Drywall Decorating Tips

Always, always use a specialized primer/sealer for new drywall work. As long as you have finished and sanded the drywall properly, these paints will ensure that you achieve the highest quality finish in direct or downlighting situations.

If you are going to wallpaper your drywall, be sure to apply a second coat of a semi-gloss acrylic enamel paint. Tint this paint the exact color of the background of the wallpaper. In the event a seam opens between two pieces of paper, it will probably not show.

The extra coat of paint will also help you in the event you decide to remove the wallpaper. Some wallpaper adhesives are so strong that when removing the wallpaper, they take the paper face off of the drywall as well! If this occurs, it is virtually impossible to repair. Take the time to apply the second coat of paint.

Column B49

This is a special drywall primer that will make your new drywall look perfect. Don't skip this step. CLICK THE IMAGE to have this paint delivered to your home.

"Primers are specially formulated paints that are used to smooth out the surface you're painting. They have great filling capabilities."

Drywall Primer Checklist

• Unprimed drywall will look bad under artificial light
• Primer evens out texture and porosity
• Drywall primer is low cost and easy to apply
• Name-brand drywall primer makes new drywall look like real plaster

This column was the Mystery Link in the February 5, 2016 AsktheBuilder Weekend Warrior Update.

What Causes Drywall Imperfections?

Frequently, the cause may be poor or unskilled workmanship. Often the imperfections can be traced to lumber shrinkage. High humidity and large temperature swings during installation and finishing can cause problems.

Poor carpentry techniques also can be to blame. However, did you ever think that a problem could arise in the paint that you use?

Related Links

Secret Drywall Paper Repair Tips - DO NOT SHARE!

Special Gray Primers - Old Master Painter Trick

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters who can apply drywall primer.

What Ingredients are In Primer Paints?

Paints are a combination of ingredients. No two paints are exactly alike. Chemically speaking, paints are almost identical to adhesives. Paints primarily have three ingredients:

• resin (glue)
• vehicle (liquids that evaporate as the paint dries)
• pigment (finely ground colorants and powdered fillers)

What is Paint Primer Resin?

The resin in a paint is the glue that allows it to stick to a surface. The resins are usually clear and almost always encapsulate or surround each pigment particle.

What is Paint Vehicle?

The vehicle is the ingredient which allows paint to be a liquid in the can. I often refer to it as a temporary ingredient, for once you apply the paint to a surface, the vehicle evaporates into the air.

That is why you must ventilate a room when using a paint that contains hydrocarbons or flammable solvents. These liquids turn into a vapor and can either make you sick or, if ignited, explode.

What Are Paint Primer Pigments?

Pigments are the ingredients which impart color. They're solid particles comprised of many ingredients. The pigments adhere to the surface you paint because of the resin. Pigments will wash off an exterior wall surface if the sun damages the resin.

This happens with exterior paints that chalk. The resin which is exposed to the weather breaks down and releases the pigment particles. The pigment then washes down onto your brick, foundation or driveway.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters who can apply drywall primer.

Are Drywall Primers Also Sealers?

Not all drywall primers are sealers. A primer has one job to do and a sealer has a different one to do on the new drywall surface.

Just about everyone who has painted something has heard of primers. Some of us have also heard of sealers. Did you know that there is a big difference? These two foundation paints have entirely different qualities.

What Is a Drywall Primer?

Primers are specially formulated paints that are used to smooth out the surface you are painting. They have great filling capabilities. Because they have a high solid (pigment) content, these solids can fill in any microscopic valleys, depressions, etc.

Primers are usually somewhat low in resin so that when they dry, the surface of the primer film is coarse. This coarse, or rough, surface provides the finish paint an excellent surface to grab onto.

What is a Drywall Sealer?

Drywall sealers, on the other hand, are exactly the opposite of primers. They have a high resin content and a low solid (pigment) content.

Sealers are formulated to even out the rate of absorption of the finish paint. This quality is achieved by the high resin content. The resin, when dry, creates a barrier. Finish paints cannot easily soak through sealers.

Why Do You Need a Sealer On New Drywall?

You need a sealer on new drywall because the white joint compound on the seams and in the corners absorbs paint faster than the paper surfaces of the drywall that don't have joint compound on them.

The white areas have joint compound on them. You can see the off-white area that's the drywall paper from the factory. A drywall primer/sealer will even out the texture and porosity in minutes once it dries. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

Different materials absorb liquids at different rates. Materials such as these are said to have different porosities. Finish paint which is applied to a surface that has several different porosities will not dry at equal rates.

Those areas of the surface which absorb the paint quickly will pull the paint (and paint particles) deeper into the surface. The sheen of the paint will appear uneven, even though the surface which was painted is smooth!

