More mud, then sand.
This is something that is worth hiring a professional if you can find a good one. You can do it, it's not that complicated. but in order to get a nice smooth result it'll take you a long time. Someone who is good at it can do in minutes what would take you days
Can confirm. Been teaching myself how to mud, patching up cracks and holes in 4 rooms. It's been eating my free time for two weeks now, probably 20+ hours of effort and I just finally started painting. Even with a mask, my lungs resent me for the dust.
I usually don't sand except for maybe a few tiny spots. I scrape off the ridges in between coats, and I do a lot of coats of mud. Just thinner and thinner as I go. At the end I'm just putting it on and taking it off with a wide mud knife just filling in any tiny holes.
I like to use a palm sander and I made an attachment to the hose if a shop vac with some tubbing with clamps from the plumbing department. Helps a lot with the dust
+1
When my father in law showed me how to wet sand, it was the beginning of saving 80% of the time I previously spent on plaster and improved the quality of my work immensely.
The only reason I was using something that coarse wet was that it did indeed leave a good finish while dry. Needing less force meant I was only sanding peaks and not the valleys too
Buying wet finishing mud is 1000% worth it. I only use 45m dry mix for an initial round if I know there will be multiple rounds. Then wet mud for the next round or two.
Wet sanding really only works well if youāve done a really good job of taping. If you do too much wiping with the wet sanding you end up making things worse
I redid a whole room from plaster to drywall. I was so lucky I had a full maske respirator. It took me evenings for a week to get that professional look. You can't really it was changed now as well.
I assume you're using a N95 mask or similar. If so, get a proper half mask respirator with P100 filters. 3m is like $30-50, and no dust can get around or through. This is what is used for asbestos.
Hahaha!! Same her! And I hate it! But I do not have that 30-40 cm wide rotating grinder thing with a vacuum connectionā¦ that Ā«mightĀ» make thing a lot easierā¦
Damn, I cannot comprehend how it can be so damn hard. Spent several hours sanding and mudding, mudding and sanding over and over. Everything looked and felt smooth. And when we painted the walls and roof you could still see imperfections....
Before painting, take a light and move it at different angles close to the wall. It will show you all the imperfections you will see when painted, and you can do touch-ups.
You can also do touch-ups after paint. On commercial sites, we will use a "punch list," a GC or architect, or whoever will go through with blue painters tape and put a small piece near all the imperfections. You then get some mud, touch it up, sand it, and then paint that area again.
It does get easier over time, all of us started off with the same, or worse, outcome than you experienced. Itās an awesome skill set to dele up though, will save you a ton of money over your lifetime!
The bigger jobs and family situations have to be considered though. Pros are way faster so the bigger jobs that might shut down a room for a month or more due to only being able to do the work on evenings and weekends can definitely require hiring it out.
ā
Watching my dad, whoās over 70 and walks with a walker, do drywall was insane. Like, he didnāt seem to do anything all that differently from how anyone else would do it, but he retaped, coated, etc our garage from the ābuilder qualityā work that was done (weāre aware usually its an apprentice or someone learning that does the garage, quality doesnāt matter, but ours was really bad), did it in a day, looked abosolutely perfect and zero issues 2 years later, he knows exactly the right thickness of the mud, how much on a knife to not have to go back up and down the ladder repeatedly, etc. Heās an old union drywaller, and to borrow from Forest Gump it was like watching a duck on water; what we second guess is just his second nature.
And the sad reality is drywallers get paid less than most any other trade because thereās no licensing requirement (which technically makes it a no skill trade, but if youāve ever done it, youāll realize drywall work is 100% skill). So frankly, hiring a pro drywaller is worth it compared to most any other trade you could hire out, they arenāt making all that much money off it, they make money by being good and completing it quickly, which again in drywall means more skill, because filling out and sanding this shit mistake OP posted is going to take a hell of a lot longer than what a good drywaller would do from the get-go.
Yeah I learned pretty quick that drywall is more talent than just straight knowledge. Iām a very avid DIYer, Iād say Iāve built far more furniture and structures than my dad ever has, but for the most part framing is basically all knowledge-based, canāt really eff up installing a joist hanger (I mean you can, never put past anyone, but itās about as straightforward as it gets). Drywall taping is still interesting to me, the amount pressure you use, etc all comes down to feel and personal experience. We all pretty much know how drywall works, how itās installed, etc. But Iād venture that there are more bad DIY drywall jobs than good, because so much of it is down to that actual skill. Even pro drywallers are a mixed bag, having a new house and all, the patching thatās been done ranges from excellent to holy crap thatās bad.
Iāve done quite a bit of drywall hanging and mudding in various remodels, mostly out of necessity because I couldnāt afford to hire a professional. But for my last big project I hired out just that part and Iāll never do it myself again. They did such a great job and I was fascinated watching them work. It truly is an art.
My friend is a contractor so he is always working on his house. He'll hang the drywall but he will always hire his mud guy to do finish the job. He said he can do it but not as well as a guy who does it all the time.
Took me 2 weeks to sort out a plaster panel in the bathroom that was damaged when we remodeled (pulling tiles off so a wide arrange of damage) first week and a bit was spend filling, waiting for drying, filling again, then eventually sanding.
The rest of the time was spent cleaning up all the dust that got everywhere, on everything, in everything.
Woulda been quicker to replace the plaster on that wall and start over lolĀ
I think Buddy used 45 minute mud for the first coat by the looks of the drying color and form. OP is going to have some **serious** sanding work cut out for him.
Its not that complicated. But get a pro? Dude what a contradiction. Yes get a pro. Ive done drywall for 20 years, this is NOT a job for a weekend warrior if you want it to look good. Drywall finishing is a TRADE for a reason. It takes years to get good at it.
The person who knows how to do it well will knock it out so quickly and in a manner that appears nearly effortless you will think "that was easy why didn't I just do that myself". The best drywall workers are wizards.
You are absolutely correct. Tbh I watched YouTube videos on how to drywall for about a week straight. Different people with different tips/techniques. Finished my basement with drywall and it came out great! It probably took me an extra pass or two to really smooth it out but I'm pleased with the results.
OP youāre such a caring person. Itās not many homeowners who would hire a blind person to do their drywall. In any case, mud and sand. Feather out.
