How To Taping And Mudding

Taping and Mudding is not an easy project. BUT IT CAN BE DONE BY MOST HOME OWNERS. The same process or steps applies no matter how big or small your room is. The steps are simple and every step will be descripbe in detail.

This section covers THE TAPING AND MUDDING PART only !!!

Have the drywall prepared properly from the previous sections !!!!

Step 1: Start by applying the joint tapes. Apply all the tapes to the butt joints first, and then move onto applying tapes to the flats(recessed joints). When both those are done, we apply tapes to the angles(corners), that is the last step for taping. There are many ways or techniques used to apply tape including: the bazooka, with mud applicators or just straight by hand.

Step 2: We now install all the beads. Plastic beads are better then metal, easier for diy guys, harder to make mistakes. Arch bead only comes in plastic, and the adjustable inside plastic bead is a great arsenal to have by you sides. Tools like mud applicators make the process much faster and reduces the chance of dry tapes if using paper beads.

Step 3: At this stage we are going to coat everything with joint compound, and I like to start by coating the "wall flats". The flat boxes are a great tool to coat the joints, maybe look into renting one or borrowing one if your planning a bigger size project. You can also use a wide knife or a hawk and trowel to coat the joints. Once the flats and butt joints have been coated, we will use the same tools to coat the corner beads, there's even an adapter for the flat box so it can be run on the beads. At this point we will also apply our first coat of mud onto the screws.

Step 4: Rough Sanding – Our first coat will be rough, not smooth at all, but no worries. Everything needs to be rough sanded down with some 100 grit paper. The paper needs to be rough to gouges up the bumps and lift off. Rough sand the beads, flats and the butts, do not rough sand the screws.

Step 5: We now are going to apply the second coat of mud, starting with the beads. Once all the beads are second coated, the flat joints may be done followed by the butt joints. The screws should get a second coat during this time as well.

Step 6: At this point we will be applying the last coats of mud, apply coat to the angles or corners with a flusher, or corner trowel. We also like to apply a last coat to the wall butt joints to make sure they are flat, and to eliminate the pin holes, but this coat is not necessary, we also apply last coat to the screws.

Step 7: Now the fun begins, now we sand with a pole sander. If you want a professional finish, you need a pole sander. Use a bright light like a halogen light to see where sanding is needed. Sanding with the pole sander is a general sand, don't try to get to picky or to close to corner with the sander. Get those with the sponge !!

Step 8: Light checking with a work light and a sponge is very important to catch all the imperfections. This is where you catch all the little stuff, and this is where you use your pencil to mark out any imperfections for another coat.

Step 9: Sand the touch ups and your done !! Ready for paint. There's a special way to sand the touch ups so check it out.