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?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.noah25d ago

Pre-filling is like flossing before brushing your teeth. Most people skip it and things turn out fine, but the ones who do it religiously swear by the results. I see the same pattern in every trade I've dealt with, the shortcut guys always seem to save time in the moment but end up chasing their tails on the back end. Twenty extra minutes per room adds up, but so does having to bust out the pole sander again because your tape didn't lay flat over a big gap. It's one of those things where you don't notice the payoff until you've done it both ways a few dozen times.

victor77925d ago

Heard a podcast call it the "hurry up and wait" cycle of drywall work. Skip the prep and you're just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

piper77925d ago

Twenty extra minutes per room? Man that adds up fast on a whole house.