Drywall Taping and Finishing

Drywall taping is sometimes considered an art form. The job itself requires a lot of practice and patience. If you’re a skilled taper, you can hide all the mistakes that were made while hanging the drywall. If you want to finish the drywall, you will have to tack into place corner beading to all the corners. After that, the joint compound should be applied to all the seams as well as the corner screw holes and nails. Once the joint compound dries, it shrinks. If you want to perform sanding between coats, you will need three coats of compound.

Drywall Taping Tips

Before you begin, there are some helpful tips about drywall taping but also some common mistakes about which you should know – especially if you are beginner. First of all, never rush. All the compounds should be completely dry before starting the sanding process. If you do not know how long it takes to dry, check the label on the material. Also, pay attention so you do not over sand. The job itself produces a significant amount of the dust, so always close all the doors to the room in order to avoid the transfer of dust to other parts of the house. Also, note that the drywall compound should never be over-applied. Instead, apply several thinner coat layers, as they will dry faster.

Follow carefully the following steps in order to perform the drywall taping process correctly, regardless of the situation.

1.       For the corners, use tin snips to cut the corner bead and tack it in place with nails. Make sure there is approximately five inches of spacing through holes that are manufactured into the bead. The bead itself serves the purpose of protecting the outside corners of the room from dents. On the outside corners, you should apply the compound from the trough while moving toward the bead. The excess should be scraped off in a downward stroke while the blade is extended beyond the corner.

2.       For the inside corners, a thin coat of compound should be applied to the corner area. This area should be wide enough so it can extend past the width of the tape itself. Take your knife and embed the paper into the compound. Next, cover the compound on one side, and once it is dry you can coat the other side. Take the corner knife and apply the second as well as the third coats with the light between the coats. During the sanding process, you should always wear a dust mask. If there is a higher area you are taping, use a pole sander.

3.       Regarding seams, you should unroll the tape across the seam – specifically in the place where two tapered panel edges meet. Use the knife to apply a compound swath right into the tapered trough within the panes. Fill the nail dimples, pack in dab of compound, and then level the surface using the knife. Leave it for 24 hours while the drying process completes, and then sand lightly all the rough edges. Add another coat and then sand lightly again. On the last coat, you need to add water to the joint compound. Use the wide knife and feather the final coat at 12 inches. Lightly sand over every area where there is compound.

Drywall Taping Videos

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMT6FipPHvk

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utCMeQoj070&NR=1

We hope that this has helped you in your attempts to do drywall taping correctly!