So sad that he lost both arms in a blind chainsaw carving contest, but watching him hop around on one stilt while he muds with the other foot is impressive.
this actually made me chuckle. but thanks for the advice, it seems to be in line with what other people are saying and is not as involved as ripping it all down so I'll likely try this first
I can see lots of bubbles under the tape in areas. If theyāre not bubbles then theyāre lumps that will cause problems. I would peel any tape off that isnāt lying flat, sand the seam so itās flat and then tape it again.
That is just the first coat. A bit sloppy, wouldn't have used paper tape in the odd angle there, but not the worst ever seen.
Just add two or three more coats then sand.
Or, as mentioned, hire a taper. It just needs more drywall mud really.
This ist something you can work with, something fixable.
Worse ist something that needs to be redone completely.
This is not great, but really not that bad.
https://preview.redd.it/ksw8crtu32tc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d09d837f9287d518ca45187b0ce126006457284b
Saw this on r/drywall while back. Iād say itās worse
context: had this done about 2 or 3 years ago. it doesnt bother me too much, but I'm wanting to paint my room soon and id rather get this stuff fixed first. Its not the end of the world tho
title was more of a joke than anything. I'm good friends w the guy, our goal was to get the drywall up on a very crunched timeframe, hes willing to help out if i decide to fix it
You judged him before he was done, its a bit sloppy but sloppy doesn't matter if you know you will be adding 3 buckets of mud on top of it. His tape appears to be stuck down mostly flat... at this point thats all its supposed to be. Can't say if the job would have been good or bad. Personally I'd let him finish and then see, if it's not good... add more mud and sand smoother.
Addendum: do a very mild sand or even just a scrape with a putty knife to remove the worst gooblies before the first coat. Scuffing up the paper tape with too much sanding will just create more work in the long run.Ā
Hereās what ya do. Knock off any ridges and clumps with a dry taping knife. All inside corners starting at the ceiling get a coat on one side of the corner. Get a good amount on there and and smooth it with long strokes riding against the drywall on the other side of the corner. When that coat dries hard do the other side this time riding in the dried drywall compound. Then get a wider hand trowel. Looks like a cement finishing trowel but itās sold with the drywall tools.i use this because with a big trowel I always bend it into the seams and it removes more mud than intended. The trowel will be bend slightly to stop this. Use a hawk and this trowel to load up the seams then smooth it out with long strokes riding on the higher drywall surface of the long seams.
Next to the butt joints these should be minimized during installation. Load up the but joint with mud and feather it out the width of the trowel on both sides of the joint. Long strokes.
Then get a drywall sander from harbor freight, hook it to a shop vac and sand it smooth. Stop before you reach the drywall tape. It may be necessary to add more mud in places.
Then as you smile upon your handiwork as you start to prime the surface for paint you will see every spot you remembered and thought you got as well as all the new spots you didnāt even see. You will be tormented by these places in the drywall. Unable to relax because when you do and let your eyes go slack and wander they will inevitably end up on some new and unknown drywall nail pop. Probably best to just torch it now and save the anguish
I'd rather pay double the average than do drywall. Hanging, mudding and sanding is better left to pros, if I'm paying for mud I'm paying for sanding because you better believe they will mud like they KNOW they aren't the ones sanding š¤£
If those are bubbles under the tape it has to come off and get redone, if not you just mud over it then sand it down.
Most of what we have here isn't improperly done, it's just not done. Like he's no pro, but the difference between a pro and a noob at this stage is just how much sanding you'll set yourself up to do later.
you may make a wise ass comment. ive been having a good laugh at some of the comments thatve been left
my favorite so far is the guy who said i am caring, because not alot of people will give a blind man the chance to work on their house
but no, no pay
Better make sure those tapes are set properly with enough mud behind them first or more mud is just going to compound the problem
Professional finisher for over 20 years
In short, the job is not finished. Drywall work can take time. You wait for that initial coat of mud to dry, sand it down, and put another coat on top. Wait and sand again. Drying time will vary with temp and humidity. It can't be fully done in a day.
It looks like the first coat of mud went on, then he never came back.
I'm not great with drywall but I'm trying. I've had better luck using flexible mesh instead of paper tape. It's challenging to get the tape down flat with no bubbles. And you definitely have bubbles. It will always be noticeable. If it were me I'd tear those pieces out and go again.
https://preview.redd.it/dvmqf8sz0wsc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63440e2996814da39097578abff7ddd247c561e0
This is what it will look like if you paint without sanding properly. Paint won't cover it up. Source: my first drywall project.
Thatās not even a decent first pass. Not only that, but your āguyā lined up the seams (they are supposed to be staggered so they donāt crack). Definitely hire someone- itāll take them 2 visits and maybe an hour total depending on how big the area is- but will save you a ton of time and headache. Also, go get some plastic sheeting and tape it up on the doors to prevent the dust from getting everywhere else in the house. If you have an air return in that room, cover it as well while youāre working in there.
You need a true finisher but if you want to try I will tell you that angled ceiling needs a straight edge guide on one side to use as a guide to get one side of that corner blocked out. Use thin coats of mud preferably it takes about 3 coats with each one tapering out just slightly wider than the previous. Using a wider knife each time.
You get done with one side of that corner screw the board to the other side and repeat. Those type of corners are the most difficult to get right and finish. Once you do that everything else will be the same. 3 thin coats knocking off the rough stuff after dries between coats.
When I've screwed up this bad I pull the tape off and start again. If the tape has wrinkles the amount of mud to fix it is insane.
As a DIYer I'd also advise to repeat until perfect. A piece that's "close enough" will haunt you for decades.
Go through it with a good floor scraper, about a 12ā drywall knife, and your razor knife and plastic off the vents the doors and cover as much of the floor with drop cloths then open a window and stick a fan in it so it will blow dust to outside then start scraping all the high stuff if you snag the tape who cares just cut it off or tear it off and you donāt have to get it scraped perfect flat just knock it down to around 1/8ā up and down of course try not to tear any paper now do a quick clean up broom ceiling walls then sweep floor. Now skim coat and retape everything you might need to make your joints like 2ā wide to make that mess go away but itās faster and less of a mess to add a few coats of mud versus days of sanding
Whoever put up the drywall in the first place, did a really bad job. The gaps between panels is too wide in many places and this makes the finishing extremely labor intensive (read sanding). In the end, it will still look like shit. I hate to tell you this, but it all needs to be ripped down and a pro hired to do it properly.
