Home improvement photos

[baconbits]

City slicker here... I knew people with well water had extras but never really wondered how the system worked. I guess I never realized you wouldn't want the pump to run all the time.

 

I'm hearing rumblings that leach fields for septic in Ohio are going to be banned in the next couple years for new construction. My old boss is kind of worried because his system will need an overhaul sooner or later and it's 20gs to re-do everything. I forget the name of the new system.

[jasejase]

They usually use a system that is kinda like a double drywell

[Rhitter]

Did more wall demo. Had to open it up more than I had planned because the Oven's power dangles right down in the wall I opened up.

 

I think I need to call an electrician to move it over. Most everything is opened and easily accessible.

 

Soon it will be time to learn how to dry wall. Any tips?

http://i.imgur.com/Hs2YsCj.jpg

[thefultonhow]

Soon it will be time to learn how to dry wall. Any tips?

 

Make sure you have a T square for cutting drywall. There is also something HD sells for marking electrical box locations. Never used it but I'm planning on getting one before my next project.

 

Get one of those rectangular mud trays and a 10-12" blade. The wider the blade, the easier it is to do smooth joints.

 

And allow 5 times the amount of time you think it will take to tape and mud.

Edited February 15, 2016 by thefultonhow

[jasejase]

I'll post up some thoughts as well, when I'm at the computer tmrw.

 

Looks great!

[rmoore5]

Did more wall demo. Had to open it up more than I had planned because the Oven's power dangles right down in the wall I opened up.

 

I think I need to call an electrician to move it over. Most everything is opened and easily accessible.

 

Soon it will be time to learn how to dry wall. Any tips?

 

 

My method :

 

1. Bed the joint with a coat of mud using a 6" knife centered on the joint. Use paper tape submerged in water and strip the excess water off between 2 fingers. Put the tape over the joint and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles and remove excess mud using the 6" knife. Add a smooth thin coat of mud over the tape. Allow to dry.

 

2. Using the 6" scrape any ridges off the mud. No sanding.

 

3. Using the 6" knife apply the 2nd coat mud and smooth with the 6" knife with the edge at the center of the joint leaving a 12 " wide joint. Be sure to leave enough mud to cover the tape. Allow to dry.

 

4. Again use the 6" to scrape any ridges off. No sanding.

 

5. Using a 10" knife apply and smooth mud with knife edge at the center of the joint leaving 20" wide joint. Allow to dry.

 

6. Using a drywall knife scrape any ridges very little sanding should be needed.

 

On the inside corners I use a corner trowel for bedding the tape and the first coat along with straight knives to extend the coverage width from the corner. Use the 6" to load the mud into the corner and switch to the corner trowel to smooth and form the corner.

 

The wider the joint the better the wall looks imo. Sometimes I wind up with a skim coat over the entire sheet if the fasteners and joints are close together.

 

As Charlie Daniels says : "That's how you do it son" .

Edited February 15, 2016 by rmoore5

[ehsnils]

Soon it will be time to learn how to dry wall. Any tips?

 

Leave a small gap between the board and the floor, like 4mm, so that if the floor get wet the water isn't taken up by the board.

[baconbits]

Soon it will be time to learn how to dry wall. Any tips?

 

Pay someone else to do it.

 

After doing my bathroom and talking to some ex-drywallers at work:

 

My method :

 

1. Bed the joint with a coat of mud using a 6" knife centered on the joint. Use paper tape submerged in water and strip the excess water off between 2 fingers. Put the tape over the joint and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles and remove excess mud using the 6" knife. Add a smooth thin coat of mud over the tape. Allow to dry.

 

2. Using the 6" scrape any ridges off the mud. No sanding.

 

3. Using the 6" knife apply the 2nd coat mud and smooth with the 6" knife with the edge at the center of the joint leaving a 12 " wide joint. Be sure to leave enough mud to cover the tape. Allow to dry.

 

4. Again use the 6" to scrape any ridges off. No sanding.

 

5. Using a 10" knife apply and smooth mud with knife edge at the center of the joint leaving 20" wide joint. Allow to dry.

 

6. Using a drywall knife scrape any ridges very little sanding should be needed.

 

On the inside corners I use a corner trowel for bedding the tape and the first coat along with straight knives to extend the coverage width from the corner. Use the 6" to load the mud into the corner and switch to the corner trowel to smooth and form the corner.

 

The wider the joint the better the wall looks imo. Sometimes I wind up with a skim coat over the entire sheet if the fasteners and joints are close together.

Is pretty damn close to what I do.

