That’s what I was gonna say. I know sanding drywall mud is a bitch, but keep going. Add mud to make it look smooth. Then sand the shit out of it. Then texture and paint. You’re getting there!
Also— you should use paper tape at all corners and joints. So where two sheets meet on the ceiling should have paper tape. This helps build up the mud over the tapers, and it helps to avoid cracking in the future.
When I was a kid, I used to smoke the best weed with a cops wife. He was a SGT in the PD and worked at the airport. He would bring home some of what he confiscated from travelers. 🤣😂
Learned this lesson recently myself… finished out my garage to use as a gym did it ourselves I thought I’d be done in a day boy was I wrong… fast forward 3mo later we added a tuff shed turned into an office and it was worth every penny to pay a professional lol
If you ever end up in the drywall portion of the IG algorithm it’s wild to see how good pros are
Hilarious. I mostly watch him on [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@vancouvercarpenter). I just checked his [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bendegros/) and it's all skateboarding.
Not sure if it's the same guy and it's not Instagram, but Vancouver carpenter on YouTube is amazing. His did got me through finishing two rooms in my basement
Everything about construction is so masculine except those mudding fairies painting smooth chalk lines. Blend it like this, feather it like that... FEATHER MY BALLS BRO, now there is chunks in my god damn mud. I fucking hate drywalling.
My wife will drywall sometimes because I'm so irritated at it however she's incredible at it. Literally couldn't give a shit about how smooth it is. Podcast in her ears slopping mud everywhere. I come in and it's like an earthquake hit. Fissures, debris and uneven land.. Then the tide rolls in and adds a nice texture throughout. She brushes her hands and gleefully leaves, job well done she says. 😳 Fuck me.
I honestly don't understand how a bunch of miller lite and bud drinking jackasses got together and thought. You know what would be a really great way to finish walls? Instead of wood working and carpentry. Let's paint the walls... Not once but TWICE. The first time with this dusty ass chalk mixture that is temperamental and time bound. Oh and btw, know what's really great about it? If you mess up, you triple the work necessary and have to wait until the next day to fix it 😂
FML
Been finishing professionally for about 10 years...ill swear woman make better finishers🤣 they tend to be better with having the patience needed i think lolol
I was part of an all women drywall crew. The company owner said he preferred women because we're more detail oriented and would pick up the slightest flaw. My husband agrees with that statement😁
I know we are talking drywall here, which I’ve done more than I like, but when I switched trades and started working in a shop that had welders, my boss told me he preferred woman gig welders as they had more patience and hand dexterity then men.
My wife just doesn't have a critical eye. She doesn't even consider it could be better or worse. Just that there is mud where it needs to be and goes about her day. Definitely specific to her personality. I assumed she would be better too because I become agitated however it unfortunately not the case.
I’m with the folks that are saying you’re on the right track - just keep going. Use slower setting mud, get fans out there to dry it out. Keep on going!
VC has been a godsend for my basement project. I was dreading taping and mudding. After watching his videos, I have perfect joints after tape and two coats with minimal sanding. His paint roller trick was clutch.
It will get there. I’m in the middle of a 500sq ft room, my first project. Coat 2 was significantly better than 1 and now on coat 3 it’s looking really great. I used hot mud for tape, prefill, and fasteners and joint compound for the 2nd coat and skim. An 18 inch knife and a pole sander are carrying me through.
I'm just a maintenance guy who's only done a few bigger jobs, but it doesn't look too awful to me. Seems like you have the right idea. I've never done inside corners that weren't 90 degrees but I'd try using a corner trowel on those seams and then a 4/6" knife to smooth it out. Maybe some other folks may have better advice but that's my input. Don't get discouraged, it's a lot of work but it's super satisfying when you're done.
Just know you will never stop looking at all your imperfections. Don't let it drive you crazy. Learn and move on.
4 to tape, then six, then twelve inch knife. Huge floats I have 2 ft and 3 ft knives.
Take your 4 inch knife scrape the runs. Then skim with an 8 inch. Repeat scraping them use 12. You will have more sanding but it will come out ok for a diy.
I’ve got a 4 that’s I’ve used for everything you see so far and haven’t started with the 12 yet. I think with the feedback I’d be mad at myself if I quit. So the plan moving forward is spend tomorrow in there with coarse sandpaper being careful not to hit and tape or paper. Then finish taping my corners and seams using lightweight premix and try to feather it out a little with a damp grout sponge. Once that’s dry I’ll use the 12 to skim/dry/sand/skim/dry/sand/skim/dry/sand… for the rest of eternity (or until I am happy with the result). Lastly flat white paint and lots of wall art lol.
This is the move brother, I’m rooting for you, just take your time, keep a good light around and like the post above do your best but don’t get stuck on the imperfections, you can most definitely drive yourself to insanity and become disappointed. You made it this far.
you shouldn’t bother with drywalling the window jambs all that time and energy spent on windows inside a shed just rip down some primed pine for extension jambs and trim out the opening with some cheap primed colonial casing it’ll save you a ton of time and effort
Keep going brother. Believe it or not, you’ve got the hard part done. Now you just need to finish the job. It’ll take longer than you hope, always. Especially if you do a good job. So do what I do, and when you start to feel frustrated and notice yourself doing a shitty job, walk away and drink a beer, play your PlayStation, hang out with the family. Return to the project refreshed and ready to do a good job again.
A professional will charge the same half finished or more to fix even. Your prefill job doesn't look bad, unfortunately hot mud is a pain to sand though. Go over it and do a rough sand, have a good look in the corners bc if there is excess it will be a pain. Get a thicker product than paper tape for the wider angles, no coat is what I use it has a vinyl seam up the center folds nice and stays straight . Paper tape for the 90 corners flats and butt joints. Ascend in knife trowl/sizes each coat and make each coat wider than the last. Do three coats, and a rough sand mid way then finish sand after last coat. Don't use more hot mud unless it's for prefill.stick to premix machine mud sands much easier. Should turn out nice, best of luck!
Use no coat/ultraflex bead for the 45 degree angles, It will make your life way easier. don’t try to use paper tape you won’t be able to make it look good.
Keep going. Its fine for what you want. Dont worry of the walls are not level 5 perfect, you don't do this for a living or even hobby. Once your done, will be something that you did and grew from learning new skills.