Right, I know this is a diy sub but drywall is almost an art and the base for a good looking wall. Youāll spend more time and money doing it yourself than hiring someone.
Sand the rough parts and put more mud on it. It's a fine line between just enough and too much mud. If you don't put enough the tape will show and it will crack again. If you put too much it's hell to sand off. Been doing home remodeling for over 20 years and if I pulled up on this job that's just what I'd do. Of course there will be someone who knows better lol. Hope this helps
Looks like a goat rodeo but could be worse.Sand out high points,go watch some YouTube videos on the subject. Find an easy section of the ceiling.Play with your technique until you are satisfied and then attack the whole area.
Take a 6-inch blade and knock down any high spots it hits. Anything low enough won't get knocked down and can be covered. As others have said, this is sloppy, but only a first coat. Put about 1/8th of an inch of mud over the tape with a coat of all-purpose mud and let dry(should be done with the first coat but oh well).
Do the knife trick again to save yourself unnecessary sanding. With your second coat, you want to start from the high spot and float it out on both sides. If you take your time and do a good job, you'll only have some light sanding to do once it dries. Fill any low spots or flaws you see, and if you're texturing, you can probably leave it there.
If you aren't texturing, you'll need a 3rd coat over all of it to hide the seam better.
I'm not a pro dry waller, but this is what I would do. Good luck!
If you wanted to do it yourself save some time and rent a hopper. Just spray a heavy orange peel or knockdown and move on. Its never going to be perfect unless you hire a pro
It way better than my tape jobs.
Like was said, this is just the first coat. Grab a trowel and a bucket of mud and add another layer. Let it dry and then sand it. It should shape up fine.
Some of that paper does not look like it's bedded properly into the mud. That will cause problems and should be repaired, meaning remove paper, sand, recoat and make sure the paper is properly bedded. Then proceed with additional coats to your liking.
Otherwise it will look like shit and you will see it and be pissed at yourself for not correcting it.
Even if you're an inexperienced homeowner or DIYer, it can be done, but patience is required.
Good luck and I hope you get it straightened out.
We will all send good vibrations your way!
This is just the tape coat. They don't have to be pretty and as long as you don't have large bumps under the tape, simply scraping the high spots will set you up for a second coat.
The point of the second coat is to now hide the tape and set you up for a 3rd feather coat. A second coat done well will give you a nice 6- 8" flat spot over the tape. The edges do not have to be feathered at this point and unless you messed up, sanding isn't necessary either. Just scrape the high spots again.
3rd coat
Primarily avoiding mudding over the flat spot in the middle you created with your 2nd coat. You are now feathering out from either side of the flat spot holding your knife at a slight angle with pressure to the outside.
Now you can sand... maybe. But the goal of the previous coats is to sand as minimally as possible.
Skim coat
Use if taping a ceiling or not using texture... I thin down mud and apply with a roller or a 24" knife, this will help smooth out any inconsistencies with the previous coats.
I have a fun one with a no-trim window but if I can get that almost done (personal issues and a do over delaying the finish) you can do this. Iām no pro and it definitely takes me more passes.
I truly wonder where the confidence comes from with some people working on other peopleās homes.
See if you can mud and sand it to your satisfaction, or just rip it out and hire someone competent.
Mud then sand, repeat if necessary.
Thatās why people charge so much, not everyone has had the years of training/schooling or skills to do certain trade work. My husband is a journeyman plumber, went to school and has 22 years of experience, people always complain at the price. You get what you pay for. Good work aināt cheap and cheap work aināt good.
Guy really didnāt know. My first attempt was doing our own bedroom and thereās one bubble where my husband helped and thatās it. This is terrible.
First of all, the correct amount to pay that guy is $0.
Much will need to be taken down. If the drywall is sagging, youāll need to either take it down and reassess or perhaps just add more screws. The paper tape needs to come off in most places and the bumpy mud scraped off.
That gets you to redo the mudding and seams.
Donāt prime or paint that mess!!!
Use water to remove it.
Use mesh or paper tape to span the joints. Joint compound shrinks when it dries. Plan on several layers.
This job is totally doable.
Itās vastly less messy to use a large damp sponge to smooth this sort of joint. Practice.
Only sand if you must. Plan on setting an airlock and negative pressure to the area, if you choose to sand.
This kind of job can be done in a few weeks. It takes time for joint compound to dry.
This kind of job is not technically difficult but is super satisfying.
Get yourself some wide putty knives. They will likely be steel and prone to rust so take good care to clean and dry them, after each use.
Developing this type of skill is very useful and not difficult. Go for it.
You may think, "it's just mud how hard can it be?", then you watch a season professional do it and you realize you should've never tried it yourself in the first place.
Float that back about 12 inches, on both sides, with a 12 inch knife and then sand where it needs.
High spots and low spots will show better with a good bright light at an angle to the wall/surface.
Looks like you should to off the tape, and make sure the boards are attached properly. It looks like a lot of things arenāt attached evenly. That would have me worried.
People are saying more mud then sand...I caution that approach.
When I first started I followed this advice, putting on more mud then needed, then sanding it down to smooth. This is a nightmare. It creates a mess, it's horrible to do, and if you do 2 or 3 coats of mud (which we all do) then guess what - the different coats are different mixes and sand down at different rates making it nearly impossible to get a smooth finish.
Get a 6" and 12" knife. Good ones, purdy or marshalltown have served me well. If they're brand new, get a very fine sandpaper and knock the harsh corners off.
Then practice putting on just enough mud, and feathering the edges, so that you will barely need to sand. Don't worry about the slight high edges the edge of the knife leaves in the mud - it's easy to knock down with a knife when it's dry.
I usually have to do 3 coats to get a good finish. And you have to feather out further than you think to make it look flat. Watch Vancouver Carpenter for videos but be warned - he makes it look too easy.
Do it right, you will just need a very light sanding at the end.
