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I don’t know how it is in other parts of the country, but around here drywall guys are a dime a dozen. They work cheap,too!
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KK
What type tint do you use?
Tony
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Tony,
I use regular paint tint from lumberyard. They just squirt some in a gatoraid bottle. Don't use yellow, itlooks like baby shit on walls.
KK
*Little Joe,Judging from the ongoing mudding jobs that I have seen, you must lose just as much mud to the floor as you get on the walls if you think the pros are so much neater.Never thought I'd see the day when drywall mudders would be considered neat.Maybe I've never seen a truely professional crew...Rich Beckman
*Rich -- Guess I was pretty stressed when I wrote the original post (and possibly a little giddy from being in a hot, stuffy little room working on the ceiling). Thinking back now, I do recall seeing an awful lot of mud after the rockers had been through on jobs. Trying to figure out how to cut down on the waste more than the mess. Using a hawk was suggested -- may have to give it a try. LJ
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Mudding is messy. That's what makes it sooo much fun.
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Now that I think about it, my determination to be neat is probably the single most important reason I can't do good mudding.
Rich Beckman
*Thanks James,How do you do inside corners with it? (How do you get the fold in the tape??)
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Got home from mudding on a small (tiny) job a little bit ago and think I've decided to leave the mudding to the "professionals" from now on. If I end up having to do some hanging/taping as part of a larger job, so be it, but no more drywall only jobs. I always seem to end up with as much mud on the floor or myself as on the ceiling/walls. Is this typical? I haven't worked with anyone really good (i.e. full time rockers) but from seeing the job they do, they seem to do a much cleaner, decidedly more efficient job. Think I'll stick to cuttin' wood and swingin' the hammer.
Since this the construction techniques board though: Are there any pointers to help taping/mudding be easier/more efficient possibly with less mud pies on the floor (for the customer's sake)? Thanks. LJ
*Practice, practice, practice Joe. I thin my first coat quite a bit, so I lose a lot on the floor and in my beard. But not as much as I used to- its all in the wrist. Leave the floor dirty and dusty before taping and the blobs won't stick so bad. Or put builders paper down, (easy to walk on).
*The building paper is your best bet. I've also decided that it's not like riding a bike. If you dont do any taping for years at a time, you lose your stroke, you lose your feel and touch with the mud and start to get it back about the time you're done.JonC
*LJ-I make this decision a while back. I'll dry wall if and only if there is a small amount of it, and it is part of a bigger job. I'm just plain not good/fast enough to justify what I want an hour to do it.
*Little joe, I agree with Jon, a 10$ roll of building paper will keep your floors clean, just takes a few minutes to put down. And I always get real good at mudding just as I'm finishing the job.
*Get yourself a taping gun, and practice on the floating technique. I cut my taping time down to about 1/3 of the time it used to take me. The gun is fast, and clean to use.Floating, on the other hand, is a skill that just takes practice. You gotta do it a lot to get good at it, and you gotta do it often to stay good at it. OR... you can make a mess, blob a lot on the seams, and sand, sand, sand, and sand some more.... Now we're talking about a real mess!James
*This taping gun you're talking about, if it's not a banjo, what is it and exactly what does it do?Hopelessly dated, JonC
*JonC--I was wondering the same thing. Banjo or something new? LJ
*James, is that the taping gun I've seen at homedepot for 70 bucks, made by Wallboard? I gotta lotta taping to do real soon.
*Leave it to the pro's.Ed. Williams
*Best trick I ever learned was to thin it with liquid dish soap. There's some kinda soap in there already, so is doesn't hurt anything. I generally open a fresh bucket, and squirt in enough soap to cover the top in a 1/4 inch deep/thick layer. Then chuck the paddle mixer into the drill and mix the top third of the bucket. After you go down a third into the bucket, mix up a little more. This makes the mud nice and creamy, no lumps, sticks great, and feathers even better. I also got a hawk(sp?) and much prefer it to a pan. Easier to keep clean to. Keep everything clean, no drywall boogers to streak up a nice bed, and WD-40 all the tools at the end of the day. Jeff...hatin' drywall but always doing it.
*Use a hawk, apply with a smaller width knife skim with a wider knife. While skimming of keep hawk under knife "in the drop zone". Thin mud to a workable consistancy, always mix mud prior to using(if using premix). Taunton has a good book/video on this, I bought the video and used to watch it before a job because you forget the tricks if your not doing it every day.I have learned to have patience and try to enjoy yourself otherwise it is worse than chinese torture.
*I don't know how it is in other parts of the country, but around here drywall guys are a dime a dozen. They work cheap,too!
*I like to mix some blue tint in the second coat to make sure everything gets hit. It helps with final sanding and looks cool too. USG mud only, no cheap stuff.KK
*Not here. Only a couple of true drywallers -- always booked and not cheap! LJ
*Hey Jim,The gun I use is actually an el cheapo model made by Homax. I went to a local lumberyard looking for a banjo gun, and they didn't sell them. They did have the Homax gun though. They had two versions - one is plastic and lightweight, the other is stainless steel and a little heavier. I went ahead and bought the plastic one to try it out and see what I thought of these types of taping guns. That was 4 years ago, and I am still using the heck out of this little bugger. I keep telling myself that when it wears out, I will buy me another one, but it keeps on going. The plastic version was $29.99 and the stainless steel one was $49.99 (four years ago).They do look a lot like the banjo, but mine is a lot easier on the hands, and a little longer. I can stand on the ground and tape an 8' ceiling. Any higher and I use a home-made set of stilts (actually two plywood boxes with a pair of old tennis shoes nailed to them)Works for me!near the ditch...James "Loving Life" DuHamel