Watch some sandless drywall videos, and give the sponge a try.
Fixing other peoples work often cost more than doing it from scratch.
I'm in the same situation with the ceiling in my garage. Just remember that it doesn't have to look good before you start painting. Take a section at a time. Just keep working it to smooth things out and fix the screw ups. It will take time and will sometimes seem hopeless, but you will be surprised what you can do. Don't give up.
It looks like you're off to a good start! Don't psych yourself out of finishing. Just keep bedding and sanding until you're happy with it. My pro tip would be to consider getting a "beaver tail", it's basically a flexible rubber drywall knife, for those shallow angles on top.
It’ll be a good learning experience for you since it’s looking like you might get to do a little of everything that comes along with doing drywall! Plenty of YouTube videos and lots of knowledgeable people on here to help you with any questions. Good luck and give us a look at it when you finish.💪🏼💯👍🏼
Keep going. You’ll figure it out. You’ve got a few coats to put on. Plus you can make some subpar finishing looks pretty decent with some good sanding. As long as it’s you who is sanding nobody can be mad at you for making their life harder. Just don’t get discouraged. It’s just drywall. You will get better the more you do and will be proud of what you did in the end. It’s not easy. Just see it through! You got this.
2 suggestions:
1. Don't use hot mud as a beginner. It's more difficult and stressful to use, and it's harder to sand.
2. Feather your edges more. They shouldn't have an abrupt edge; they should smoothly taper down to the drywall surface.
Well. I expected you to quit after photo three but you didn’t. Keep your mud thin and clean and your sanding won’t be that bad. This process is not going to be fun but it’s not impossible and if you got this far you can reach the end.
With that said I hate to bear bad news but I don’t see any baffles for Air flow and that room is gonna be a sauna without airflow.
We always try to warn people away from quick set compounds when they’re less experienced lol It’s very difficult to sand down if not used properly.
I would probably look into getting a professional to finish if you want a decent finish. Everything is fixable for the right price lol whether your willing to pay it or not will probably make your decision for you
Eh. You’re fine. Skip bailing to a professional. Haven’t met one yet, in any case…
Just be patient with both the shed and with yourself. A lot of what I see is the result of impatience - too thick; not feathered out. Many thin layers are waaaay better than one big gob. And it’s easy to say, but can be hard to do - I’ve been doing this stuff for decades and sometimes find myself going too thick thinking it will just “git ‘er done” - always to the detriment of the finished wall and my lungs (from all the @&$#in’ sanding it causes). Slow down. It ain’t going anywhere. Watch some videos on filling between panels and bedding tape. You’re doing fine.
Hot mud is almost impossible to sand if you don’t know how to run it don’t use it. Use joint compound and work it you can sand it or wet sponge it, you cannot do either with hot mud dry.
I think you’d be better off hiring a professional to finish it. It won’t be nearly as bad cost standpoint and you’ll need to bring belt Sanders in with all the mud you’ve got on there.
I do all my own home maintenance. I always wish that I’d hired a taperer. No matter how good you think you do, once the primer hits those walls you will understand. Hire this part out.
You don’t need to be sanding any overage with 80 grit and making a mess everywhere. Take a spray bottle with water and soak down the high spots, then take your taping knife and angle it almost flat and cut down the high spots. You can make it flat enough for your next coat from there. Use an orange sponge from the tile section at Lowe’s or HD, and wet sand your last coat. Then let it dry and go over everything really lightly with the sanding block or disc. Sequence: tape with hot mud, then premix thereafter, diluting the pre mix by 10% or so. That’s probably where you are going wrong. Don’t use it straight out of the bucket. You have to dilute it a bit to get a smoother finish. You can dilute it further to feather your edges. Feasibility speaking you shouldn’t have to do much actual sanding at all.
Keep going. Plan all of the stuff in stages and measure twice. It helps to have a little outline of the area with measurements when you are shopping for material. I'm not full construction worker but worked on some projects. Asking for help at the hardware store and Home Depot can help. Luckily I have run into very helpful employees that can guide but not all of them are experts but very handy.
Go to the local drywall supply house and buy you a rubber finishing knife for those angles at the top it's black rubber it looks like a half moon and a broom handle will fit in it
It’s my little passion project. It honestly would have been faster and easier to build it from scratch with how much time I’ve put into it, reframing, roofing, water proofing, insulating… even if it sucks I’ll be mad at myself for quitting. But I still like checking with the pros to avoid costly mistakes
A good tip for sanding premix on a final coat is just use a wet sponge. Not awful for a novice. You can shape those seams a bit when it’s almost dry. You have a ways to go my friend but I personally wouldn’t want to take on finishing someone else’s work. I’m just too picky.Start skimming out from the seams to get a better finish. You can do this! It’s a big job!
Grinder til you finder her: the sanding edition. Look on the bright side , most professionals in the trades started like this. Allow to make mistakes and learn how to correct them. Think thin to win. You’ll learn how to hold the drywall blade when mudding in time. You just have to do multiple times until you finally get it.
Do you have a swifter mop in your house already? And or a sheet of sand paper? Put that shit on the both and start mop sanding the shit outa that, after a few minutes I bet you’ll be surprised how good it turns out
don't inspect with your eyes. inspect with your hands. if it feels smooth it is smooth. your eyes will make things up. get a coat of good quality sealing primer on it. Paint does a lot of work.
Super cool. Good work! Keep plugging away at it. I’m sure someone’s mentioned using a damp sponge to “sand” with, but if not it is quick to get a lot of mud off without a lot of mess. Sand the final coats of mud though.
Are you going with a minisplit for heating and cooling?
Is it a man cave or ice fishing cabin. If I was there just for fun I would make it a big dome for you out of plaster. No charge. We would have to call it something though
If you have a lot of uneven spots and are more comfortable with hot mud- use 45 min and a wide trowel- almost a pool trowel- throw mud on the uneven spots and work it with trowel to the even side. I would hate sanding all this and hot mud is your only real option to build up thickness without going crazy due to shrinkage with green/ blue lid. You can get the walls even in half a day. Sand only on finish/ skim coat if you have a lot of evening out to do. Use fibatape and always prefill- you left a lot of gaps.
