Home Improvement

iannis

Musty Nester
31,351
17,656
Yeah it's tedious. I've only done it a few times myself. Had to repair a fairly large hole in a wall because my brother is a viking and shit and had to repair a ceiling from water damage. It's one of those skills that takes about 30-60 minutes to get the knack of. And then you have to get the knack for it again next time you do it.

Realistically I bet what would happen is that your first seam would be god awful, just atrocious, and by the time you finish the room you'd just go back and redo your first seam and they'd all look pretty good.

Doing it on the ceiling super sucked ass though.
 
  • 1Solidarity
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 users

Picasso3

Silver Baronet of the Realm
11,333
5,322
1978 you're probably safe from all the bomb shelter methods of home building.

Hiring drywall is something I've found reasonable if you can find the right guy (eg not a large company or GC). I got fairly good but the were always imperfections so jobs never looked professional. I'd ask around and see if you can get one by word of mouth, at minimum they may give you some ideas on a best approach. Guess around a dollar a square ft to hang and finish but highly variable.
 

Vinen

God is dead
2,782
486
Trim has been removed. Walls coming down on 2nd floor this week. Going to drop by and get some pictures once the walls come down.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,429
2,212
If you can find somebody to tape the drywall it's worth the money IMO. I've been told by multiple people that you shouldn't tape drywall for the first time in your own house. I tried it once and I sucked at it. The pro will do it perfectly in half a day and it will take you a whole weekend to make it look like shit.
 

Vinen

God is dead
2,782
486
If you can find somebody to tape the drywall it's worth the money IMO. I've been told by multiple people that you shouldn't tape drywall for the first time in your own house. I tried it once and I sucked at it. The pro will do it perfectly in half a day and it will take you a whole weekend to make it look like shit.

Agree with this. You will spend more fixing your fuckups than if you hire someone to do it.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,573
132,535
haha, I totally would but I have NEVER done taping and mudding and I know I would fuck it up VERY well.
i redid half my garage ceiling tape, it was really hard since it was so high, but it looks better than before (it was coming apart and falling, my home inspector said it was probably from years of having the cars run in the garage)

just seeing the guy work, thats all you gotta do, the stuff is pretty cheap, a few bucks for the spatula thing, a few bucks for the drywall trough, get a bag of compound (they said get the one that ends in the number 45, it's a good one) and remember to have the tape with the indent face towards the drywall, that way it won't pop out when you mud.

don't get me wrong, i fucked up my first panel, i don't know if it's cuz the previous guy mudded like 1inch of compound on top of the tape (it's like a fucking mound) or cuz it was a ceiling so it was drying faster that i could mud (go on ladder, mud a bit, get off ladder, move ladder, etc)
 

GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
<Bronze Donator>
6,761
17,045
Yeah I've seen the videos, looking at a few locations on the cost of things if I basically do MOST of the work and all that is left is mud and tape.

100% I need a couple rooms done but I think I wanna hack this one room at a time. and this bathroom seems like a decent place to start because it'll integrate a lot of ideas into one project.

I'll be damned if I can find a single place that sells foamcore backerboard though, holy hell!

I tried Lowes but they didn't have foam, they had Hardie and Concrete and i'm really looking for a waterproof foam backer. I figure if I'm going to remodel it, may as well choose something that survives better and is less hassle. The selling point on the foam was watching a couple old guys talk about materials and when you hear an old tradesman talk about a new product in a way that isn't shitting on it because it's new, you know you have a good product.
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
40,699
172,480
I do all my own drywalling, taping, and mudding. It take a lot of patience, even with experience, but I prefer to do it myself. Unless I'm on a really strict time deadline. Generally, however, I have only self-imposed deadlines, so if I need to spend an extra week getting the drywall right, I take it. I'm super slow, but I get good results.
 
  • 2Solidarity
  • 1Like
Reactions: 2 users

GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
<Bronze Donator>
6,761
17,045
I do all my own drywalling, taping, and mudding. It take a lot of patience, even with experience, but I prefer to do it myself. Unless I'm on a really strict time deadline. Generally, however, I have only self-imposed deadlines, so if I need to spend an extra week getting the drywall right, I take it. I'm super slow, but I get good results.

I always thought you were up against some fairly tight timelines when doing taping / mudding.

I mean I can hang the drywall no issue, mud the screws without worry but I wonder about doing taping and mudding. None of the rooms I am doing are massive areas...

I dunno...maybe I'll crack it, hopefully before numero dos arrives.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,573
132,535
Nah. If I'm going to be mudding part of my house, it is just off limits for whatever time I need to get it done. Slow taping and mudding. It's key.
got any advice for doing the ceiling? i had to do it in like 6ft strips, too long and it falls down and drags the mudded portions with it
 

iannis

Musty Nester
31,351
17,656
Thin wide layers. Mud it, let it dry, lightly sand it, repeat.

You could probably get away with a staple or two, at a guess.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
40,699
172,480
If your tape is falling down while mudding, you're doing it wrong. Use very little mud, just enough to get the tape to stick. That's your first coat. Once it is dry, then you start filling gaps.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,573
132,535
so i used the same hole i made for the electrical box in my closet to drill down into my basement, it was rather high so i had to get a longer flexbit than intended, actually glad i went this route, judging from where i drilled down (i took it slow to make sure shit wasn't punctured, even tho i was sure), it was kinda different than where i had projected it, drilling upwards. i just left the bit in the floor, i'll fish it out with a rod later (cleaning out the last bits of the backyard)
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,573
132,535
i wanna add some shelving and i guess i'll make my life easier by getting a circular saw, anything wrong with this?
Ryobi P506 One+ Lithium Ion 18V 5 1/2 Inch 4,700 RPM Cordless Circular Saw with Laser Guide and Carbide-Tipped Blade (Battery Not Included, Power Tool Only) green full size
428e2f59537e995f3087caeaf4c4b5e3.png


I'm not gonna build a deck so i don't think i need anything fancy, all i want is
1. cordless AND ryobi (thats gonna be my brand cuz of the batteries)
2. laser (i guess it'll help)

I guess a larger blade would allow me to cut faster and deeper?

i got 2 sawhorses (no bench) can i make do with just that to cut?

would some accessories help?

gonna google a circular saw for noobs vid soon.
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
40,699
172,480
You can make do with that. It's not a bad saw for light duty work. You might also consider getting a cheapy table saw. Long cuts always come out straighter and better with a table saw. A combination table saw/compound mitre saw is fantastic - you can do almost anything.

However, if you're going to try to cut long stretches with a circular saw, you might consider getting something like this: