small bucket goes to the work area with me, where I fill my pan out of it. Figure about 45 minutes of work time for the 60 minute setting compound. Clean the pan and small bucket after runnig each batch. A drywall mixing paddle doesn't seem to provide enough shear when dispearsing a powder in water. I figured it was a whole lot like mixing dry pigment in resin durring the manufacture of paint, and it is. Paint manufacture use a Cowels mixing machine for that operation, and the blades look just like the painter mixer configuration.
Hope this helps.
Dave
I do my own rock and always use 'hot mud' for the taping and corner beads. Paper tape is also my preference since I've always had the problem of the texture from mesh tape ghosting through at the wrong times. I'll switch over to thinned down (1 quart of cold water to 5 gal bucket) all purpose for the last couple of coats always scraping with my knife between coats. Keeping a bucket of clean water next to the mixing station is the way to go for keeping your mixer clean. Like was already mentioned, just dip your stirring paddle (I use a paint style mixer wand) in and turn the drill on right after mixing the batch.
For diy'ers who fight paper tape, I always recommend using all purpose to set paper tape and if the tape gives them problems, they can dip the tape in water to get a better bond. And I'll usually recommend they start in a closet or somewhere not obvious to get a feel for what they're doing.
I do small remodels though and wouldn't repeat a project I did a couple winters ago where I hung 140 sheets in a basement with rounded inside & outside corners by myself. I was so burned out on sheetrock I wanted to scream... I'm just too cheap to pay someone else do what I can do...
I agree with the other guys on mixing. I generally will take a five-gallon bucket, put in about a 3 inches of water, then start mixing the powder in until it's a little thicker than yogurt. That's the size of my batch...generally about two boxes full. I use a regular, corded 3/8" drill and a paint-mixer...a long shaft that has two sets of what look like propellers. Smaller than a real drywall/plaster mixer, but it gets into corners and around the bucket fine.
I generally use EasySand 90, because I'm a lot slower than anyone else, and it still gives me a little more time to get things right. I've used small boxes (1lb'ers) of EasySand 5 to fill gaps and cracks before taping, but man...you've got to be fast. I also bought a bag of Durabond once....and only once. You have to be real good to use it, because although I agree it makes a tougher joint, it's like trying to sand granite it's so tough.
What's nice about the powders is you really can get the mud as thin or thick as you want...and if you hose up a batch (something get's in it, it boogers, cat barfs in it--and yes, that happened to my partner once), you're not throwing out the whole thing. Plus, if you keep it in a clean, sealed bucket, the powder lasts a long time...no throwing out half a bucket, or finding a 10-year old one stuffed away in your basement. So you can do little or big jobs.
Thanks for the tips on mixing.I pretty much agree with you on how to mix bigger batches of easy sand(90 is what I use most often),and when I can,I have a helper clean up the buckets and tools and do the batching some times.I really don't use that much of the setting type products,tho,I use it to patch up where necessary,or to speed up certain areas,and then I switch to the ready mix as soon as I can.
If you are working by yourself and trying to make decent progress,you really start to resent the time needed to clean buckets between batches...and if you don't have a handy supply of water...oh boy!what the heck was I thinking?
I'll use Easy Sand quite often, but back in my younger years I worked a summer for a drywaller that like to spot nails with Durabond. I've only met one guy that likes to set tape with Durabond. He claimed it gives a real tough joint. I can't argue with that but that stuff is too tough too work with for me.
Hi,
I use paper tape. Like dura-bond 90 for setting. Small batches. As was said, you can tweak the thickness with powder mixes. This is handy for large gap fills, doesn't slump out. Used all-purpose to set a few times. Much easier to work with, but old habits die hard ( dura-bond ). Always top with pre-mix. Note: seen some bonding problems with easy sand, I believe related to excess moisture in board. Take care.
Brudoggie