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local painters who can apply drywall primer.

Column B49

Restoring Plaster Walls - Setting Type Joint Compounds

If you have ever owned an older home, you must surely be aware of the pluses and minuses of plaster walls. Their durability, smoothness, sound deadening qualities and sheer mass make them very attractive. Plasters only negative, as I see it, is that it tends to react like glass when subjected to stress. In other words, plaster cracks.

Random or Systematic?

Cracks in plaster happen for a variety of reasons. Lumber shrinkage, seasonal moisture changes, wind forces, foundation movement, expansive clay soil movement, excessive loading, etc. all can cause cracks in plaster. Some cracks can be traced directly to a certain cause while some are tougher to diagnose.

It is important to try to determine the cause of cracking prior to repair. The reason being that if your house, wall or ceiling is mobile or in a state of motion, the crack will undoubtedly reappear. Certain cracks are very interesting. These are the ones that plague many houses in climates that experience wide humidity changes from summer to winter.

Wood - Like a Sponge...

Wood expands and contracts in response to changes in the humidity of the air that surrounds it. In other words, wood is a hygroscopic material. Plaster, on the other hand, is very stable. It is very strong if you try to squeeze it, however it is very weak if you try to bend or stretch it.

Thus, if the wood framing members of your house begin to stretch or expand, the plaster can and will pop. There is very little you can do to prevent this, other than trying to maintain a constant indoor humidity level.

Plaster and Old Age

Remember your body and skin when you were 10 years old? I'll bet it was smooth and virtually blemish free. What do you think your skin will look like when you are 70 or 80 years old? Well, a house is not much different.

Houses develop joints just like your elbows and knees where they bend to relieve stresses. Walls and ceilings also react to the force of gravity over time, just as our skin. Thus, it is not unreasonable for an older house to exhibit wrinkles, cracks, and other blemishes.

Fixing the Cracks

OK, so now that the plaster is cracked it is time to fix it. Time after time I have seen homeowners struggle to fix a crack using spackling compound. They are told to chisel the crack into a V shape and fill away! Well the patch looks fine until the house or wall moves the next time. The crack reappears.

The most long lasting repairs are made when you bridge the crack with a material that can absorb the periodic movement that most cracks experience. This is achieved by using either a standard drywall paper tape or a fiberglass mesh tape. The crack is coated with a compound that adheres to the plaster and coats the tape at the same time.

In all but the worst cases, cracks repaired with tape remain smooth for a long period of time.

The Gop

One of the first jobs I did after I got married was the rehabilitation of an old farm house. I was helping some friends. Marcy was helping me apply some premixed drywall joint compounds onto new drywall. She used to call the material Gop. I feel it is a very fitting name as it sounds much like the product appears and reacts when dropped. Premixed joint compounds are wonderful products. For all intents and purposes, they are simply water soluble glues mixed with fillers. These premixed compounds work fine for drywall. However, for serious plaster repair you need to use either real plaster or a product that has the properties of both plaster and premixed joint compounds.

The Stuff

You can purchase some wonderful plaster patching compounds that come in 25 pound bags. They are powdered setting type joint compounds. These products actually grow tiny crystals as they dry. These crystals lock into the coarse texture of the plaster base and/or the smooth white or top coat plaster. You can even add sand to these mixtures if you wish to create a textured look.

These compounds come dry because when they are mixed with water they begin to harden. Some of these products contain higher amounts of gypsum. These tend to set up or get hard within 30 minutes of mixing. You can buy mixes that take up to two hours to harden.

An additional advantage of using these products is that in one day repairs are possible. Premixed joint compounds can take a day or more to dry. Repairs can stretch out. I have used the setting type joint compounds and repaired a plaster hole from start to finish in as little as two hours!

Where Do You Get Them?

That is one of the most frequently asked questions. Homeowners miss out on tons of great products. These special dry setting joint compounds are found at drywall supply houses or building supply houses that sell plaster supplies. Only on one occasion have I seen them in a giant home center store.

If you want to get some of these great compounds, you will have to find out where your local builder or remodeler buys drywall.

This column was shared with my readers in the April 4, 2013 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.

Column B133

Setting Joint Compounds Avoid Dust

Real plaster work involves minimal dust. The plasterer trowels the wet, white plaster until it is as smooth as glass. There is no sanding.

You can do the same with setting type joint compounds. As they get hard, you can work with them and trowel them just like real plaster. A rubber ceramic tile grout float works best. The joint compound needs to be very hard to achieve the best results.

Wet the compound slightly. Glide the rubber float across the patch with just the trailing edge of the trowel touching the compound. You do not want the entire bottom surface touching the plaster. If you make successive strokes much like you would squeegee glass, it will work. Trust me, it takes practice.

