c/drywall-installers

Found out drywall compound has a shelf life after trying to use a bucket from 2019 on a job in Phoenix last week

Spent 2 hours mixing what felt like concrete before I looked at the date stamp and realized the stuff was 4 years expired, has anyone else accidentally tried to resurrect ancient mud?

2 comments

drew_park•3d ago

Tried automatic taper versus doing it by hand for a big ceiling job in Denver

I had this 2000 square foot basement ceiling to do last month and decided to finally rent an automatic taper. My buddy swears by them but I always thought it was more trouble than it's worth. After 400 feet of ceiling joints, I was done in half the time and my wrist wasn't screaming at me. Has anyone else switched over and found it worth the rental cost for certain jobs?

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alice_palmer20•3d ago

Serious question: Who told you to pre-fill all screw dimples before taping?

My foreman Mike swore I'd save time doing it all at once after hanging, but I tried his method on a 40-board ceiling last Tuesday and ended up wiping mud off three times because it was drying too fast.

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robert_anderson69•3d ago

Hit 100 straight ceilings without a callback. Changed my mind about taping mud.

Always used all-purpose for everything. One old timer told me to switch to topping compound for the final coat. Cuts sanding time in half and corners come out cleaner.

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clark.robin•6d ago

That coffee shop drywall job in Portland was a nightmare

I was helping a buddy with a coffee shop renovation over on Hawthorne last month. The owner wanted this real smooth finish on the walls, like level 5 smooth, but they had old plaster behind the drywall. We ended up having to skim coat the whole place twice because the moisture from the espresso machine kept popping the tape. Took us an extra 3 days on a timeline that was already tight. Has anyone else dealt with humidity messing up their finish like that on a commercial job?

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patricia317•6d ago

Tried the hot mud on a tricky corner bead and it saved my sanity

I've been using the regular all purpose mud for years on corner beads, but last week I had a job in a bathroom that was way out of square. The paper tape kept bubbling and I was about to lose it. So I grabbed a bag of 20 minute hot mud and mixed it up fresh for each corner. It set fast and held the bead tight with no bubbles at all. I finished the whole bathroom in one day instead of two. Has anyone else switched to hot mud for problem corners?

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holly_sanchez75•6d ago

Changed my mind about pre-filling corner beads after talking to a 30-year guy in Omaha

I always thought pre-filling corner beads was a waste of time. Then I was working a job in Omaha last month and this old timer named Dave watched me mud a corner. He said 'you're fighting the bead the whole time because you didn't lock it in first.' I tried his way on the next room and it cut my sanding time by like half. Has anyone else had a veteran change how they do a basic step?

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jamesf26•7d ago

The moment I stopped over-mudding my tape joints

6 months ago I was working a basement job in Cleveland and my buddy Mike watched me for like 5 minutes. He just said 'dude you're putting twice as much mud as you need.' I got defensive at first but he showed me his method with just a thin coat and less pressure. My joints came out way flatter and I stopped having to sand forever. Has anyone else had that 'aha' moment where someone called out a bad habit you didn't even notice?

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grantschmidt•9d ago

Remember sanding blocks made of scrap wood? Feels like a different era now.

I started hanging drywall back in 98 in a crew out of Omaha. We'd take a 2x4, wrap it in sandpaper, and staple it on the back. That was your sanding block. Your wrist would be shot after a couple hours of that. Then around 2005 I picked up one of those rubber sanding blocks with the handle at a supply house... thing cost maybe 8 bucks. Felt like cheating. These days I use a pole sander with a swivel head for most of the flat work and only bust out the hand block for corners. Saves my shoulders a lot of grief. Did anyone else's old-timers swear by the scrap wood method or was that just my crew?

3 comments

claire_wells87•10d ago

Appreciation post: the debate over using mesh tape vs paper tape on inside corners keeps coming up on every job I do

Last month on a big basement finish in Arvada, the crew lead swore by paper while the new guy insisted on mesh, and I'm still not sure who was right after watching both fail on different spots, so which one do you guys actually trust for long-term results?

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the_evan•10d ago

Tried staggering my butt joints on a 14-foot ceiling wall instead of lining them up

My partner argued it would take longer but I saved about 45 minutes on taping because the seams didn't stack up, has anyone else given this a shot on tall walls?

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the_ryan•11d ago

Finally tried the hot mud trick for my butt joints and I'm kicking myself

For years I've been using all-purpose for everything, taping and topping. Last week on a big basement job over in Maplewood, I ran out of all-purpose mid-mudding and only had a bag of 20 minute hot mud in the truck. Figured I'd use it to finish the butt joints just to get through. Man, the difference was night and day. No shrinkage cracks, no waiting around for it to dry. I still like all-purpose for the top coats but for the first two rounds on butts, I'm converted. Anyone else stick with one type of mud or do you mix it up depending on the pass?