 

I mud a joint with a 6" knife (more mud than you think you should) and then lay the paper in dry with my hands. Get it up there just enough that it sticks, and then in the middle of the joint, put your 6" knife and drag it along the joint. You're going to squeeze the mud out of both sides of the joint, which is fine. With 100% certainty, if you have ANY air between the tape and that first layer of mud, it will crack and bubble and you'll have to cut it out and you'll be pissed.

 

Let that dry, and then I do the 6" knife on either side of the tape to have a 12" joint, then use a 10" knife for a 20" joint. By that point, sanding should be necessary, and then maybe some 12" knife work but hopefully not.

 

Buy more mud than you think you need.

 

Paper tape is pre-creased on the roll... just crease it "hot dog style" before putting it into the corners. I wouldn't use the mesh tape for new drywall.

 

Drywall has 2 different ends - the 4 foot ends are 90° and the 8 foot sides are tapered. Try not to have a tapered end meet with a 90° end... makes mudding difficult. The tapered sides are there to make the joints less visible because the mud has somewhere to go. Stand the sheets up so the 90° ends are hidden by base moulding and the ceiling, hopefully.

 

I left 1/4 - 1/2" gap at the bottom because my floor wasn't totally flat. Don't fret this too much because the base moulding will cover it up.

 

Coarse thread drywall screws are for wood studs. Fine thread are for metal studs. 1-1/4" are fine.

 

Don't drive the screws too deep. If the paper mushrooms or tears at all, you're going to have problems mudding (bump). A properly set drywall gun is invaluable.

 

Use setting compound to fill any GIANT gaps. It's more like plaster and doesn't crack as easily when it's a giant glob/thick joint. Be careful because it dries FAST. They make 5, 20, 45, and 90 minute setting compounds. I would only use this around an electrical box hole that's cut a little off (fill in the gap) or along the ceiling in your case if you don't get the angle 100% perfect. Glop it in there, smooth it a bit, let it dry, then tape and mud like normal. Setting compound is a BITCH to sand so do what you can to not have to.

 

Those are just some tips and tricks I learned through my travels mudding every wall and ceiling of my 50 square foot bathroom.

[jasejase]

Some fine tips have already been posted... Everyone has a slightly different method.

 

You should get a couple sized knives. One being the standard 5" or so, then another one that is 10" or so. use the larger one on your later coat(s), when you start to fan it out. You'll likely end up doing three coats of mud, with a light to no sanding in between each. Less is more. Less is more. REmember that, or you certainly will be when you're sanding

 

Outside corners are easy, just remember the metal corner bead that you nailed in, will let you scrape the excess mud right off of it with ease.

 

Also, they make inside tape now that is pretty nifty. You don't actually cover the corner in mud. Check it out at your local shop, they probably will have it by now. Saves some serious time. Otherwise, I like to cheat and use an inside corner tool sometimes Watch a youtube vid or two on this, and you will pick up some real world application skills.

 

Mesh tape is actually pretty handy for butt joints, but it's finicky. As is paper tape. Just try it and learn your own style.

 

Before you prime the wall, make sure you hit the wall with a spot light, to see all your sanding imperfections. once you prime it, it's a bitch to sand!

[rmoore5]

One additional tip is try not sand any bare paper, tape or board. It will make it fuzzy and hard to deal with. Edited March 18, 2016 by rmoore5

[Code]

City slicker here... I knew people with well water had extras but never really wondered how the system worked. I guess I never realized you wouldn't want the pump to run all the time.

 

I'm hearing rumblings that leach fields for septic in Ohio are going to be banned in the next couple years for new construction. My old boss is kind of worried because his system will need an overhaul sooner or later and it's 20gs to re-do everything. I forget the name of the new system.

 

Eco-drip system? My wife and I passed on a beautiful piece of property(19 acres with a pond and mineral rights) because we could only get approved for one of these systems. Stupid-expensive way of getting poop into the ground.

[baconbits]

Another tip - don't let the mud dry on any of your tools. "Eh, I'll just chip it off tomorrow" winds up being "Eh, I'll just buy new tools. This sucks."

 

There were a couple times with the setting compound where I wasn't fast enough and ended up having to wash out the pan and my knives halfway through.

 

Don't bother getting dry mix for joint compound... pay the extra 3 bucks for the premixed. Time and hassle saved is well worth it, plus you get a free bucket with water tight lid when it's gone.

[baconbits]

Another tip... take a couple big scoops of premix mud out of the bucket and drop it on the bottom side of the lid or in another small bucket. Add a cup or so of water to the big bucket and mix the shizzy out of it with a paddle and drill... premix is a *tad* too thick to be workable right out of the bucket. Almost every video I watched on youtube said to thin it out and they're right.