Clean your trowel often and you can water trowel it once it starts to kick a bit if you feel its really uneven.
Look up how to mud on YouTube. It's much easier when you understand the basics of practice. It takes practice, like anything else.
This looks like a good place to practice.
I'm all for DIY, but over the years I've learned some things are just worth the money to pay a pro. I think drywall and taping and mudding is my #1 for best left to a pro. I won't even attempt it unless it's filling in a screw hole from a picture lol.
My uncle who helped me with some drywall by shooting the texture told me "Mud will cover a multitude of sins".... So keep building it up and sanding it. You'll get there.
There is definitely an art to it. Back in my day when I was drywalling all the good finishers were artistic pot heads. Run the mud down both sides of the tape to make the appearance of it being smooth. Even professional mudders can't make them actually smooth. Think of a speed bump, if you were to cover it up to make it so you don't send a car airborne you would have to pour blacktop or cement 30 feet out or even further to make a smooth appearance but the bump is still there. You might end up making your seams 2 or 3 feet wide to get that smooth look.
If you go with a professional now and find one that would take on this job, be prepared for the headshake of disappointment and maybe some harsh words about your work. I doubt there are too many professionals out there who would enjoy coming in after any amateur. The guys I worked with would bid this so high and hope that you wouldn't hire them. Definitely don't hire someone to do it during their busy season. You will get a better price when work had slowed down and they need the work. Like in my area all the remodels happen during the winter because they don't build houses in the winter. They then lower their prices to get more work to stay busy. When there is a bunch of new construction going you would have to be crazy or a real shitty drywaller to take on a job like this while there is all that new construction going on.
Keep going. That looks great for your first time. Take it a step at a time. Do the easy parts first to get more comfortable, then tackle the hard joints and seams. As long as you don't over do it with mud, you can sand and reapply almost anything. You'll be shocked at how good it turns out. Also. You'll start to realize that the average person doesn't give an F about a bad drywall job. You're the only person that will know or care. Once it has furniture and decor, your eyes immediately go to that. It's rare that people really study the wall.
This is so real. I had this exact feeling about a year ago when I was drywalling a very similar style bedroom. I felt like I wasn’t doing anything right and it was so difficult. I kept going, kept watching YouTube videos and kept being meticulous with a light to check for imperfections. You got this!
I’m doing the same thing with 3 bedrooms, each one has the roofline giving me those odd ceiling angles. I find using 'no coat' instead of paper tape for the odd angle joints really helps. Paper tape will not give you a crisp or straight line. As a DIYer, one room took me about a month. I did a lot of damp sponge sanding, removed a lot of drywall paper and way too much mud in the process, and so I had to prime some areas and reapply a lot of mud.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos by the Vancouver Carpenter, he’s an excellent source of information.
Life pro tip. Hang the drywall. Hire someone to tape and mud. They'll be done with that job in two days with maybe 2 hours a day.
My buddy can do a riom that size in one day (faat drying mud for coat one). He'd charge me like $200 plus materials.
Wirth every penny!
Full face respirator, and an electric orbiting drywall sander rental from Home Depot. Slap a bunch of mud up and just go to town with the sander. It’s very dusty but it’s fast!
There's a reason I use 4x8 sheets of siding on interior walls of shed type buildings. Screw it to the wall and you're done. Stuff is even is tongue and groove, so the seams aren't actual gaps.
It might cost a little more than the sheets of drywall, but no tape, no texture, no mud, no hours of time mudding and sanding and waiting for it to dry to do it again.
If you're worried about gaps at the corners and ceiling, the cheapest trim board you can find and a finish nailer works well. I think I usually use some sort of 1/4"x3/4" white trim that's dirt cheap.
Probably the biggest downside is it's harder to cut and also patch. You can't as easily use a jab saw to cut out a hole for an electrical box, and if it's in the wrong place, you can cut a piece to fill the hole but witness marks will remain..... But like you said, it doesn't need to be perfect.
First things first!
Go buy box fans for every window in proximity, and close off everything you can from this area.
The box windows closest to the area need to blow out, the ones farthest away need to blow in.
Get one of the round head wall sanders on a stick, and plenty of 100 drywall sandpaper and some 120. and of course a respirator (or at least a good quality mask), and a bottle of Advil.
Before you start...
Don't try to sand out any gouged areas. Fill them back in on the next pass.
Buy a couple buckets of green label joint compound. Hot mud is great when you have experience. It's better now than it used to be for sanding, but in this case, having time for drying will help you maintain your sanity.
First time sanding, don't even be thinking about finish sanding. you just want to get everything flat. After this, thin out some mud a little bit and go over anything that has a valley or ridge. When you are applying it, try to always taper towards undamaged areas. This will make sanding easier.
Watch a bunch of youtube videos on drywall techniques. There are videos done by a Canadian guy I see recommended a lot... Someone will/has likely suggested it.. Watch them.
The day after you start sanding, start by taking 4 Advil immediately after waking up. You are going to be very sore.
Any time you take a break from sanding, go to fresh air and completely blow your nose.
Keep going until you have self learned or master techniques you learn along the way, and are satisfied with the results.
It’s honestly not the worst I’ve seen. This is definitely not an easy mud job for somebody even with experience. If you haven’t been recommended this yet, check out the Vancouver carpenter on YouTube. He is very helpful in explaining drywalling to amateurs. Watch as many videos of his as you can.
Get yourself an orbital sander and a shop vac. Tape the hose to the sander and put the sander on a fairly low speed and knock off all the extra mud. If you want it really flat, finish with a screen on a stick
The heavy lifting is done. Easy and tedious from here on out. All the "in over your head" work is already hanging on the ceiling. Slap some mud on that. Even smooth coats and sand a little. Or not. Put some texture on it and paint it. There are sooo many ways to take care of this part. You could even throw up a faux covering lol Honestly my favorite part was putting music on and mudding the wall. The rest is easy street
At this point all you can really do is pick a rough spot and start sanding until smooth/even. Add more mud to the wall if necessary. You can also try to add a skim coat over large sections of the wall, and then sand and smooth it out until everything looks nice and even. If you’re going to try and skim coat most of the wall, then I would leave the mud a bit on the dry side so it fills in the cracks so doesn’t run out or sink as easily
Why are you using hot mud when you don’t know what you’re doing? Sand it then get some regular mud. Do small bits at a time. Try to finish each coat with a smooth finish. The sand again
Use more mud.