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vera308•13d ago

Rant: Everyone loves those big automatic taper tools but I say they're overrated

I used a Banjo Taper for 3 years straight on a big commercial job downtown, and yeah it lays mud fast, but my finishing time went UP 20% because of all the cleanup and shimming. Switched back to a hand box and knife last fall and my partner noticed the difference in our daily sheet count immediately. Am I the only one who thinks these gadgets just create More problems for the guys who have to fix the tape later?

3 comments

oliviat17•13d ago

Just learned drywall mud has a shelf life printed on the bucket

Honestly I never even looked at the date on my joint compound buckets until last week. I grabbed a bucket from the back of my truck that had been sitting since June 2023 and the mud was all grainy and clumpy. Checked the label and it said best by 10 months from manufacture. Now I rotate my stock like a grocery store and write the month I opened it with a sharpie on the lid. Has anybody else had a whole bucket go bad on them like that?

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blakem13•16d ago

Vent: Blew $120 on a fancy drywall lift that barely worked

I bought one of those "pro-grade" drywall lifts from a contractor supply spot in Phoenix thinking I'd save time on a big ceiling job. Thing couldn't hold a 12-foot sheet straight without wobbling like crazy, ended up having to use a buddy and some 2x4s to brace it out. Total waste of cash since I returned it but lost the shipping and restocking fee. Anyone else get burned by a tool that looked good in the ad but failed on site?

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rowan725•18d ago

Can we talk about how long it takes to fix bad butt joints from the previous crew

I ran into a problem last month where the guys before me left gaps over half an inch wide on every seam. It took me 4 days to tape and mud that one room instead of the usual single day. Has anyone else dealt with a mess that bad and found a faster way to patch it?

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alexw75•21d ago

My taping knife trick was completely backwards for 5 years

Was working a ceiling job in Portland last winter and this old timer watched me for about 2 minutes before he laughed. He pointed out I was holding my 6 inch knife at the wrong angle the whole time, putting way too much mud on. I felt like an idiot but my corner work got way cleaner after that. Has anyone else had their whole technique flipped by a stranger on site?

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sage_dixon•21d ago

Finally using a banjo instead of a hand trowel for taping inside corners

I've been fighting inside corners for years with a 6 inch trowel and getting lumpy tape. Last week I grabbed a cheap banjo from the supply house on a whim. Setup took 10 minutes to get the mud consistency right but once it flowed it laid perfect tape every time. Now I'm kicking myself for waiting 8 months to try it. Anyone else switch and never look back?

3 comments

joseph_adams66•21d ago

Taping a whole basement solo in 1998 compared to today

Three years ago I did a basement in Maplewood with my old crew, we mixed our own mud by hand and used paper tape for everything. Last week I watched a new guy do the same size room with all-purpose premix and fiberglass mesh tape in half the time. Has anyone else noticed the younger guys skipping the paper tape completely or is that just around here?

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kelly_nelson95•22d ago

That expensive tape measure I bought was actually worth it

I spent $40 on a FatMax tape measure last year and thought it was a total rip off until I dropped it off a 12 foot scaffold and it still worked perfectly. Has anyone else found a piece of gear that seemed overpriced but ended up saving you time?

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lisak26•22d ago

Walked into a new build in Phoenix and lost it over the corner beads

I was doing a final walkthrough on a 3500 square foot custom home yesterday and the tape joints looked fine but every single corner bead had dents and waves. The GC tried to tell me it was normal settling but Ive been doing this 12 years and I know better. Anyone else deal with builders who try to blame bad corner bead work on the framing?

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sage_dixon•24d ago

My $30 corner tool FINALLY bit me on a big commercial job

I was finishing a 40-unit apartment complex over by the river last Tuesday and thought my trusty cheap corner trowel would hold up. Nope, the blade snapped right off halfway through a long hallway and left a nasty gouge in the fresh compound. I had to stop, borrow a coworkers Level 5 tool, and redo that whole section. Has anyone got a favorite brand that actually lasts more than a few months?

3 comments

caleb_thomas93•24d ago

I finally checked the actual cost of my drywall tape waste over a year

I ran the numbers last week and realized I'm throwing away around $180 a year in scrap mesh tape because I keep cutting too long strips. Anyone else ever actually calculate what they're losing to bad habits?

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parker_thomas•25d ago

debate: $60 mud pan vs the $8 plastic one

I shelled out $60 for a stainless steel mud pan and honestly it's way easier to clean than the cheap plastic ones. But my buddy says he goes through one plastic pan a month for $8 each and doesn't see the value. Which side you on for daily use?

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kelly_nelson95•26d ago

That cheap tape vs. FibaFuse choice cost me a full redo

I had to decide between standard paper tape and FibaFuse for a basement job last month in Portland (you know, damp conditions). I went with the cheap paper tape to save $40 on the whole order. Three days later I spotted bubbles and peeling along every seam because the moisture got to it. Had to rip out 8 sheets of drywall and start over. Has anyone else gambled on tape and lost real time?

2 comments