c/drywall-installers

My third straight ceiling job this month finally felt smooth.

Last Thursday I overheard a pro saying he never uses mesh tape on butt joints, just paper. I tried it on the last 12 foot seam and the finish sanded almost flat. Has anyone else found that trick cuts down on mudding time?

Overheard a homeowner tell his buddy he could do my job with a butter knife

I was mudding a basement in a new build out in Maplewood last Tuesday and this guy walks through with his friend, points at my drywall and goes 'looks easy enough, I could do that with a butter knife and a bucket of spackle.' I just kept working and pretended I didn't hear him, but inside I was laughing. Dude had zero clue about the prep work, the tapered edges, the tape, the three coats of mud, the sanding, the dust everywhere. I wanted to hand him my trowel and say go for it but I know better. Honestly it made me think about how much we take for granted as installers. Has anyone else had a homeowner or customer say something so clueless you just had to bite your tongue?

Called BS on the wet sanding method for drywall for years...

An old timer at the supply house in Nashville kept telling me to try wet sanding my mud instead of dry sanding. I just figured he was stuck in his ways and didn't want to buy a pole sander. Last month I had a tiny bathroom job with no windows and the dust was just insane. I finally caved and grabbed a sponge and a bucket of water. Honestly, it cut the dust down by like 90 percent and the finish was way smoother than I expected. I still use my pole sander for big open rooms though. Has anyone else had better luck with one method over the other depending on the room?

Finished my first corner bead repair at that old church in Oakville

I spent last Tuesday patching up a busted corner bead at St. Mary's on 3rd Street. The original metal was all rusted out and the mud was cracking everywhere. I used a vinyl bead this time and it went in smooth. Has anyone else tried switching from metal to vinyl on older buildings?

The foreman on that high-rise in Denver taught me a new way to hang board solo

He showed me how to use a drywall lift and a screw gun with a dimpler attachment to hang 12-foot sheets by myself, and I cut my time in half on that last job, so has anyone else tried working alone on tall ceilings like that?

Learned the hard way why you don't skip the corner bead on inside corners

Was hanging drywall in a basement remodel up in New Hampshire last month. Got in a rush on a closet wall and decided to just tape the inside corner instead of putting in metal corner bead. Figured it's a closet, nobody will look close. Well the mud cracked right down the seam after two days. Had to cut out the whole section and redo it with bead. Took me an extra 3 hours. Has anyone else had a similar shortcut backfire like that?

That old school hand taping trick I swore by till I tried a banjo

Been doing drywall for 20 years and always used a hand trowel for taping corners, you know, the old way. Last week on a job up in Tacoma I borrowed a guy's banjo (the taping tool, not the instrument) and honestly it cut my time on a 12x14 room by almost 45 minutes. The learning curve was real though - had to go back and resand three seams cause I laid the mud on too thick at first. Has anyone else had that issue where the banjo just feeds way faster than your hands can keep up with?

Warning: don't screw taping corners too tight to the bead

I watched a new guy on our crew last week spend 45 minutes trying to fix a corner that kept cracking open. He had the paper shoved right up against the metal bead, no gap at all. That's the problem. You need a tiny air gap maybe 1/8 inch between the paper edge and the bead so the mud can actually grab both sides. If you lay it too tight, the paper just bridges and pops loose when the mud dries. Has anyone else dealt with corners cracking after two days?

Unpopular opinion: flat boxes aren't always the best for butt joints

I was talking to this old timer named Dave on a job last week in Columbus, and he said something that got me thinking. He was saying how everyone pushes flat boxes for butt joints because it's supposed to give you a smoother finish, but he swore by using a 10 inch knife instead. His point was that flat boxes can leave these tiny air pockets if you don't have the mud just right, and he'd rather feather it out manually with a knife so he can feel the joint. At first I thought he was just stuck in his ways, but then I remembered a job six months back where I had to sand a huge flat box section three times because of bubbles. I mean, maybe I was using cheap mud or something, but it made me wonder if the tool is always the answer. So now I'm torn between sticking with the flat box for speed or going back to hand work for quality. Has anyone else had better luck with knives on butt joints over using a flat box?

Old timer showed me a trick for mudding inside corners and I've been doing it wrong 10 years

Talked to a guy who's been hanging board since the 80s at a supply house in Nashville. He said to backload your knife with more mud than you think and pull it in one smooth stroke instead of dabbing. Tried it on a small bathroom remodel today and it cut my corner taping time by half. Has anyone else switched to a wider knife for corners or am I late to the party?

My taping knife snapped clean in half yesterday

Was working on a ceiling patch in a bathroom remodel in Denver and my 10 inch taping knife just broke right at the handle. The metal just gave out after I pressed down on a corner joint. Had to drive 20 mins to Home Depot to grab a new one cause I didn't have a backup. Anyone else had a tool fail on them at the worst possible time?

Old timer taught me the wet sponge trick on a hotel job in Denver

I was working a big hotel renovation in downtown Denver back in 2019. Got paired with a guy who had been hanging board since the 70s. He noticed me struggling with a crooked corner and just walked over, wet his sponge, and ran it along the joint compound. Said "Son, sometimes you gotta fight fire with water, not more mud." That one interaction stuck with me because it showed me the value of simple fixes over brute force. Has anyone else picked up a weird tip from an older installer that actually works better than the modern way?