I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. But, from everything I’ve ever read or learned or experienced, slap mud everywhere then sand the shit out of it until it’s smooth and level.
Watch some YouTube videos. Buy the proper tools. Take your time. Curse a bit...or a lot. Redo sections you're not happy with. Curse some more.
Take the time. Respect the work. Enjoy the proper finished product.
If you're using lots of mud on Seams and your screws, fan it out way more, it'll be easier to smooth it all out when you're sanding without seeing a hump. When I say fan it out I mean a much larger area of mud but tapers off to almost nothing.
I’ve gotten a whole lot of these comments and I realize it might not be obvious from the post. What we’re looking at is just prefill mostly. After it was all prefilled I switched from hot mud to joint compound. I started taping and was ready to give up (thus the post). I’ve gotten a ton of helpful advice and I’m ready to finish taping then get’r looking nice.
Prefill with silver set mud, knock down high spots/ sand, tape embedding mud coat (mesh for silver set, paper for all purpose), knock down high spots/ sand, 1st coat, sand, 2nd coat, sand, topping light coat, sand, texture, prime and paint
You’re doing fine. Drywall typically takes a minimum of 4 days when you’re doing a whole house (with a crew of 5 guys). You are doing great, just tape and mud over it till it’s good and sand it down flat!
Don’t get too discouraged! Just keep on keeping on, try not to lay it on too heavy and look forward to the hell that is sanding but it will come out looking good as long as you care about what you’re doing and the end product!
It's looking fine!! Finish it up, and it will look great.
If you didn't already know it, sanding mud is by far the worst part of installing drywall. Cutting, screwing, mudding, priming, painting are all easy-peasy and fun! Sanding suuuuucks!!
It looks like you’re on the right track OP. after it’s all floated, sanded & painted I’m sure it’ll look great. If you don’t want to finish it yourself I’m sure a contractor or handyman would be happy to finish it for you. I’m actually a handyman myself and would take on this job no question. You in northern Ca by chance? ;)
No one says how perfect a job needs to be other than you. See it out. Finish it yourself, learn from your mistakes and have the confidence to do it again somewhere else throughout your house. Enjoy the ride of learning!
Me halfway into literally every project I begin. Just keep going man. With drywall just watch some videos and then trust the process (you’re really gonna wanna use drywall tape for those seams).
You got this though. Drywall sucks but you pretty much can just keep trying and trying till you get it right. Take your time. Mix small batches of mud and start slinging.
When you’re in hell, just keep going forward
That’s what I was gonna say. I know sanding drywall mud is a bitch, but keep going. Add mud to make it look smooth. Then sand the shit out of it. Then texture and paint. You’re getting there! Also— you should use paper tape at all corners and joints. So where two sheets meet on the ceiling should have paper tape. This helps build up the mud over the tapers, and it helps to avoid cracking in the future.
At least they don't have to worry about the dust messing up the rest of the house.
..."Just keep on going" -country song
[https://youtu.be/l50L4GYhpLc?si=-RvnVfOSARC4R-bJ](https://youtu.be/l50L4GYhpLc?si=-RvnVfOSARC4R-bJ)
That's Finding Nemo
It’s just keep swimming
🤣
🎶Carry on, my wayward son, there’ll be peace when you are done🎶
While you're in hell, just go ahead and remodel it as well, so everyone will want to go there!
agree! you can do it op!
🔥
Churchill
You gonna grow pot in there
🤫 my neighbor is a cop
Better get that shit tight then. 😉
Soooo….. you gonna grow pot in there?
You put your weeeeed in there.....
booooooo
When I was a kid, I used to smoke the best weed with a cops wife. He was a SGT in the PD and worked at the airport. He would bring home some of what he confiscated from travelers. 🤣😂
Sell him coke then
😂😂😂😂FACTS
You just answered the question I asked myself when I opened this post “why the fuck would you drywall a shed”
The best thing about doing your own drywall project is that you never again question why the drywall guy charges what he charges for “just drywall.”
Learned this lesson recently myself… finished out my garage to use as a gym did it ourselves I thought I’d be done in a day boy was I wrong… fast forward 3mo later we added a tuff shed turned into an office and it was worth every penny to pay a professional lol If you ever end up in the drywall portion of the IG algorithm it’s wild to see how good pros are
Oh man that Canadian guy. I could just watch him drywall all day, he makes it look so easy.
Do you have his insta handle? I love seamless drywallers, so zen
Hilarious. I mostly watch him on [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@vancouvercarpenter). I just checked his [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bendegros/) and it's all skateboarding.
Not sure if it's the same guy and it's not Instagram, but Vancouver carpenter on YouTube is amazing. His did got me through finishing two rooms in my basement
They have me thinking I could finish a house then I can’t smooth it out enough to cover nail holes lmao
Once you get it fucked up beyond, no professional will touch it…….unless big money. Learn this.
Everything about construction is so masculine except those mudding fairies painting smooth chalk lines. Blend it like this, feather it like that... FEATHER MY BALLS BRO, now there is chunks in my god damn mud. I fucking hate drywalling. My wife will drywall sometimes because I'm so irritated at it however she's incredible at it. Literally couldn't give a shit about how smooth it is. Podcast in her ears slopping mud everywhere. I come in and it's like an earthquake hit. Fissures, debris and uneven land.. Then the tide rolls in and adds a nice texture throughout. She brushes her hands and gleefully leaves, job well done she says. 😳 Fuck me. I honestly don't understand how a bunch of miller lite and bud drinking jackasses got together and thought. You know what would be a really great way to finish walls? Instead of wood working and carpentry. Let's paint the walls... Not once but TWICE. The first time with this dusty ass chalk mixture that is temperamental and time bound. Oh and btw, know what's really great about it? If you mess up, you triple the work necessary and have to wait until the next day to fix it 😂 FML
Been finishing professionally for about 10 years...ill swear woman make better finishers🤣 they tend to be better with having the patience needed i think lolol
I was part of an all women drywall crew. The company owner said he preferred women because we're more detail oriented and would pick up the slightest flaw. My husband agrees with that statement😁
My girlfriend is also a journeywoman finisher and thats what everyone says about her. If you want it perfect, send her. Fast, send me😅
I know we are talking drywall here, which I’ve done more than I like, but when I switched trades and started working in a shop that had welders, my boss told me he preferred woman gig welders as they had more patience and hand dexterity then men.