If you can't get the hang of it, you will have to sand. You may be able to rent some new wonderful sanding vacuum tools at your local tool rental shop. These tools have a sanding pad attached to a shop vac. They really eliminate 95 percent of the dust in most situations. The key is keeping the filter clean.

Makers of Joint Compound

Want to know more about these powdered setting plaster repair products? Just check out the websites of these manufacturers.

All of these products perform well. The key is to mix only the amount you can comfortably use in 15 - 20 minutes. If they start to get hard in your bucket or mud pan, do not add additional water. It will weaken the mix and fall from the wall or ceiling. Clean your tools well, as the compounds can stick like concrete!

• CTS Cement RapidSet
• DAP
• National Gypsum
• USG Corporation

Column B133

This small section of wall has just about every drywall finish challenge in it: flat and tapered seams, inside and outside corners and an archway! Photo credit: Tim Carter

Surely you have seen a miserable drywall finishing job. One of the first places to look is in a corner. Typically, you will see holes and lift marks where the finishing blade was pulled away from the wall. For some reason, finishers seem to get tired as they sand in or near the corners!

I have seen home improvement television shows that tell people how easy it is to finish drywall. Well, it is easy if you know all of the tricks and have had considerable practice. If you don't, you struggle. Drywall finishing is not as simple as driving a nail or cutting a piece of wood. It takes lots of skill to get professional results.

Wipe It Off

One of the neat things about finishing drywall is that if you goof up applying the mud you can immediately erase your mistake and start over. All you do is wipe off the mud from the seam. The only aspect of the process that is critical is the actual taping. Too much or too little mud under the tape can cause all sorts of finishing problems later in the job.

Think Snowplow

Have you ever seen how a bulldozer or a snow plow works? The blade is angled to throw the dirt or snow to one side. This is an efficient way to work. Removing the excess mud from beneath drywall tape uses the same technique. The trick is to make several repeated passes with the taping knife instead of trying to do it all at once.

Learn the secrets to a great drywall finishing job in this Drywall / Plaster Installation Checklist. I offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee.

Professionals tape drywall in any number of ways. They can use a device called a banjo that applies mud to the underside of the tape as it is pulled from the simple hand held machine. Even more complex machines can apply tape and a coat of mud to a wall in one operation. But if a pro is doing it like you will be, they apply the mud smoothly and at a thickness of approximately 1/4 inch. The tape is then pressed lightly to the wet mud. When you glide your knife over this relatively smooth assembly, the excess mud flows easily out from beneath the tape.

Drying Time

The joint compound or mud you use to finish drywall is water based. It dries fairly quickly if the humidity is low and the temperature is high. Keep in mind that this compound is simply a glue with lots of filler. The color of the compound tells you, to some degree, if it is dry. When wet, the compound is a light gray. As it dries it turns white. You can see this transformation very clearly halfway through the drying process as the edges of the joint will be snow white while the center of the seam is still gray. Do not attempt to sand if you see any gray coloration.

Patching a Hole

Let's say you have a hole in a piece of drywall that is about the size of a golf ball. It is too small to cut a patch yet too big just to fill with joint compound. There is a cool trick that really works well. All you do is take a piece of paper drywall tape and coat the underside of it with a 1/8th inch coating of wet compound. You then flip the tape over and center it over the hole. Gently scrape a little of the mud out from the tape. Once the mud dries in a day, the area over the hole is very stiff. If you want to make it even better, apply a second layer of tape over the first one. Align the second piece of tape at a 90 degree angle to the first one.

Nails and Screws

Professionals do not apply a little dab of mud to each and every screw or nail. They coat three or four at a time with one quick motion. The end result is a stripe of mud on the surface of the drywall. If you see dried polka dots of white on a sheet of drywall, you know a rookie is finishing it!

Column B387

Drywall Hanging Direction on Steel Studs

Reader email:

Tim,

How do you lay out drywall on steel studs? Should it be vertical across the studs or horizontal across the studs, and should I stagger the drywall?

This is for a basement that is studded with steel and I'm very confuuuuuused!!! Thanks,

Holley

My Reply:

Holley,

The best way to install drywall is horizontally. You should also stagger the seams. Installing it vertically requires that the spacing of the studs must be perfect and they are perfectly plumb. This is much harder to achieve that you might think.

Then wait until you are bending down to tape all of those vertical seams every 4 feet. With 12 foot drywall, you only have to do it every 12 feet. Since you rarely have wall runs longer than twelve feet without an inside or outside corner interrupting it, you might never have that flat seam in a wall run.

Tim

Column B387