TIL a crew in Phoenix is using 1/4 inch drywall on ceilings with no bowing

Stopped by a job site my buddy works at last week and saw them hanging 1/4 inch board on a 12 foot ceiling with zero sag, anyone else seeing more builders ditch 1/2 inch for lighter stuff or is this just a desert thing?

Warning: Don't use hot mud for your first coat on a big ceiling job

I tried using 20-minute hot mud as a base coat on a 2,000 square foot warehouse ceiling last month in Phoenix. Thought it would save time since it sets quick, but by the time I got halfway across the room the first batch was already hard. Had to scrape off 80 bucks of wasted material and redo it with regular compound. Learned my lesson - hot mud is for small patches, not production work. Anyone else make this mistake or am I the only one?

Hit 10,000 square feet of drywall in a single week for the first time - is that normal or am I pushing too hard?

So last Tuesday I finished up a job in a new apartment complex and I looked at my total for the week. 10,000 square feet hung and finished. That's including taping and mudding. My back is killing me and my helper keeps telling me I'm gonna burn out. But then I talk to this old timer at the supply house and he says 10k in a week is just a good week for a two man crew. He was saying in the 90s he'd do 12k easy with one helper. That got me thinking - is this pace something to be proud of or am I just setting myself up for a blown disc at 40? What's your guys' number you aim for in a week and does it change depending on how much butt joints vs flat work you got?

Nobody talks about how bad self-tapping screws are for metal studs

Went to a big commercial job out in Phoenix last month, a 4 story office building. Every crew out there was using self-tappers on the metal studs and rail. I don't get why. They strip out way too easy and you end up with loose board and callbacks. I'll take a collated screw gun with fine thread screws any day. You guys actually get better hold on these new thin gauge studs or what?

Old timer told me to stop using my taping knife like a shovel

I had been mudding for about 6 months. Guy named Earl with 30 years under his belt watched me for maybe 2 minutes. He just laughed and said I was fighting the mud instead of letting it work. He showed me to feather the edges real light. Pull the knife at a flat angle. Not dig in like a bulldozer. Changed everything. My joints stopped showing through after that. Took me from 3 coats down to 2 most days. Has anyone else had some old hand just completely rearrange how you work?

Tried using mesh tape on a ceiling repair and now I hate myself

Had a small crack in my own living room ceiling, figured I'd save time with self-adhesive mesh tape instead of paper. Worked great for about 3 hours until I came back to mud it. The tape had sagged down in two spots because I didn't get it tight enough. Had to peel it off, scrape the dried mud, and start over with paper tape. Took me double the time and I still have a bump where I didn't feather it right. Anyone else find mesh tape just isn't worth the hassle on overhead work?

Pro tip: Spend $15 on a drywall saw guide, not $70 on a fancy cutting tool

I bought that fancy automatic drywall cutter that everyone raves about for like $70. Used it twice and the blade jammed up on me. Went back to basics and grabbed a simple drywall saw guide from Home Depot for $15. It's just a plastic corner piece with measurement marks, but it works way better for me. The auto cutter is sitting in my truck now collecting dust. Anyone else find the expensive tools aren't always worth it?

Was dead set against mesh tape for years, one leaky corner joint changed my mind

For 15 years I only used paper tape on inside corners. Last month I was finishing a basement job in a house near Raleigh and the homeowner had a small leak from a pipe above one corner. The paper tape bubbled and pulled away after it dried. I had to cut out a 2 foot section and redo it. That job took an extra hour and a half. An older guy on my crew uses mesh tape on all his inside corners and never has that issue. I tried mesh on that repair and it held solid with no problems. Now I use mesh on any corner that might see moisture. Has anyone else made the switch from paper to mesh for specific spots?

Old timer told me to stop mudding joints twice before taping

First 6 months on the job I'd fill joints, wait, then tape. Wasted so much time. This 30 year vet watched me do a ceiling and said "kid, you're making extra work." He showed me to bed the tape in the first coat while it's wet. No pre-fill needed for standard board. Changed my whole process. Anyone else get schooled on something basic like this?

Hand taping vs flat boxes for butt joints on a 2,400 square foot new build

I just finished a house in Raleigh and went back and forth on whether to hand tape all the butts or use my flat box. The flat box is faster for long runs but I feel like I get better mud control by hand on the ends. Ended up doing half the house each way to see which held up better during sanding. The hand taped joints needed less touch up but took me an extra 4 hours total. Anyone else switch between methods depending on the room size or ceiling height?

Debate: Hand taping vs using a bazooka for flat work on a 5000 square foot house

I did a big new build outside Dallas last month and argued with my partner for an hour about whether to use the automatic taper or just hand tape the whole thing. He swore the bazooka would save time but I've had too many jobs where the mud gets thin in the pan and you end up with bubbles. I ended up hand taping the whole 5000 footer and it took me 18 hours but I got zero callbacks. Has anyone else found the auto taper causes more problems than it fixes?

Snapped my last 6" drywall knife on a ceiling corner bead at 4pm Friday

Flat box vs banjo for taping, wish I switched sooner

I spent 6 years using a flat box for all my taping and fought with mud drying out and uneven coats the whole time. Finally borrowed a buddy's banjo on a 2,000 square foot basement job last week and finished the taping in half the time. The mud flow was way more consistent and I didn't have to stop to clean hardened clumps every 20 minutes. Has anyone else made the switch and regretted not doing it earlier?