💡Thought Shares

c/drywall-installers

13

holly_reed55•19d ago

Found out drywall mud has an expiration date the hard way

I was mixing up some joint compound for a bedroom job last week and noticed it smelled like old socks. Checked the bucket and sure enough, it was 18 months past the date stamped on it. Has anyone else run into weird results from expired mud, or was it just my bad luck?

10

vera_johnson9•19d ago

I finally figure out why my tape was bubbling

Had a job last Tuesday in Phoenix where the tape kept bubbling up on the seams. Tried everything, different mud, different knife angle. Finally realized the humidity in that room was way off because the AC was broken. Had to wait for a dehumidifier to run for 4 hours before the tape would lay flat. Anybody else run into a weird environmental issue that messed up your work?

22

hannah400•23d ago

Appreciation post: Hit 200 square feet of perfect taping in one day

Everyone says you can't tape and mud more than 150 feet a day without sacrificing quality. But last Tuesday in Denver, I knocked out 200 square feet on a bedroom job. No bubbles, no ridges. It surprised me because I always bought into that limit. Has anyone else found their own ceiling higher than the usual numbers?

22

piperbailey•24d ago

That time a commercial drywall foreman told me to stop pre-filling my joints

About a year ago I was working a big job in an office building near Nashville and this old foreman walked by, saw me pre-filling my butt joints with setting compound before taping, and told me I was wasting my time. He said just lay the tape in all-purpose and come back the next day to coat it. I thought he was crazy because I've always pre-filled to avoid bubbles and blisters. Tried it his way on the next wall and sure enough got a few air pockets that took extra sanding to fix. Has anyone else had luck skipping the pre-fill step on larger commercial jobs or should I stick to my old method?

5

the_wendy•24d ago

My neighbor the old timer swore by hot mud for everything

Old guy next door has been doing drywall since the 70s. He told me to stop using the bucket mud for my butt joints and pre-fill everything with hot mud instead. I thought he was crazy because that stuff sets up so fast. Tried it on my last basement job in an old house with uneven studs. Saved me so much time on sanding because the hot mud didn't shrink back like the regular stuff does. Anyone else run into this trick or is my neighbor just weird?

12

the_wendy•25d ago

Debate: Is pre-filling gaps worth the time or just a waste?

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard yesterday saying he never pre-fills nail pops or gaps before mudding, just lets the tape and first coat handle it. But my boss swears by doing a quick skim coat on any spots bigger than a quarter from a 2018 job in Portland, says it saves sanding time later. I've tried both ways and I'm split-pre-filling feels smoother but eats up an extra 20 minutes per room. What's your take, do you pre-fill or just mud over everything?

16

joel_jones•26d ago

Walked into a new build last week and noticed the joints were all taped with hot mud

Went to check an HVAC vent at a new subdivision in Lenexa and saw the drywall crew was finishing up. Every single joint and corner was taped with 20 minute hot mud. Looked clean at first but then I saw the seams were already cracking in a few spots. Has anyone else seen crews skip the all purpose mud just to save time?

12

henryp40•26d ago

Debate: Should you pre-fill screw dimples or let the mud handle it?

I got into it with a guy on a job in Phoenix last week. He swears by pre-filling every screw dimple with a dab of mud before taping, says it stops bubbles. I always just let the tape coat fill them in and never had issues on 500+ sheets. Which way do you guys go and why?

19

charlescraig•27d ago

Rant: That 18 hour day I had last Tuesday on a ceiling job downtown

Man, I don't know what got into me but I took on this big ceiling job for a new restaurant over by 5th street. Figured I'd knock it out in 8 hours but the studs were all out of whack and every sheet needed cutting different lengths. By hour 15 I was just slapping mud on crooked seams hoping nobody noticed. I ended up sleeping in my truck for 3 hours before heading home. Has anyone else had a job that just snowballed way past what you bid?

-2

linda114•28d ago

I was dead wrong about pre-filling screw holes on the board

For years I refused to pre-fill screw holes before taping. Thought it was a waste of time and added an extra step for no payoff. Then last month on a big job in Austin, 120 sheets on a warehouse ceiling, I tried it on half just to prove myself right. The pre-filled side took me three fewer coats to get flat and I saved almost a full day of sanding. Now I feel like an idiot for fighting it so long. Anyone else have a trick they swore off until they actually tested it on a real job?

9

lilyp37•29d ago

That fancy automatic taper I was sure was a waste of money

My buddy brought one to a job in Toledo last week and I watched him finish a whole living room ceiling in 2 hours flat. Has anyone else tried one and actually found it worth the cost?

21

kelly638•1mo ago

TIL a 60-year-old drywaller taught me more in 5 minutes than YouTube did in months

I was working a kitchen remodel job in Seattle last spring and this old guy named Frank came by to check his work. He saw me struggling with a butt joint that kept bubbling no matter how many coats I did. Frank just pointed at my mud and said "you're mixing it too thick, needs to be closer to pancake batter than peanut butter." He showed me how to feather the edges twice as wide as I thought, and the joint disappeared. I had watched like 20 videos on finishing and none mentioned that specific thickness tip. Has anyone else gotten a game-changing trick from some random seasoned guy on site?

19

dakota415•1mo ago

Used to back butter every pre-fill, now I just skim and float

Back when I started doing drywall in Denver back in 2018, I was taught to mud the whole back of the board before setting it. Took forever and made a mess. Then I watched this old timer from Omaha do a whole basement in half the time just skimming the edges and floating the middle. Made me rethink everything. What do you guys do for big flat ceilings?