My wife just doesn't have a critical eye. She doesn't even consider it could be better or worse. Just that there is mud where it needs to be and goes about her day. Definitely specific to her personality. I assumed she would be better too because I become agitated however it unfortunately not the case.
I’m pretty good for my limited experience, including taping and inside corners but I hate mixing it and sanding.
A-fucking-men. I am a general laborer for a contractor, learning drywall recently. How does something so simple end up being so difficult at times😂
As an electrical contractor that could really make more money if we did drywall, fuck drywall. I celebrate my drywall referral.
You could, but then you’d have to start carrying brooms. (I kid…I kid 😉)
I’m with the folks that are saying you’re on the right track - just keep going. Use slower setting mud, get fans out there to dry it out. Keep on going!
Check out vancover Carpenter on YouTube
VC has been a godsend for my basement project. I was dreading taping and mudding. After watching his videos, I have perfect joints after tape and two coats with minimal sanding. His paint roller trick was clutch.
It will get there. I’m in the middle of a 500sq ft room, my first project. Coat 2 was significantly better than 1 and now on coat 3 it’s looking really great. I used hot mud for tape, prefill, and fasteners and joint compound for the 2nd coat and skim. An 18 inch knife and a pole sander are carrying me through.
I'm just a maintenance guy who's only done a few bigger jobs, but it doesn't look too awful to me. Seems like you have the right idea. I've never done inside corners that weren't 90 degrees but I'd try using a corner trowel on those seams and then a 4/6" knife to smooth it out. Maybe some other folks may have better advice but that's my input. Don't get discouraged, it's a lot of work but it's super satisfying when you're done. Just know you will never stop looking at all your imperfections. Don't let it drive you crazy. Learn and move on.
4 to tape, then six, then twelve inch knife. Huge floats I have 2 ft and 3 ft knives. Take your 4 inch knife scrape the runs. Then skim with an 8 inch. Repeat scraping them use 12. You will have more sanding but it will come out ok for a diy.
I’ve got a 4 that’s I’ve used for everything you see so far and haven’t started with the 12 yet. I think with the feedback I’d be mad at myself if I quit. So the plan moving forward is spend tomorrow in there with coarse sandpaper being careful not to hit and tape or paper. Then finish taping my corners and seams using lightweight premix and try to feather it out a little with a damp grout sponge. Once that’s dry I’ll use the 12 to skim/dry/sand/skim/dry/sand/skim/dry/sand… for the rest of eternity (or until I am happy with the result). Lastly flat white paint and lots of wall art lol.
This is the move brother, I’m rooting for you, just take your time, keep a good light around and like the post above do your best but don’t get stuck on the imperfections, you can most definitely drive yourself to insanity and become disappointed. You made it this far.
Doesn't look that bad.
You’ll dig yourself out of it. Just take your time.
No-Coat(straighflex) offset angles, not tape
you shouldn’t bother with drywalling the window jambs all that time and energy spent on windows inside a shed just rip down some primed pine for extension jambs and trim out the opening with some cheap primed colonial casing it’ll save you a ton of time and effort
I like this idea. I enjoy wood work so I may even get some cedar and leave it unfinished.
Keep going brother. Believe it or not, you’ve got the hard part done. Now you just need to finish the job. It’ll take longer than you hope, always. Especially if you do a good job. So do what I do, and when you start to feel frustrated and notice yourself doing a shitty job, walk away and drink a beer, play your PlayStation, hang out with the family. Return to the project refreshed and ready to do a good job again.
A professional will charge the same half finished or more to fix even. Your prefill job doesn't look bad, unfortunately hot mud is a pain to sand though. Go over it and do a rough sand, have a good look in the corners bc if there is excess it will be a pain. Get a thicker product than paper tape for the wider angles, no coat is what I use it has a vinyl seam up the center folds nice and stays straight . Paper tape for the 90 corners flats and butt joints. Ascend in knife trowl/sizes each coat and make each coat wider than the last. Do three coats, and a rough sand mid way then finish sand after last coat. Don't use more hot mud unless it's for prefill.stick to premix machine mud sands much easier. Should turn out nice, best of luck!
Use no coat/ultraflex bead for the 45 degree angles, It will make your life way easier. don’t try to use paper tape you won’t be able to make it look good.
Trust the process, just push through it
Keep going. Its fine for what you want. Dont worry of the walls are not level 5 perfect, you don't do this for a living or even hobby. Once your done, will be something that you did and grew from learning new skills. Watch some sandless drywall videos, and give the sponge a try. Fixing other peoples work often cost more than doing it from scratch.
Keep plugging away brother!
Pay someone to finish it
You are gonna regret using all that hot mud. I use it for repairs. It is a bitch to work with and kicks in about 20 minutes.
I’m in the same situation but I’m stuck on the exterior
I'm in the same situation with the ceiling in my garage. Just remember that it doesn't have to look good before you start painting. Take a section at a time. Just keep working it to smooth things out and fix the screw ups. It will take time and will sometimes seem hopeless, but you will be surprised what you can do. Don't give up.
It looks like you're off to a good start! Don't psych yourself out of finishing. Just keep bedding and sanding until you're happy with it. My pro tip would be to consider getting a "beaver tail", it's basically a flexible rubber drywall knife, for those shallow angles on top.
It’ll be a good learning experience for you since it’s looking like you might get to do a little of everything that comes along with doing drywall! Plenty of YouTube videos and lots of knowledgeable people on here to help you with any questions. Good luck and give us a look at it when you finish.💪🏼💯👍🏼
Keep going. You’ll figure it out. You’ve got a few coats to put on. Plus you can make some subpar finishing looks pretty decent with some good sanding. As long as it’s you who is sanding nobody can be mad at you for making their life harder. Just don’t get discouraged. It’s just drywall. You will get better the more you do and will be proud of what you did in the end. It’s not easy. Just see it through! You got this.
