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?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lisa24d ago

Oh man, I feel this so much! My dad was the same way, always yelling at me about hot mud and I thought he was just being a grumpy old man. But then I finally gave in on a really bad patch job with tons of deep gaps and holy crap, the difference was night and day. No shrinkage, no cracking, and it sands down so much smoother. I still keep the pre-mixed stuff for my top coats but I'm never going back for those first fills. It's like the old timers actually knew what they were talking about, go figure!

rubyk2623d ago

Isn't it funny how we fight learning from the old timers until we finally give in? I had the exact same stubborn streak with my own projects before realizing they were right all along.

simonp7624d ago

Yeah I used to think the old timers were just stuck in their ways too. Hot mud seemed like more trouble than it was worth with how fast it sets. But after trying it on a few jobs I had to admit they were right about the no shrinking part. Now I keep a bag of 20 minute stuff around just for pre-filling those deep butt joints and it cuts way down on my sanding time. Your neighbor knows what he's talking about.