21

holly_reed55•1mo ago

Took me 4 years to try a banjo instead of a hand sander for butt joints

My shoulder used to ache by noon until I finally grabbed a 5-inch electric banjo 2 months ago after a buddy at a job site in Austin said 'your finishing hand is gonna thank you,' and now I can't believe I wasted so much time feathering edges with a manual pole sander has anyone else made that switch and noticed a difference in their wrist pain?

19

lee847•1mo ago

Overheard a commercial GC say "tape and float is for houses" and it got me thinking

Was grabbing lunch at a Subway near a job site and two older guys at the next table were talking. One said he bids tape and float at $1.20 a foot but he only does it for residential builders now. Said commercial is all about level 5 finish or nothing. Made me wonder if I'm leaving money on the table sticking with one market. Anybody else bounce between residential and commercial work or do you pick a lane?

26

wendy131•1mo ago

That Tuesday last March when nothing went right and I almost quit

Show up to a 3,000 square foot new build and the blue tape crew had left marks all over the wrong walls, plus the hoist seized up halfway through hanging the ceiling in the living room. Took me 14 hours just to get the board on the lid, has anyone else had a day where every single thing fought back?

5

spencer782•1mo ago

Saw a huge difference in sanding time after switching from paper to mesh screens for the final pass.

I spent 5 years using 120-grit paper for my finish sanding on a big hotel job in Phoenix last fall, but after my supply ran out I grabbed a box of mesh screens instead and cut my sanding time on 50 sheets from 2 hours down to 45 minutes with way less dust caking up, so has anyone else noticed how much longer mesh lasts on smooth taping jobs?

20

milarodriguez•1mo ago

Spent $80 on a stillevator for my last job and honestly it was a game changer

I was doing a big ceiling job in an old church downtown and got tired of climbing up and down my stilts every 5 minutes to grab another board. Bought one of those lift platforms that hooks onto your stilts for like 80 bucks and it saved me so much back and forth on that one day. Has anyone else tried one of those or do you just stick with the old way?

22

gibson.avery•1mo ago

Why does nobody talk about how much crap drywall dust ruins your vacuum?

I spent $300 on a decent shop vac last year thinking it'd handle the fine dust from sanding. After three big jobs, the filter was completely caked and the motor started smoking. Called around and found out you need a special dust separator attachment for another $80. Now I'm kicking myself because I could've just bought the right setup from the start. Anyone else wreck a good vacuum before they learned this trick?

1

dakota415•1mo ago

Tried using a drywall lift by myself on a 12-foot ceiling job yesterday and it nearly tipped over on me

I thought I could save time by not calling my buddy for help, but that 4x12 sheet caught a gust of wind through the open garage door and I spent 20 minutes wrestling it back onto the lift with just my knee and a prayer - has anyone else almost lost a sheet to a random breeze?

2

patricia_gonzalez•1mo ago

Vent: that architect in Austin who insisted on 5/8" fire-rated on a closet wall

Had a job last October at a new build off Lamar Blvd. The architect came by and chewed me out for using regular 1/2" board in a 4x6 closet. I told him it's not a garage or furnace room, but he made me tear it down and rehang 5/8" anyway. Waste of a Saturday and $200 in material. Has anyone else dealt with architects who over-spec for no good reason?

19

angela587•1mo ago

PSA: That one Thursday last month nearly cost me a whole job

I had a day last month that started great and then went totally sideways. I was working on a basement remodel in a house near Detroit, and the first three sheets went up perfect. No stud issues, no weird corners. Then around 2 PM, I hit a pipe with a screw and flooded the laundry room. Took me 30 minutes just to find the shutoff valve. The homeowner was watching me from the stairs, real quiet. I ended up having to cut out a 4x4 section of wet drywall and patch it the next day. Plus I had to pay for a plumber to check the pipe, which was $150 I wasn't planning on. Has anyone else run into a pipe that wasn't marked right on the blueprints?

19

ellioth37•1mo ago

That hidden stud I thought I found cost me 4 hours of rework...

Was doing a ceiling patch last Tuesday and thought I hit a stud with my screw gun. Turned out it was just an old metal pipe strap behind the board. I didn't check with a magnet first and by the time I realized, the whole section was sagging. Had to pull down 3 sheets of 5/8 and start over. Total time wasted was about 4 hours between demo and rehanging. Has anyone else had a pipe or conduit trick you into thinking it was a solid anchor?

12

ellioth37•1mo ago

Had a day last month where everything went sideways on a ceiling patch job

I spent 5 hours trying to match the texture on a living room ceiling after a pipe leak, but the homeowner's dog kept knocking over my mud pan and I finally just told them to pick a different finish and walked off the job, has anyone else had a job go so bad you just had to walk?

3

holly_reed55•1mo ago

Wasted $200 on that fancy automatic taper early on

I bought one of those self-feeding automatic taper tools when I first started doing drywall as a side gig about 2 years ago. Thought it would save me tons of time on big basement jobs near my place in St. Louis. Honestly, it clogged up after like 3 passes, wasted a ton of mud, and I just went back to my old manual banjo. Cost me $200 plus a Saturday afternoon of frustration putting it together and cleaning it. Anyone else dump money into a fancy drywall gadget that just sits in the garage now?