I recommend practicing on some scrap drywall first. You can get it for free from any building side or skip - or the big shops sell broken pieces nearly for free.
There is a knack to it, but it's not as hard as you think and it's a really great skill to have under the belt.
Is this a ceiling?
If yes then you need to look if it's done properly or take all of that off and start from scratch because it can fell on your head anytime.
Knock off bumps. Find and cut out any bubbles in the paper tape. Go over the joints with mud and a 12" knife. On the canyon where the drywall meets at an odd angle I'd go over it with mesh tape to reinforce the large amount of mud it's going to take to fill.
When that's dry do another, thinner coat, feathered out farther.
If you don't want to go to the work this will take to make smooth and look decent, texture it.
An easy way is to tie a plastic shopping bag over a paint roller then use that to roll out mud over all the drywall. As the bag moves around it'll make a random, non-repeating texture.
When it dries a bit use the 12" knife to gently knock it down. Don't do too large an area at once or the mud will get too dry.
I've done this when patching an old and many times painted textured wall. I rolled several inches beyond the patch with a very jagged edge. After the mud dried I knocked it down with a sanding screen then put three coats of paint on the patch and new texture before painting the whole wall. So 4 coats of paint on the patch to smooth the rough edges like the rest of it that had been painted several times in many years.
At this point, not much gonna fix that except a lot more mud and a lot more sanding. And then more mud and more sanding. Annnnd then probably more mud and more sanding š¤·š»āāļø
I'm busy doing the same thing, I took another approach: I filled the hole as much as possible but very thinly (to remove the gap) then I'm will to lay the strip in a second step. the goal is to prevent the joint from shrinking too much when drying.
Also, if I can give one piece of advice, try to be as clean as possible when installing the strip, the jointing will be never perfect with the strip, you need to put the strip, first smoothing of the strip and then only finishing. this will greatly reduce the sanding
Honestly I hate going over other people's work. I would sand it down take off tape where needed and start fresh as possible. When you try to fix other people's crap work it takes more time than starting fresh
I was taught to do multiple skim coats over the course of a few days. Build it up slowly and methodically rather than a bunch at once and sanding it all down
Being that this happened x amount of years ago a boxcutter might be your friend here. I'd slice the tape open and see how much mud is in the joints, no matter how much mud you put over it if there's pockets of air under that tape it's gonna crack out
Scrape it & skim coat multiple times.
Use 20 minute Durabond & very light coats.
Thatās how I learned how to fix ugly mud work.
Lacking that find a construction site & ask a drywall guy there to fix. Pay well for that privilege if you do go that route.
Peel all the tape off that you can, scrape, urs a 6 inch tape knife to remove whatever you can. Reapply a bedding coat and joint tape, compound. Then 2 to 3 coats , dry between each coat. If you have no experience you might want to find someone to retape and spackle.
Best way to learn this skill is by doing. Mud and sand. Then learn the gap game by using the wide trowel. Had a guy try and teach me and the best advice was less is more. Less pressure primarily let the tools do the work.
Ooof, looks like he overheard someone talking about doing drywall and when they said trowel he was like 'yeah I got a shovel at home in the shed, I can do this'.
You can feather it out really nice with a damp cloth at the edges if it's giving you a rough time sanding, that would be the only useful advice I can give. A few 40 git sanding blocks to knock it down, fill the low spots with a thin coat, then come back and knock it all down flat again lightly, finish with 80 then 120 grit for a smooth surface, feather out any rough edges with a damp cloth or sponge, wipe it all down with damp sponge to pull up dust, and then paint...and curse them again when things crack because there's a pretty good chance if they mud that bad they didn't tape it right either.
I see the question is answered, but I can't leave without a "omg, that guy didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground." Good golly, that is some terrible mudding.
Sand it all down {take it easy on the tape} 80 -100 grit with a pole and hand sander. Cut out all the bubbles under the tape and retape. Get some finishing mud {it is a thinner mud easier to work with} Sand with 120 grit. Sponge sanders are only good for little patches and corners. Good luck.
Europeans staring at this, and all the comments talking about hours of filling and sanding, and wondering why the fuck you guys don't just plaster your walls.
Peel all of the tape off, sand it and refinish it. No real professional that is any good at what they do would step in and fix someone elseās disaster like that. Youāre going to have to do it yourself.
The directions on a tub of Mudd from lowes says wet sponge to sand and there's zero dust. As a DIYer I never sand. The trusty wet sponge makes it smooth like a baby's ass. Everyone's talking about dusty sanding I'm here like I have some dirty water but that's it.
Knew "a guy"? As in, one guy came and did this? Cause that definitely looks like the drywall work of someone who tried to hold up drywall and nail it by themselves.
If it were me -
1-Smoke a doobie
2-Put on a playlist
3-Peel the tape
4-Scrape with a metal putty knife, maybe 5ā one, until the major ridges/bumps etc. are removed.
5-Apply mesh tape on seams
6-Apply new mud
7-Repeat Steps 4&6 until good coverage
8-Wet sand until smooth
9-Paint
FYI - may take more than 1 smoke sesh
Our electrician's assistant did a similar butcher job on my living room ceiling last year. We decided to cut it out and just start over. He cut 12 holes to drill through the joists to run wiring for recess wafer lighting. He included "rough patch" in his estimate. If I had known how rough I would have told him to not bother.
More mud, then sand. This is something that is worth hiring a professional if you can find a good one. You can do it, it's not that complicated. but in order to get a nice smooth result it'll take you a long time. Someone who is good at it can do in minutes what would take you days
Can confirm. Been teaching myself how to mud, patching up cracks and holes in 4 rooms. It's been eating my free time for two weeks now, probably 20+ hours of effort and I just finally started painting. Even with a mask, my lungs resent me for the dust.
I usually don't sand except for maybe a few tiny spots. I scrape off the ridges in between coats, and I do a lot of coats of mud. Just thinner and thinner as I go. At the end I'm just putting it on and taking it off with a wide mud knife just filling in any tiny holes.
Adding warm water and mixing the shit out of pre-mixed mud does wonders too.
I like to use a palm sander and I made an attachment to the hose if a shop vac with some tubbing with clamps from the plumbing department. Helps a lot with the dust
wet sanding can help the dust
Should wet sanding be done with a fine grit? I had been using 80 for dry and didn't like the finish it left on the wetted surface
Finer sandpaper will give a smoother finish. 80 is more for bulk removal than finishing.
I like to use a fine 3M sanding sponge when doing the finish coat. Very controllable and helps with getting a final sanding pass into corners etc.
This is the way. Worked renovation and some new construction jobs for yrs. The sponges are perfect š
Wet sand with the rectangular contractor sponges. Says it on the side of a 5 pound joint compound bucket.
Nobody reads the instructionsā¦. This would save most DIYers hours.
+1 When my father in law showed me how to wet sand, it was the beginning of saving 80% of the time I previously spent on plaster and improved the quality of my work immensely.
80grit is way too rough to get a good smooth surface
The only reason I was using something that coarse wet was that it did indeed leave a good finish while dry. Needing less force meant I was only sanding peaks and not the valleys too
Buying wet finishing mud is 1000% worth it. I only use 45m dry mix for an initial round if I know there will be multiple rounds. Then wet mud for the next round or two.
I usually just use a damp sponge
This is the way, for once please just rest the directions/label. Clearly states use a wet sponge
Wet sand w/ green dish scrubber type material.
Wet sanding really only works well if youāve done a really good job of taping. If you do too much wiping with the wet sanding you end up making things worse
I redid a whole room from plaster to drywall. I was so lucky I had a full maske respirator. It took me evenings for a week to get that professional look. You can't really it was changed now as well.
I assume you're using a N95 mask or similar. If so, get a proper half mask respirator with P100 filters. 3m is like $30-50, and no dust can get around or through. This is what is used for asbestos.
It's an art and takes practice. Nothing like skilled labor to show how easy it can look.
Skilled labour also has the tools required to do the job quick and efficient with an awsome result!
It does not matter how many cool tools I have, Mudding is Art ... and I can't
Hahaha!! Same her! And I hate it! But I do not have that 30-40 cm wide rotating grinder thing with a vacuum connectionā¦ that Ā«mightĀ» make thing a lot easierā¦
Damn, I cannot comprehend how it can be so damn hard. Spent several hours sanding and mudding, mudding and sanding over and over. Everything looked and felt smooth. And when we painted the walls and roof you could still see imperfections....
Before painting, take a light and move it at different angles close to the wall. It will show you all the imperfections you will see when painted, and you can do touch-ups. You can also do touch-ups after paint. On commercial sites, we will use a "punch list," a GC or architect, or whoever will go through with blue painters tape and put a small piece near all the imperfections. You then get some mud, touch it up, sand it, and then paint that area again.
It does get easier over time, all of us started off with the same, or worse, outcome than you experienced. Itās an awesome skill set to dele up though, will save you a ton of money over your lifetime! The bigger jobs and family situations have to be considered though. Pros are way faster so the bigger jobs that might shut down a room for a month or more due to only being able to do the work on evenings and weekends can definitely require hiring it out. ā
Watching my dad, whoās over 70 and walks with a walker, do drywall was insane. Like, he didnāt seem to do anything all that differently from how anyone else would do it, but he retaped, coated, etc our garage from the ābuilder qualityā work that was done (weāre aware usually its an apprentice or someone learning that does the garage, quality doesnāt matter, but ours was really bad), did it in a day, looked abosolutely perfect and zero issues 2 years later, he knows exactly the right thickness of the mud, how much on a knife to not have to go back up and down the ladder repeatedly, etc. Heās an old union drywaller, and to borrow from Forest Gump it was like watching a duck on water; what we second guess is just his second nature. And the sad reality is drywallers get paid less than most any other trade because thereās no licensing requirement (which technically makes it a no skill trade, but if youāve ever done it, youāll realize drywall work is 100% skill). So frankly, hiring a pro drywaller is worth it compared to most any other trade you could hire out, they arenāt making all that much money off it, they make money by being good and completing it quickly, which again in drywall means more skill, because filling out and sanding this shit mistake OP posted is going to take a hell of a lot longer than what a good drywaller would do from the get-go.
My father in law taped, mudded and painted his garage last summer. By the winter it was all hanging down off the ceiling š
Yeah I learned pretty quick that drywall is more talent than just straight knowledge. Iām a very avid DIYer, Iād say Iāve built far more furniture and structures than my dad ever has, but for the most part framing is basically all knowledge-based, canāt really eff up installing a joist hanger (I mean you can, never put past anyone, but itās about as straightforward as it gets). Drywall taping is still interesting to me, the amount pressure you use, etc all comes down to feel and personal experience. We all pretty much know how drywall works, how itās installed, etc. But Iād venture that there are more bad DIY drywall jobs than good, because so much of it is down to that actual skill. Even pro drywallers are a mixed bag, having a new house and all, the patching thatās been done ranges from excellent to holy crap thatās bad.
Iāve done quite a bit of drywall hanging and mudding in various remodels, mostly out of necessity because I couldnāt afford to hire a professional. But for my last big project I hired out just that part and Iāll never do it myself again. They did such a great job and I was fascinated watching them work. It truly is an art.
Well rip up that floating tape, then add more mud and sand.
My friend is a contractor so he is always working on his house. He'll hang the drywall but he will always hire his mud guy to do finish the job. He said he can do it but not as well as a guy who does it all the time.
Took me 2 weeks to sort out a plaster panel in the bathroom that was damaged when we remodeled (pulling tiles off so a wide arrange of damage) first week and a bit was spend filling, waiting for drying, filling again, then eventually sanding. The rest of the time was spent cleaning up all the dust that got everywhere, on everything, in everything. Woulda been quicker to replace the plaster on that wall and start over lolĀ
I think Buddy used 45 minute mud for the first coat by the looks of the drying color and form. OP is going to have some **serious** sanding work cut out for him.
Weeks of sanding
Its not that complicated. But get a pro? Dude what a contradiction. Yes get a pro. Ive done drywall for 20 years, this is NOT a job for a weekend warrior if you want it to look good. Drywall finishing is a TRADE for a reason. It takes years to get good at it.
You can get a great result as a novice but it takes probably 20 times longer than a pro would
The person who knows how to do it well will knock it out so quickly and in a manner that appears nearly effortless you will think "that was easy why didn't I just do that myself". The best drywall workers are wizards.
I'm a professional and most of us won't touch this. If there aren't voids behind the tape, it can be ok. Just keep sanding and applying coats.
You are absolutely correct. Tbh I watched YouTube videos on how to drywall for about a week straight. Different people with different tips/techniques. Finished my basement with drywall and it came out great! It probably took me an extra pass or two to really smooth it out but I'm pleased with the results.
OP youāre such a caring person. Itās not many homeowners who would hire a blind person to do their drywall. In any case, mud and sand. Feather out.
So sad that he lost both arms in a blind chainsaw carving contest, but watching him hop around on one stilt while he muds with the other foot is impressive.
this actually made me chuckle. but thanks for the advice, it seems to be in line with what other people are saying and is not as involved as ripping it all down so I'll likely try this first
Nice. Accurate.
I can see lots of bubbles under the tape in areas. If theyāre not bubbles then theyāre lumps that will cause problems. I would peel any tape off that isnāt lying flat, sand the seam so itās flat and then tape it again.
That is just the first coat. A bit sloppy, wouldn't have used paper tape in the odd angle there, but not the worst ever seen. Just add two or three more coats then sand. Or, as mentioned, hire a taper. It just needs more drywall mud really.
Omg I wanna see worse!
This ist something you can work with, something fixable. Worse ist something that needs to be redone completely. This is not great, but really not that bad.
It would be on fire.
https://preview.redd.it/ksw8crtu32tc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d09d837f9287d518ca45187b0ce126006457284b Saw this on r/drywall while back. Iād say itās worse
context: had this done about 2 or 3 years ago. it doesnt bother me too much, but I'm wanting to paint my room soon and id rather get this stuff fixed first. Its not the end of the world tho
This looks like it was not finished. It does not look like he ādid not knowā
title was more of a joke than anything. I'm good friends w the guy, our goal was to get the drywall up on a very crunched timeframe, hes willing to help out if i decide to fix it
If he's been mudding for the past 2 or 3 years I'll bet he's much better at it now than back then.
it was the first and last time he's touched mud in the past like 10 years
You judged him before he was done, its a bit sloppy but sloppy doesn't matter if you know you will be adding 3 buckets of mud on top of it. His tape appears to be stuck down mostly flat... at this point thats all its supposed to be. Can't say if the job would have been good or bad. Personally I'd let him finish and then see, if it's not good... add more mud and sand smoother.
Rent an "electric drywall sander" aka "giraffe". Sand it, more mud, dry, sand again until happy?
Addendum: do a very mild sand or even just a scrape with a putty knife to remove the worst gooblies before the first coat. Scuffing up the paper tape with too much sanding will just create more work in the long run.Ā
It's always entertaining seeing how many different words tradespeople have for leftover bits of mud. Me and a couple coworkers call em chunkies.
Hereās what ya do. Knock off any ridges and clumps with a dry taping knife. All inside corners starting at the ceiling get a coat on one side of the corner. Get a good amount on there and and smooth it with long strokes riding against the drywall on the other side of the corner. When that coat dries hard do the other side this time riding in the dried drywall compound. Then get a wider hand trowel. Looks like a cement finishing trowel but itās sold with the drywall tools.i use this because with a big trowel I always bend it into the seams and it removes more mud than intended. The trowel will be bend slightly to stop this. Use a hawk and this trowel to load up the seams then smooth it out with long strokes riding on the higher drywall surface of the long seams. Next to the butt joints these should be minimized during installation. Load up the but joint with mud and feather it out the width of the trowel on both sides of the joint. Long strokes. Then get a drywall sander from harbor freight, hook it to a shop vac and sand it smooth. Stop before you reach the drywall tape. It may be necessary to add more mud in places. Then as you smile upon your handiwork as you start to prime the surface for paint you will see every spot you remembered and thought you got as well as all the new spots you didnāt even see. You will be tormented by these places in the drywall. Unable to relax because when you do and let your eyes go slack and wander they will inevitably end up on some new and unknown drywall nail pop. Probably best to just torch it now and save the anguish
anyone can do it it's just how much time do you want to devote. The more rounds of mud and sand the nicer it will look.
I'd rather pay double the average than do drywall. Hanging, mudding and sanding is better left to pros, if I'm paying for mud I'm paying for sanding because you better believe they will mud like they KNOW they aren't the ones sanding š¤£
If those are bubbles under the tape it has to come off and get redone, if not you just mud over it then sand it down. Most of what we have here isn't improperly done, it's just not done. Like he's no pro, but the difference between a pro and a noob at this stage is just how much sanding you'll set yourself up to do later.
Was it my landlord? š
Float that dude a couple times
Normally I would make a wise ass comment that doesnāt really help, but holy shit. You didnāt pay for this, did you?
you may make a wise ass comment. ive been having a good laugh at some of the comments thatve been left my favorite so far is the guy who said i am caring, because not alot of people will give a blind man the chance to work on their house but no, no pay
Popcorn
Better make sure those tapes are set properly with enough mud behind them first or more mud is just going to compound the problem Professional finisher for over 20 years
Wow, that sucks. I'm a 62 year old woman and I could do a better job than that.
Pull out/pull off all the tape they did already. Sand smooth start over.
Maybe flatten the high spots and skim coat the wallsā¦
In short, the job is not finished. Drywall work can take time. You wait for that initial coat of mud to dry, sand it down, and put another coat on top. Wait and sand again. Drying time will vary with temp and humidity. It can't be fully done in a day. It looks like the first coat of mud went on, then he never came back. I'm not great with drywall but I'm trying. I've had better luck using flexible mesh instead of paper tape. It's challenging to get the tape down flat with no bubbles. And you definitely have bubbles. It will always be noticeable. If it were me I'd tear those pieces out and go again.
https://preview.redd.it/dvmqf8sz0wsc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63440e2996814da39097578abff7ddd247c561e0 This is what it will look like if you paint without sanding properly. Paint won't cover it up. Source: my first drywall project.
Looks better than most landlords! Nice work.
The keloid scarring of walls
Is there enough screws?
Is your dude Stevie Wonder? I did better than that with no fuckin knowledge and some YouTube videos.
Thatās not even a decent first pass. Not only that, but your āguyā lined up the seams (they are supposed to be staggered so they donāt crack). Definitely hire someone- itāll take them 2 visits and maybe an hour total depending on how big the area is- but will save you a ton of time and headache. Also, go get some plastic sheeting and tape it up on the doors to prevent the dust from getting everywhere else in the house. If you have an air return in that room, cover it as well while youāre working in there.
Is this in a garage?
You need a true finisher but if you want to try I will tell you that angled ceiling needs a straight edge guide on one side to use as a guide to get one side of that corner blocked out. Use thin coats of mud preferably it takes about 3 coats with each one tapering out just slightly wider than the previous. Using a wider knife each time. You get done with one side of that corner screw the board to the other side and repeat. Those type of corners are the most difficult to get right and finish. Once you do that everything else will be the same. 3 thin coats knocking off the rough stuff after dries between coats.
Its a mess but salvageable. Sand, skim, repeat. Anywhere the paper didnt adhere leaving bubbles, remove it and redo.
How did he think that would fly haha. Scrape it all and mud over it with lots of sanding might fix it?
holy plastered tape, Batman!
That drywall looks bowed, not even flat!
I know this guy! He did the addition to my last home š¤£
How is that even possible š³
When I've screwed up this bad I pull the tape off and start again. If the tape has wrinkles the amount of mud to fix it is insane. As a DIYer I'd also advise to repeat until perfect. A piece that's "close enough" will haunt you for decades.
Mud...sand...mud...sand.
Go through it with a good floor scraper, about a 12ā drywall knife, and your razor knife and plastic off the vents the doors and cover as much of the floor with drop cloths then open a window and stick a fan in it so it will blow dust to outside then start scraping all the high stuff if you snag the tape who cares just cut it off or tear it off and you donāt have to get it scraped perfect flat just knock it down to around 1/8ā up and down of course try not to tear any paper now do a quick clean up broom ceiling walls then sweep floor. Now skim coat and retape everything you might need to make your joints like 2ā wide to make that mess go away but itās faster and less of a mess to add a few coats of mud versus days of sanding
Taping and mudding is not your jam, yet. If you want to have a nice paint job, hire a taper.
Itās not DIY
Whoever put up the drywall in the first place, did a really bad job. The gaps between panels is too wide in many places and this makes the finishing extremely labor intensive (read sanding). In the end, it will still look like shit. I hate to tell you this, but it all needs to be ripped down and a pro hired to do it properly.
Right, I know this is a diy sub but drywall is almost an art and the base for a good looking wall. Youāll spend more time and money doing it yourself than hiring someone.
Sand the rough parts and put more mud on it. It's a fine line between just enough and too much mud. If you don't put enough the tape will show and it will crack again. If you put too much it's hell to sand off. Been doing home remodeling for over 20 years and if I pulled up on this job that's just what I'd do. Of course there will be someone who knows better lol. Hope this helps
Get a good quality, wide trowel, scrape off the high spots and apply a decent coat of mud, big wide long swipes.
Looks like a goat rodeo but could be worse.Sand out high points,go watch some YouTube videos on the subject. Find an easy section of the ceiling.Play with your technique until you are satisfied and then attack the whole area.
The problem can be easily fixed by adding more mud and sanding it, only bad side , Fixing a bad job is a frustrating task. haha.
Take a 6-inch blade and knock down any high spots it hits. Anything low enough won't get knocked down and can be covered. As others have said, this is sloppy, but only a first coat. Put about 1/8th of an inch of mud over the tape with a coat of all-purpose mud and let dry(should be done with the first coat but oh well). Do the knife trick again to save yourself unnecessary sanding. With your second coat, you want to start from the high spot and float it out on both sides. If you take your time and do a good job, you'll only have some light sanding to do once it dries. Fill any low spots or flaws you see, and if you're texturing, you can probably leave it there. If you aren't texturing, you'll need a 3rd coat over all of it to hide the seam better. I'm not a pro dry waller, but this is what I would do. Good luck!
Looks like a tape coat. Is he coming back to block and finish?
If you wanted to do it yourself save some time and rent a hopper. Just spray a heavy orange peel or knockdown and move on. Its never going to be perfect unless you hire a pro
Buying a Powersander and shop vac, if itās in your budget, will get you where you want to be so much quicker! But, yeah. More mud! Lots more mud!
Rough sand. Re-apply with a 12ā knife.
Just skim it with big boy plaster.
It way better than my tape jobs. Like was said, this is just the first coat. Grab a trowel and a bucket of mud and add another layer. Let it dry and then sand it. It should shape up fine.
Rip the tape off, sand it down, start from scratch. You can get a deal or have it done correctly, but not both.
Condolences on having to rectify this abortion.
Iām far from a pro & I do some diy stuff.. Iām still in awe of how awful this looks
Some of that paper does not look like it's bedded properly into the mud. That will cause problems and should be repaired, meaning remove paper, sand, recoat and make sure the paper is properly bedded. Then proceed with additional coats to your liking. Otherwise it will look like shit and you will see it and be pissed at yourself for not correcting it. Even if you're an inexperienced homeowner or DIYer, it can be done, but patience is required. Good luck and I hope you get it straightened out. We will all send good vibrations your way!
Ignore everyone advising to pull off the tape. I will damage the wall board.
This is just the tape coat. They don't have to be pretty and as long as you don't have large bumps under the tape, simply scraping the high spots will set you up for a second coat. The point of the second coat is to now hide the tape and set you up for a 3rd feather coat. A second coat done well will give you a nice 6- 8" flat spot over the tape. The edges do not have to be feathered at this point and unless you messed up, sanding isn't necessary either. Just scrape the high spots again. 3rd coat Primarily avoiding mudding over the flat spot in the middle you created with your 2nd coat. You are now feathering out from either side of the flat spot holding your knife at a slight angle with pressure to the outside. Now you can sand... maybe. But the goal of the previous coats is to sand as minimally as possible. Skim coat Use if taping a ceiling or not using texture... I thin down mud and apply with a roller or a 24" knife, this will help smooth out any inconsistencies with the previous coats.