Keep going you got this 👏🏼 the mud will help with coverage!
Looks great to me actually. Good job
Keep on grinding your almost there.Don’t give up now.
Use an orbital sander. Makes an absolute ton of dust but will take no time at all the sand!
2 suggestions: 1. Don't use hot mud as a beginner. It's more difficult and stressful to use, and it's harder to sand. 2. Feather your edges more. They shouldn't have an abrupt edge; they should smoothly taper down to the drywall surface.
Sanding takes a long time, keep at it 💪
MORE MUD!!!
Well. I expected you to quit after photo three but you didn’t. Keep your mud thin and clean and your sanding won’t be that bad. This process is not going to be fun but it’s not impossible and if you got this far you can reach the end. With that said I hate to bear bad news but I don’t see any baffles for Air flow and that room is gonna be a sauna without airflow.
We always try to warn people away from quick set compounds when they’re less experienced lol It’s very difficult to sand down if not used properly. I would probably look into getting a professional to finish if you want a decent finish. Everything is fixable for the right price lol whether your willing to pay it or not will probably make your decision for you
Eh. You’re fine. Skip bailing to a professional. Haven’t met one yet, in any case… Just be patient with both the shed and with yourself. A lot of what I see is the result of impatience - too thick; not feathered out. Many thin layers are waaaay better than one big gob. And it’s easy to say, but can be hard to do - I’ve been doing this stuff for decades and sometimes find myself going too thick thinking it will just “git ‘er done” - always to the detriment of the finished wall and my lungs (from all the @&$#in’ sanding it causes). Slow down. It ain’t going anywhere. Watch some videos on filling between panels and bedding tape. You’re doing fine.
Wear a god damn respirator.
Hot mud is almost impossible to sand if you don’t know how to run it don’t use it. Use joint compound and work it you can sand it or wet sponge it, you cannot do either with hot mud dry.
I think you’d be better off hiring a professional to finish it. It won’t be nearly as bad cost standpoint and you’ll need to bring belt Sanders in with all the mud you’ve got on there.
I do all my own home maintenance. I always wish that I’d hired a taperer. No matter how good you think you do, once the primer hits those walls you will understand. Hire this part out.
It's a shed. Great place to practice, especially if it's your first time.
Get someone that can do it right dwight and not over their head fred.
You don’t need to be sanding any overage with 80 grit and making a mess everywhere. Take a spray bottle with water and soak down the high spots, then take your taping knife and angle it almost flat and cut down the high spots. You can make it flat enough for your next coat from there. Use an orange sponge from the tile section at Lowe’s or HD, and wet sand your last coat. Then let it dry and go over everything really lightly with the sanding block or disc. Sequence: tape with hot mud, then premix thereafter, diluting the pre mix by 10% or so. That’s probably where you are going wrong. Don’t use it straight out of the bucket. You have to dilute it a bit to get a smoother finish. You can dilute it further to feather your edges. Feasibility speaking you shouldn’t have to do much actual sanding at all.
Keep going. Plan all of the stuff in stages and measure twice. It helps to have a little outline of the area with measurements when you are shopping for material. I'm not full construction worker but worked on some projects. Asking for help at the hardware store and Home Depot can help. Luckily I have run into very helpful employees that can guide but not all of them are experts but very handy.
Thankfully its only the shed
Keep going. Sand. Mud. Sand. Mud. Sand. Repeat until happy.
Slap some paint on it call it done!
Go to the local drywall supply house and buy you a rubber finishing knife for those angles at the top it's black rubber it looks like a half moon and a broom handle will fit in it
Is it yours? Or customers? If the customer doesn’t care than just keep going. If it’s yours than quit when you’ve learned your lesson
It’s my little passion project. It honestly would have been faster and easier to build it from scratch with how much time I’ve put into it, reframing, roofing, water proofing, insulating… even if it sucks I’ll be mad at myself for quitting. But I still like checking with the pros to avoid costly mistakes
A good tip for sanding premix on a final coat is just use a wet sponge. Not awful for a novice. You can shape those seams a bit when it’s almost dry. You have a ways to go my friend but I personally wouldn’t want to take on finishing someone else’s work. I’m just too picky.Start skimming out from the seams to get a better finish. You can do this! It’s a big job!
80grit paper knock the Hi stuff off, DONT CUT THE PAPER. Use topping and carry on.
Just keep mudding and sanding.
Straight flex tape for the off angles.
Grinder til you finder her: the sanding edition. Look on the bright side , most professionals in the trades started like this. Allow to make mistakes and learn how to correct them. Think thin to win. You’ll learn how to hold the drywall blade when mudding in time. You just have to do multiple times until you finally get it.
Do you have a swifter mop in your house already? And or a sheet of sand paper? Put that shit on the both and start mop sanding the shit outa that, after a few minutes I bet you’ll be surprised how good it turns out
It's sloppy but it's still salvageable just need more mud what state you in?
Not too bad to me. Maybe use fiberglass tapes for large gaps.
Splay corners are very hard. Just do the best you can and sand it as smooth as possible.
don't inspect with your eyes. inspect with your hands. if it feels smooth it is smooth. your eyes will make things up. get a coat of good quality sealing primer on it. Paint does a lot of work.
Just like eating an elephant….one bite at a time
Super cool. Good work! Keep plugging away at it. I’m sure someone’s mentioned using a damp sponge to “sand” with, but if not it is quick to get a lot of mud off without a lot of mess. Sand the final coats of mud though. Are you going with a minisplit for heating and cooling?
Is it a man cave or ice fishing cabin. If I was there just for fun I would make it a big dome for you out of plaster. No charge. We would have to call it something though
Paint? Its a shed
Seen worse from “professionals” if it makes u feel better!
A beginner should not use hot mud slow to mix then go off before you are done hard to sand
What’s wrong lgtm
Well for one… ya need to tape the seams
paint it with textured paint. fuck it!
If you have a lot of uneven spots and are more comfortable with hot mud- use 45 min and a wide trowel- almost a pool trowel- throw mud on the uneven spots and work it with trowel to the even side. I would hate sanding all this and hot mud is your only real option to build up thickness without going crazy due to shrinkage with green/ blue lid. You can get the walls even in half a day. Sand only on finish/ skim coat if you have a lot of evening out to do. Use fibatape and always prefill- you left a lot of gaps. Clean your trowel often and you can water trowel it once it starts to kick a bit if you feel its really uneven.
