What type of compound is easiest to use for a beginner? All purpose? Lightweight All Purpose?

What type of tape is best for a beginner? Specifically, for inside corners.

Can a 5/8" gap on a sheet of ceiling drywall, where it meets the wall, be fixed, or do I need to replace the sheet?

Thanks.

 

Paper tape is easy to use and IMO all beginners should learn to use it. It helps if you thin your all-purpose mud with just a shot of water to make it a little more smooth and creamy. You lay a thin layer of mud on the wall (or corner), lay the tape into the mud, press it lightly with your fingers as you unroll it into the mud... then when you come to the end of what you are taping, pin the tape down with your 4" knife (held perpendicular to the wall) and then just tear the paper off. Then go back to the middle of that tape and wipe to the right (you are trying to squeeze all the mud out from behind the tape) and then go back to the middle and wipe left. (you'll need an oblong drywall pan in one hand so that you can scrape off the excess mud and put it back in the pan to be reused.)

All purpose mud is best for taping and for your final skim coat. When the tape is dry, I prefer to mix up dry powder mud (Durabond Setting Compound 20 or 45 minute- Easy sand, also called "hot mud") a pan at a time for filling all the joints. I only use paper tape, the mesh is crap IMO. On a corner, the paper tape has a crease that you just fold in half then press into the mud you've laid on the corner. Press it into the corner with your 4" knife. Then you wipe it with a corner trowel. With paper tape, you have to wipe in one direction. You can't work from both ends and go to the middle because it will create a wad in the tape. But you can start at one end... or you can start in the middle of the tape and wipe in each direction.

When taping corners, you might find that if you tape 4' at a time, it will work well- tape the bottom 4' of the corner and pull up with your corner trowel, then tape the top 4' of the corner after that, and pull down with your corner trowel.

Each coat should be completely dry before you apply the next. Putting box fans in the room will help circulate the air so that it all dries fairly evenly. Nothing worse than being ready to tape and finding that some of the corners are still not dry. Fans help with that.

On the 5/8" gap, that's really not too cool, but you could prefill it with some of that Durabond Setting compound and let that dry before you tape. Setting compound sets up harder and is stronger and less likely to break off. Your tape will cover most of that 5/8" repair so I wouldn't sweat it if it's just one spot.

You always want to prefill any gaps with hot mud before you tape, so that the tape doesn't pucker in or out as it dries. Just fill the gaps and wipe down tight, leaving nothing on the paper.

If you want to use lightweight, I would probably only recommend it for your final skim coat, when you go around and kill all the sharp edges that might be left. Going around with a bright light will help you identify these after you sand. Some guys will even give a skim coat after the wall receives a coat of primer. The paint will really make anything you missed show up big time.

You might have a professional drywall finisher chime in eventually and give his opinions... I try not to do any more drywall finishing than I have to. It gets my pants dirty.

 

Thanks for all the help.

What keeps the mud from falling out when filling the 5/8" gap on ceiling(where it meets the wall)? I didn't mention that the gap runs perpendicular to the ceiling joists, so there's nothing up there between the joists.

A guy at Home Depot told me I have to use the bag mix mud on metal corner beads. Is that correct? What about vinyl corner beads?

 

I thought you said the 5/8" gap was where the ceiling meets the wall. Are you saying it runs perpendicular to and quite some distance away the wall?

If it's large/long, it might be better to recut the sheet if you think it can be made tighter. But in any case, if you mix up the hot mud (the dry bag mix setting compound) at the right consistency, it will stay in the joint just fine. It may want to sag a little, but if you wipe it one more time as it starts to set up, you can eliminate most of that drooping. (If it dries drooped, you will want to scrape/sand most of that hump off before you tape.) All that will get covered by tape, and that crack will then disappear after you float the joint out. Anytime you have a big gap like that it just makes it more likely that the area will be a problem in the future as things expand and contract. If you can fix it by hanging a new sheet, do it. If it's not practical to, prefill it and forget it. One joint like that is not so bad, but if you had a handfull of them you would need to fire your drywall hanger. LOL

Yes, you can use the hot mud to fill all your joints and to first coat your corner bead, both vinyl and metal. You will have less cracking if you do that. Just be sure you get the white and blue bags that say "easy sand" on them, not the brown paper bag colored ones. Some guys tape their metal corner bead edges, but I think that's overkill.

 

I would post a pic if I knew how to. Sorry.

The 5/8" gap IS where the ceiling meets the wall. The gap is on the edge of the ceiling sheet, where it runs parallel to the wall. But the gap runs perpendicular to the ceiling joists, so there's nothing up there to hold the mud. That's why I thought it would fall out.

Is it best to use hot mud on the corner beads and seams, or is all purpose premix mud just as good? Thanks.

 

Yes, you can use the hot mud to fill all your joints and to first coat your corner bead, both vinyl and metal. You will have less cracking if you do that.

 

I would just add that you never want to apply the mud thicker than needed! 3 thin coats will always give a better finish than 1 or 2 heavy coats of mud ..... less sanding too

Hot mud dries harder than the ready mix j/c and doesn't shrink as it dries. Setting compounds are also harder to sand than regular j/c. I often use durabond but switch to j/c for the final coat for the ease of sanding. Since j/c is water soluble, you can use a wet sponge to smooth it out if sanding dust is going to pose an issue [like making repairs in a finished house]

 

I agree about the final coat and the sanding... so when you asked about the All purpose mud and/or light weight, they are best for taping and for your final skim coat.

 

Thanks. I was hoping to just use the hot mud for filling the gap, and all purpose pre-mix for everything else. Is that a bad idea? I only have a 3/8" drill, and don't feel like buying a 1/2" drill to mix it.

 

That would be fine. If I only have a small amount to mix, I'll mix it in my mud pan. The ready mix j/c will spread better if it's thinned a little - I don't know if a 3/8" drill is stout enough to mix it in the pail.

 

As far as using the pre-mix, I thought about putting some in a smaller bucket, then thinning and mixing it in there. Couldn't I use a paint stir stick or maybe a 1X2?

 

A 1x2 might work, a stir stick would break - j/c is fairly stiff.

 

A potato masher with a long handle is one drywall tool that works to mix buckets by hand. But it's not as fun as a paddle.

How big of an area are you finishing? Like marksr, if it's a small area, I will mix up one pan of mud at a time.

 

It's the ceiling only of an 18' X 18' room, including 2 soffits. The walls are already painted drywall from a previous owner. We used 12 sheets of 4' X 8' drywall.

From what I've read, the premix in buckets is too thick to use without thinning with water, correct?

 

Mud straight out of the bucket can be used as is but it's not much fun. It's harder to spread and that often means you'll have to do more sanding when it's dry Thinning the j/c slightly makes it spread easier and go on neater

I had forgotten about the 'potato masher' I always mix small amounts in my mud pan and use a 1/2" drill/paddle when mixing large amounts. One advantage to mixing in a pan is if you find you added too much water you can add more undiluted mud to stiffen it back up. It shouldn't take long to get a feel for the right consistency. Personally, I'd either mix a mud pan at a time or take this job as a good excuse to increase my tool arsenal and go out and buy a HD drill and paddle.