# Drywall seams technique



## DannyT (Mar 23, 2011)

i always taped and then put 2 coats on, then sanded. did another coat if needed anywhere.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Classic first timers mistakes.
Apply the mud to thick.
Not using wide enough knife.
Trying to make is perfect on the first coat.
The whole idea is to get the wall level, After the first coat all your doing is filling in the low spots, so why would you sand it off and make it lower?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I just bet you are using too narrow a knife and rushing the material.

Especially with premix I mud the seams generously, press paper tape into it. Tool off the excess. That is it for round one until the mud dries. 

Then two coats over the tape being careful not to work it too hard once the tape gets wet with the first coat. Use a wide enough knife.


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## wwkayaker (May 13, 2012)

I just did a section with a thinned mud and it was much better. I watched a video about mudding and the info about letting the tool float and pressure applied to different areas of the trowel helped out.

I always sanded the different layers to get them level so that the knife wouldn't 'bounce' on rough spots in the successive layers. For the first pass, I have been using a 4" knife followed by a 12" knife.


I guess I can cut my calorie intake to account for doing less sanding lol.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Cut yourself some slack! It takes practice. I have done a lot of it but usually subbed it out if budget would allow or unless the job was just too small. Those that do it everyday and all day have it down to an art form.


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## wwkayaker (May 13, 2012)

What causes chatter marks or waves to appear in the mud? Is it the angle I am holding the knife, too loose, not enough compound? It doesn't happen all of the time, but it is a pain.


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## coupe (Nov 25, 2011)

there are several reasons for waving in the compound. but, the main one is consistency. the angle of knife must be consistent, as well as the pressure applied. also the consistency of the mud mixture must be thorough through-out. if the mud is a tad bit drier at some point? it's not going to apply right dry right, or be right when done. personally, I prefer a trowel over a knife, as there is less flexing.flexing,causes inconsistency. I also find it better, to work from dry into went mud, you can see any waves you're leaving? which must be sanded out prior to final coat. there should be no sanding between coats, as compound dust will miss into the fresh mud, causing waves. bumps,leaving tool marks, and an uneven finish. the only sanding, should be after final coat, before priming/painting. then, I prefer a damp sponge mop over sanding, just along the edges of the tapers of the joints. if sanded? the dust should be wiped off, it'll mix in the paint leaving a rough finish.

everyone must develop their own *technique, *it takes time and practice. just a few sheets now and then it takes longer to master and get the feeling just right. it takes time to build the strength in your hand/wrist, to keep that constant angle and pressure. each coat doesn't have to be perfect. the second and third coats need to be as close as you can get them. makes for much less sanding and work.

good luck


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## wwkayaker (May 13, 2012)

Thanks for the tips.

Using the advice, i managed to make the seams look much better. Today, I sanded the final coat and it looks excellent.


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## Twister (Jul 5, 2009)

wwkayaker said:


> I have done a lot of reading about how to properly do seams. ....... I also think I overwork the mud trying to be perfect. The mud seems to be getting stiff and harder to work with hence more tool marks and mistakes.


Can an experienced drywaller tell me if this is correct? _If you overwork the mud does it make the mud harden faster / get less creamy and harder to spread evenly?_

I have read LOTS of stuff and watched LOTS of YouTube clips and I think I understand the gist of what needs to be done fairly well......from mixing the mud thru taping, applying the coats of mud complete with feathering the edges, drying times, etc. But.....even following techniques from a guy as good as Myron Ferguson I still get very poor results (at least if I only did 3 coats). 

I end up with LOTS of low spots & 'waves' (not really chattering) on the 2nd and 3rd coats even after feathering the mud with a knife or trowel. :vs_mad: I am mixing my hot mud (USG EasySand 90) at the more watery-end of what the directions say (yet still within recommended limits), getting it nice and creamy/no lumps whatsoever, but when it comes time to spread, when I'm done it looks pretty bad on the wall. If I mix it on the more watery/wet end of the spectrum then the mud shows every single wiggle of the blade. If I mix it on the dryer end of the spectrum the mud does not seem to flow well. My control with a 10" knife is poor so I haven't even tried the 12" knife very much yet. I end up mostly using a 6" or even a 4" knife to try to smooth the marks from the larger knives, hence my question about overworking the mud. 

So far I've been mixing mud in 1 lb batches because my repairs are small. If I had to take a guess I think the amount of mud I'm putting on the wall is too sparse _prior_ to pulling the knife for that "final pass", which gives me low spots which leads to overworking.

Any help would be _tremendously_ appreciated.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Yes if you overwork it, the thinner areas will definitely start to dry and cause issues. One guess is you're using too wide of a swath for the knife size you're using. The 12" knife does not make a 12" path of mud! You should be doing 3-4" with the 6" knife, 5-6" with the 8" knife, etc. So really there should be no ridges.

It really shouldn't be hard to control the bigger knives. Try putting on a 3" coat of mud with a 10" knife and you'll see what I mean.

I would probably recommend hot mud only for the first coat, and standard all purpose for the remaining coats. Using the correct amount of pressure, and pressuring one side of the knife more than the other, can both be important.


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## Twister (Jul 5, 2009)

jeffnc said:


> Yes if you overwork it, the thinner areas will definitely start to dry and cause issues. One guess is you're using too wide of a swath for the knife size you're using. The 12" knife does not make a 12" path of mud! You should be doing 3-4" with the 6" knife, 5-6" with the 8" knife, etc. So really there should be no ridges.
> 
> It really shouldn't be hard to control the bigger knives. Try putting on a 3" coat of mud with a 10" knife and you'll see what I mean.
> 
> I would probably recommend hot mud only for the first coat, and standard all purpose for the remaining coats. Using the correct amount of pressure, and pressuring one side of the knife more than the other, can both be important.


 Thx for answering my question about overworking the mud. 

And, I guess another potentially stupid question here: how do you NOT pull a swath of mud as wide as the knife? You must be lifting off a portion of the knife blade off the wall???? Sure, you do that when you feather in the mud but are you feathering/lifting an edge on EVERY pass?

Still learning. And I do appreciate your help, jeff!


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Because you only put a smaller amount of mud on the knife.

How _not_ to do it
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NloXgh9RCRQ/maxresdefault.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GFm5Z91He60/hqdefault.jpg

How to do it
http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/TFH/Projects/FH07FEB_BETTAP_01.JPG

The knife is wider than the amount of mud you're putting on. The same is true on your third coat when the joint gets wide on your butt joint. You now do it in two passes. But still, the knife overlaps an inch or two on the top side, then when you do the bottom it overlaps on the bottom a little.

You're situating the mud in the middle of the knife or trowel, not along the full length.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/CMS...mebuilding/Departments/021197bs094-07_xlg.jpg


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