[jasejase]

Another tip - don't let the mud dry on any of your tools. "Eh, I'll just chip it off tomorrow" winds up being "Eh, I'll just buy new tools. This sucks."

 

There were a couple times with the setting compound where I wasn't fast enough and ended up having to wash out the pan and my knives halfway through.

 

Don't bother getting dry mix for joint compound... pay the extra 3 bucks for the premixed. Time and hassle saved is well worth it, plus you get a free bucket with water tight lid when it's gone.

 

I get to work with contractors all the time, and there's a big conflicting school of thought with this. Many of the drywall guys, let it dry, and refused to subject their tools to any kind of running water, soap, etc. When they are done for the day, they scrape them (between two blades), and get them as clean as possible. Next time they go to use them, they do the same thing. Keeps the blade in better condition, and stops the discoloration of the blade, etc. I dunno. LOL

 

The quick dry mud that is also stronger (cant think of the damn name.. I believe it has '2000" in the name though...), is a powder. I don't believe they make it in premixed. That stuff is amazing. Dries quickly, and doesn't really crack.

[Rhitter]

Thanks so much for all the tips. I'll give it a try, although I think at the end of this I might agree, should have just hired someone to do it...

 

But, I figure it's worth trying. Plus, I can see the seams on almost every single drywall sheet in this house. So the bar isn't too high.

[jasejase]

That's how our house is. They sheetrockers must have been high.

 

I've done quite a bit here and there... But for the more recent, and larger projects (or high ceilings), I ended up having a contractor help out. I can do it, and it will look great; but.... I just take WAY longer than I need to. I get a little to type-A with it. LOL

[rmoore5]

JaseJase...Yes, I learned from my Dad, 50 year card carrying bricklayer, never use water on your trowels. Use another trowel to scrape each other clean. But in today's "throwaway mentality" not many people keep things as long Dad did and I do.

 

OB2.5XT...Quickset compound isn't what you will need for the job in your pic. Cut the drywall to fit within a 1/4" and use premixed. I use the quickset for big fills and plaster repair.

[jasejase]

I agree... Only use quickset when you actually need to. That stuff is tougher to work with!

[baconbits]

The quick set stuff you're talking about is what's called setting compound for filling big gaps and poorly fit joints. This is always powdered.

 

Joint compound is the softer and easier to sand stuff you use when taping. This comes premixed in the 50lb buckets (and smaller, like 12lb) and dry in bags for small projects.

[jasejase]

Actually, I was talking about Durabond 90. It's considered a 'settling' joint compound. I've used it a few times. It's not that much different to work with, but the regular stuff that comes premixed is super easy to work with.

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/SHEETROCK-Brand-Durabond-90-25-lb-Setting-Type-Joint-Compound-381630120/202329670

[thefultonhow]

Coarse thread drywall screws are for wood studs. Fine thread are for metal studs. 1-1/4" are fine.

 

Disagree. Just use the fine thread for everything. It's a lot easier to dimple the drywall without driving the screws in too far. Otherwise, you pull the trigger a fraction of a second too long, and the screw pulls through the drywall and you're using another one elsewhere on the stud.

 

Oh, for durability's sake, I like to frame in such a way that the edges are over studs. Sometimes I'll put two studs side by side to accomplish this. (Of course, when I was framing out my basement, there were a couple of places where the studs were warped and I put one the opposite way from the other... oops!) If there's an inside corner, I make sure there's a stud in place on both edges of the corner.

[rmoore5]

Fine thread screws are a must for the real hard lumber (100 year old native stuff).

[jasejase]

Fine for metal and old wood. Coarse for wood.

 

A lot of guys just carry fine now. You can use it for everything.

 

I use coarse for wood.

[jasejase]

Disagree. Just use the fine thread for everything. It's a lot easier to dimple the drywall without driving the screws in too far. Otherwise, you pull the trigger a fraction of a second too long, and the screw pulls through the drywall and you're using another one elsewhere on the stud.

 

Oh, for durability's sake, I like to frame in such a way that the edges are over studs. Sometimes I'll put two studs side by side to accomplish this. (Of course, when I was framing out my basement, there were a couple of places where the studs were warped and I put one the opposite way from the other... oops!) If there's an inside corner, I make sure there's a stud in place on both edges of the corner.

 

 

That's just a matter of learning the limits a bit.

 

You should always end the edge of drywall on a stud. A single 2x is enough to catch both ends

[thefultonhow]

You should always end the edge of drywall on a stud. A single 2x is enough to catch both ends

 

Only if you don't care about screwing the drywall down at the ends...