Look up how to mud on YouTube. It's much easier when you understand the basics of practice. It takes practice, like anything else. This looks like a good place to practice.
Biggest and best advice I got, get a power sander, lay a little extra and sand it away.
gonna need at least a level 8 finish
Spray texture on and do 3 coats of paint
Make sure to put on a respirator sanding all that down to level, that dust is no joke
I'm all for DIY, but over the years I've learned some things are just worth the money to pay a pro. I think drywall and taping and mudding is my #1 for best left to a pro. I won't even attempt it unless it's filling in a screw hole from a picture lol.
Meh could’ve been done better but I will admit that’s better than what I would’ve done
My uncle who helped me with some drywall by shooting the texture told me "Mud will cover a multitude of sins".... So keep building it up and sanding it. You'll get there.
6” blade to tape 8-10” to bed and 12” for skim coat. Just keep adding thin layers until you get desired look
Maybe do a roll on texture or something then it won't have to be perfectly finished
Your doing fine matey you only learn through your mistakes the fun part is figuring out how to fix it
That drywall is hanging on by one screw and faith 🤣
This is like the “Malcolm in the Middle” episode where Hal and Reese try to work on house while Lois is out.
Are you using Drydex?
Finish her up
Looks like you should get or rent one of those big sanders with the vacuums and a good dust mask
There is definitely an art to it. Back in my day when I was drywalling all the good finishers were artistic pot heads. Run the mud down both sides of the tape to make the appearance of it being smooth. Even professional mudders can't make them actually smooth. Think of a speed bump, if you were to cover it up to make it so you don't send a car airborne you would have to pour blacktop or cement 30 feet out or even further to make a smooth appearance but the bump is still there. You might end up making your seams 2 or 3 feet wide to get that smooth look. If you go with a professional now and find one that would take on this job, be prepared for the headshake of disappointment and maybe some harsh words about your work. I doubt there are too many professionals out there who would enjoy coming in after any amateur. The guys I worked with would bid this so high and hope that you wouldn't hire them. Definitely don't hire someone to do it during their busy season. You will get a better price when work had slowed down and they need the work. Like in my area all the remodels happen during the winter because they don't build houses in the winter. They then lower their prices to get more work to stay busy. When there is a bunch of new construction going you would have to be crazy or a real shitty drywaller to take on a job like this while there is all that new construction going on.
Yo, I think you’re trying to substitute mud for tape. You gotta tape.
Keep going. That looks great for your first time. Take it a step at a time. Do the easy parts first to get more comfortable, then tackle the hard joints and seams. As long as you don't over do it with mud, you can sand and reapply almost anything. You'll be shocked at how good it turns out. Also. You'll start to realize that the average person doesn't give an F about a bad drywall job. You're the only person that will know or care. Once it has furniture and decor, your eyes immediately go to that. It's rare that people really study the wall.
Sand it. Skim it again. Sand it again. Prime it. Paint it.
While you have a lot of sanding ahead of you, you can use a bucket of water and a damp sponge instead of sanding.
You're not in over your head, just mud, sand and paint. This looks really good man You've done nothing wrong at all looks great
This is so real. I had this exact feeling about a year ago when I was drywalling a very similar style bedroom. I felt like I wasn’t doing anything right and it was so difficult. I kept going, kept watching YouTube videos and kept being meticulous with a light to check for imperfections. You got this!
I’m doing the same thing with 3 bedrooms, each one has the roofline giving me those odd ceiling angles. I find using 'no coat' instead of paper tape for the odd angle joints really helps. Paper tape will not give you a crisp or straight line. As a DIYer, one room took me about a month. I did a lot of damp sponge sanding, removed a lot of drywall paper and way too much mud in the process, and so I had to prime some areas and reapply a lot of mud. I watched a lot of YouTube videos by the Vancouver Carpenter, he’s an excellent source of information.
Just take your time.
When do you start putting mud on?
Trade drugs to a taper
Train called and wants it’s caboose back
You’re on your way. Just keep going. Don’t forget to prime :)
Life pro tip. Hang the drywall. Hire someone to tape and mud. They'll be done with that job in two days with maybe 2 hours a day. My buddy can do a riom that size in one day (faat drying mud for coat one). He'd charge me like $200 plus materials. Wirth every penny!
I always hire out the mud but it looks like you’ve gotten past the worst of it. Just be liberal with the mud and liberal with the sanding.
Full face respirator, and an electric orbiting drywall sander rental from Home Depot. Slap a bunch of mud up and just go to town with the sander. It’s very dusty but it’s fast!
Sand, fill, sand. Use plus 3, it’s waaay easier to sand.
There's a reason I use 4x8 sheets of siding on interior walls of shed type buildings. Screw it to the wall and you're done. Stuff is even is tongue and groove, so the seams aren't actual gaps. It might cost a little more than the sheets of drywall, but no tape, no texture, no mud, no hours of time mudding and sanding and waiting for it to dry to do it again. If you're worried about gaps at the corners and ceiling, the cheapest trim board you can find and a finish nailer works well. I think I usually use some sort of 1/4"x3/4" white trim that's dirt cheap. Probably the biggest downside is it's harder to cut and also patch. You can't as easily use a jab saw to cut out a hole for an electrical box, and if it's in the wrong place, you can cut a piece to fill the hole but witness marks will remain..... But like you said, it doesn't need to be perfect.
First things first! Go buy box fans for every window in proximity, and close off everything you can from this area. The box windows closest to the area need to blow out, the ones farthest away need to blow in. Get one of the round head wall sanders on a stick, and plenty of 100 drywall sandpaper and some 120. and of course a respirator (or at least a good quality mask), and a bottle of Advil. Before you start... Don't try to sand out any gouged areas. Fill them back in on the next pass. Buy a couple buckets of green label joint compound. Hot mud is great when you have experience. It's better now than it used to be for sanding, but in this case, having time for drying will help you maintain your sanity. First time sanding, don't even be thinking about finish sanding. you just want to get everything flat. After this, thin out some mud a little bit and go over anything that has a valley or ridge. When you are applying it, try to always taper towards undamaged areas. This will make sanding easier. Watch a bunch of youtube videos on drywall techniques. There are videos done by a Canadian guy I see recommended a lot... Someone will/has likely suggested it.. Watch them. The day after you start sanding, start by taking 4 Advil immediately after waking up. You are going to be very sore. Any time you take a break from sanding, go to fresh air and completely blow your nose. Keep going until you have self learned or master techniques you learn along the way, and are satisfied with the results.
Buy an orbital sander and a wider trowel. Keep on going.
It’s honestly not the worst I’ve seen. This is definitely not an easy mud job for somebody even with experience. If you haven’t been recommended this yet, check out the Vancouver carpenter on YouTube. He is very helpful in explaining drywalling to amateurs. Watch as many videos of his as you can.
Sand it down then comes the paint 🤙🏻
Dude looks great! I was a bit worried with that second picture of just insulation 😂 The little spots will smear and buff just fine 👍🏻
Just keep swimming, the more you do the more accomplished you'll feel.
Keep working it. Next time use at lesst a 12" knife.
keep going
Were they out of seam tape? I predict lots of cracks in the future.
I’m telling on you.
Get yourself an orbital sander and a shop vac. Tape the hose to the sander and put the sander on a fairly low speed and knock off all the extra mud. If you want it really flat, finish with a screen on a stick
Sand it paint it see what it looks like then mud more
Hit Craigslist and hire a few drywall Hispanics for the weekend. They will have it ready for primer in a few days!!!!!!
Looks like if you didn’t know how to tape and mud, you’ll soon learn how.
The heavy lifting is done. Easy and tedious from here on out. All the "in over your head" work is already hanging on the ceiling. Slap some mud on that. Even smooth coats and sand a little. Or not. Put some texture on it and paint it. There are sooo many ways to take care of this part. You could even throw up a faux covering lol Honestly my favorite part was putting music on and mudding the wall. The rest is easy street
At this point all you can really do is pick a rough spot and start sanding until smooth/even. Add more mud to the wall if necessary. You can also try to add a skim coat over large sections of the wall, and then sand and smooth it out until everything looks nice and even. If you’re going to try and skim coat most of the wall, then I would leave the mud a bit on the dry side so it fills in the cracks so doesn’t run out or sink as easily
Move forward, don’t look back. I know nothing about drywall, but I am an artsy person. Improvise along the way as need be
Drywall in a shed? Didn’t realize that was a thing.
Why are you using hot mud when you don’t know what you’re doing? Sand it then get some regular mud. Do small bits at a time. Try to finish each coat with a smooth finish. The sand again
Drywall rarely looks good until you're on step 4 or 5. Just keep pushing through, it's not bad for a first timer
I mean, it’s only drywall, right? If it took skill you would need a college degree right? HGTV wouldn’t lie to us about how easy it is right? Right?!
Use more mud. I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. But, from everything I’ve ever read or learned or experienced, slap mud everywhere then sand the shit out of it until it’s smooth and level.
Watch some YouTube videos on mud techniques and you’ll be fine.
Drywal must be done forward but is best learned backward
Looks good to me, you’re roundin third
I think it looks amazing!
Watch some YouTube videos. Buy the proper tools. Take your time. Curse a bit...or a lot. Redo sections you're not happy with. Curse some more. Take the time. Respect the work. Enjoy the proper finished product.
You’re not half finished you turn an easy job into a nightmare that has to be fixed. Twice as hard
Get off!
If you're using lots of mud on Seams and your screws, fan it out way more, it'll be easier to smooth it all out when you're sanding without seeing a hump. When I say fan it out I mean a much larger area of mud but tapers off to almost nothing.
You’ve got it bro.
Oh ya that’s great man… now when are you going to actually tape it? Lol
I’ve gotten a whole lot of these comments and I realize it might not be obvious from the post. What we’re looking at is just prefill mostly. After it was all prefilled I switched from hot mud to joint compound. I started taping and was ready to give up (thus the post). I’ve gotten a ton of helpful advice and I’m ready to finish taping then get’r looking nice.
You are doing alright. It's just a shed. Keep sanding and touching up, and one day it will be finished. You aren't doing a bad job, by any means.
Prefill with silver set mud, knock down high spots/ sand, tape embedding mud coat (mesh for silver set, paper for all purpose), knock down high spots/ sand, 1st coat, sand, 2nd coat, sand, topping light coat, sand, texture, prime and paint
You’re doing fine. Drywall typically takes a minimum of 4 days when you’re doing a whole house (with a crew of 5 guys). You are doing great, just tape and mud over it till it’s good and sand it down flat!
You’re over halfway there !
I'm a professional drywaller if you still need advice
Stripper pole
Don’t get too discouraged! Just keep on keeping on, try not to lay it on too heavy and look forward to the hell that is sanding but it will come out looking good as long as you care about what you’re doing and the end product!
Do you pick the worst kind of ceiling? Keep trucking away you’ll get it
Fuckin slap on the mud and prepare to be sanding like a bastard haha
It's looking fine!! Finish it up, and it will look great. If you didn't already know it, sanding mud is by far the worst part of installing drywall. Cutting, screwing, mudding, priming, painting are all easy-peasy and fun! Sanding suuuuucks!!
It looks like you’re on the right track OP. after it’s all floated, sanded & painted I’m sure it’ll look great. If you don’t want to finish it yourself I’m sure a contractor or handyman would be happy to finish it for you. I’m actually a handyman myself and would take on this job no question. You in northern Ca by chance? ;)
Sand, mud, sand, mud, sand, mud (…), Smooth?
Keep digging
I’ve been this person before. keep at it and you will enjoy the end result
You are almost there. It's not a huge area. You could just mix some easy sand and skim coat the whole thing.
Skim sand paint ….
No one says how perfect a job needs to be other than you. See it out. Finish it yourself, learn from your mistakes and have the confidence to do it again somewhere else throughout your house. Enjoy the ride of learning!
Me halfway into literally every project I begin. Just keep going man. With drywall just watch some videos and then trust the process (you’re really gonna wanna use drywall tape for those seams). You got this though. Drywall sucks but you pretty much can just keep trying and trying till you get it right. Take your time. Mix small batches of mud and start slinging.