Pros are prefilling EVERYTHING

They have v-notched the butt joints, then are prefilling all of those - and also all the recessed joints, before taping. How common a practice is this? These are actual pros. Not handymen. They are doing entire house that way. It's bad enough having to do that many joints, one time, in a house - let alone having to go over every single joint at least 3 times. I see no way they can do less than 3. And am most curious if that is ALL they have to do is 3 total applications of mud, counting the imbedding of tape.

 

I'm a painter not a drywall finisher but I've painted enough new construction to be familiar with their methods. I've never seen or heard of them V notching the joints but prefilling is pretty standard whenever you have a gap that's wider than it should be. While the V notch is important when repairing plaster cracks, I'm not sure it would be worth the extra effort with drywall. Hopefully one of the drywall pros will chime in later with better info.

 

Mark, they are not prefilling gaps. They sheetrock so good there are almost no gaps. They are simply prefilling all the joints, to even fill in the factory recesses.

 

The factory beveled edge is there for a reason - that allows the tape and mud to fill that recess so the finished joint is level. Prefilling it would make every joint like a butt joint

 

Dave, by "prefilling" what do you mean? Are they buttering the joints before they put up the sheetrock? Most finishers are on their way home by the third coat if needed. The guys that follow me usually, have two crews.....one to throw it on the wall and one to finish it. They keep in rotation that way and keep more jobs going at one time.

 

I think THEY know that also. Since I do not want to ruffle their feathers by asking them, I will simply guess that they figure the prefill coat will shrink, so that even when they tape over that, in the recessed edges, that it will still be recessed. Then they probably go over that one more time to be their 3rd and final coat. I inspected their work today after their mud coat, which is their second coat, and it is perfect/beautiful, and the tape joint does not stick out. But it is almost flush.

 

Prefilling is a common mudding term. It is when they fill in the depressions and joint gaps first, before taping. These guys are moving along quite quickly.

 

After reading your last post seen they know what they are doing.
Just ask if they are willing to do a touchup after you prime if they don't offer first.
Dave

 

They are doing beautiful work, even when you do the flashlight test across anything you choose. At first I thought maybe they shot primer at the ceiling. Nope, you can see the marks (BARELY) and the little sparkles that are in sheetrock mud after it dries. I guess they must figure that skimcoating is easier (for them, with their skills, anyway) than pole sanding, AND having the powder get in your eyes?

Or maybe it also serves as a uniform coat to attract spray on texture more evenly?

 

Spary on texture is used to hide crappy mud jobs. That's why all the cheap houses have it. So they can save money on the ceilings.

 

A skim coat always produces a better finish but I doubt they were able to completely eliminate the sanding process. It is possible they used a wet sponge instead of sandpaper. It will allow texture [or primer] to dry at a more consistent rate.

Make sure the painter knows the walls/ceiling hasn't been primed. I'd hate to see that step skipped especially on a good drywall finish job.

 

It’s just a pro’s trick: “Sometimes I’ll cut a V-groove along the butted
seam to remove loose or torn paper facing and allow
a deeper seam fill.” From: http://bestdrywall.com/files/ReduceCallbacks.pdf

They are skim coating rather than an additional prime coat to even out the porosity of the paper surfaces vs. the mudded joints for the texture finish: Photographing-
Drywall: Professional Techniques for ... - Google Books

You still need to prime it all before texturing, as per board manufacturer, pp. 18: A.2.3 A drywall primer compatible with the texture material shall be applied prior to the application of any water-based texture.

Prime after texture, before finish paint: A.4.3.1 Gypsum panel product surfaces to be painted or textured shall be primed with a drywall primer compatible with the final decoration.
A.4.3.2 Where paint materials are to be applied with an airless sprayer, the sprayer manufacturer's and paint product manufacturer's specifications for proper spray tip, application, etc., shall be followed. Sprayed surfaces shall be back-rolled for best results.
From: http://www.gypsum.org/pdf/GA-216-07.pdf

Gary

 

Thanks for your responses, Gary and Mark.

 

Are you paying them extra? or are they doing a great job for the same price as an ok job? I don't get it. Are you complaining?

 

It is not coming out of MY pocket.

They are doing an excellent job and there is nothing really to get. I was simply wondering if anyone knew if their methods are normal.