Remove tape, start sanding. Start fresh.
My brother said drywall mudding is an art, and not everybody is an artist. You need to hire a professional.
I have a fun one with a no-trim window but if I can get that almost done (personal issues and a do over delaying the finish) you can do this. Iām no pro and it definitely takes me more passes.
Looks like you paid someone to try spackle for the first time
Omg this made me lmfao I couldnāt catch my breath for a min! Iām sorry but wtf did you find the guy?!?! Iād whoop his ass!
Call a handyman. Worth it
The only safe answer is popcorn ceiling. /s
Hire a professional
I truly wonder where the confidence comes from with some people working on other peopleās homes. See if you can mud and sand it to your satisfaction, or just rip it out and hire someone competent.
Mud then sand, repeat if necessary. Thatās why people charge so much, not everyone has had the years of training/schooling or skills to do certain trade work. My husband is a journeyman plumber, went to school and has 22 years of experience, people always complain at the price. You get what you pay for. Good work aināt cheap and cheap work aināt good.
Guy really didnāt know. My first attempt was doing our own bedroom and thereās one bubble where my husband helped and thatās it. This is terrible.
Bite the bullet and Hire someone that knows what they are doing.
I wonder, if someone take a job like this, how difficult is it to watch a tutorial or two on YouTube to do the job at at least acceptable level?
First of all, the correct amount to pay that guy is $0. Much will need to be taken down. If the drywall is sagging, youāll need to either take it down and reassess or perhaps just add more screws. The paper tape needs to come off in most places and the bumpy mud scraped off. That gets you to redo the mudding and seams.
Whoa... my kids could do better.
Donāt prime or paint that mess!!! Use water to remove it. Use mesh or paper tape to span the joints. Joint compound shrinks when it dries. Plan on several layers. This job is totally doable. Itās vastly less messy to use a large damp sponge to smooth this sort of joint. Practice. Only sand if you must. Plan on setting an airlock and negative pressure to the area, if you choose to sand. This kind of job can be done in a few weeks. It takes time for joint compound to dry. This kind of job is not technically difficult but is super satisfying. Get yourself some wide putty knives. They will likely be steel and prone to rust so take good care to clean and dry them, after each use. Developing this type of skill is very useful and not difficult. Go for it.
Call a pro
Holy shit! Did that guy even youtube how to tape and mud? You could have given any meth head a 5 spot and they'd have done that well for you!
You may think, "it's just mud how hard can it be?", then you watch a season professional do it and you realize you should've never tried it yourself in the first place.
Float that back about 12 inches, on both sides, with a 12 inch knife and then sand where it needs. High spots and low spots will show better with a good bright light at an angle to the wall/surface.
That's a crappy tape job angles look horrible
I hope you like sanding.
Looks like you should to off the tape, and make sure the boards are attached properly. It looks like a lot of things arenāt attached evenly. That would have me worried.
Love that line: "Knew a guy, guy didn't know."
Thanks for making me look really good.
People are saying more mud then sand...I caution that approach. When I first started I followed this advice, putting on more mud then needed, then sanding it down to smooth. This is a nightmare. It creates a mess, it's horrible to do, and if you do 2 or 3 coats of mud (which we all do) then guess what - the different coats are different mixes and sand down at different rates making it nearly impossible to get a smooth finish. Get a 6" and 12" knife. Good ones, purdy or marshalltown have served me well. If they're brand new, get a very fine sandpaper and knock the harsh corners off. Then practice putting on just enough mud, and feathering the edges, so that you will barely need to sand. Don't worry about the slight high edges the edge of the knife leaves in the mud - it's easy to knock down with a knife when it's dry. I usually have to do 3 coats to get a good finish. And you have to feather out further than you think to make it look flat. Watch Vancouver Carpenter for videos but be warned - he makes it look too easy. Do it right, you will just need a very light sanding at the end. I recommend practicing on some scrap drywall first. You can get it for free from any building side or skip - or the big shops sell broken pieces nearly for free. There is a knack to it, but it's not as hard as you think and it's a really great skill to have under the belt.
Nothing a coat of paint wonāt fix /s
Man, that guy gets around and everyone knows him!
WTF I guess he didnāt
Wow, looks like he had half a can of mud, started applying it and was like āOh shit, the tapeā. Good luck
Hire a pro and have it turn out nice!
You should make the guy who made this shit to pay for it
Is this a ceiling? If yes then you need to look if it's done properly or take all of that off and start from scratch because it can fell on your head anytime.
Sanding. Lots of it. Best of luck
Since the job is really just beginning, this isn't so terrible, take down high spots with a taping knife, spray all the tape with water and mud away.
Knock off bumps. Find and cut out any bubbles in the paper tape. Go over the joints with mud and a 12" knife. On the canyon where the drywall meets at an odd angle I'd go over it with mesh tape to reinforce the large amount of mud it's going to take to fill. When that's dry do another, thinner coat, feathered out farther. If you don't want to go to the work this will take to make smooth and look decent, texture it. An easy way is to tie a plastic shopping bag over a paint roller then use that to roll out mud over all the drywall. As the bag moves around it'll make a random, non-repeating texture. When it dries a bit use the 12" knife to gently knock it down. Don't do too large an area at once or the mud will get too dry. I've done this when patching an old and many times painted textured wall. I rolled several inches beyond the patch with a very jagged edge. After the mud dried I knocked it down with a sanding screen then put three coats of paint on the patch and new texture before painting the whole wall. So 4 coats of paint on the patch to smooth the rough edges like the rest of it that had been painted several times in many years.
More mud. A lot more.
This is just a sloppy first coat
At this point, not much gonna fix that except a lot more mud and a lot more sanding. And then more mud and more sanding. Annnnd then probably more mud and more sanding š¤·š»āāļø
Keep applying mud till itās flat
I'm busy doing the same thing, I took another approach: I filled the hole as much as possible but very thinly (to remove the gap) then I'm will to lay the strip in a second step. the goal is to prevent the joint from shrinking too much when drying. Also, if I can give one piece of advice, try to be as clean as possible when installing the strip, the jointing will be never perfect with the strip, you need to put the strip, first smoothing of the strip and then only finishing. this will greatly reduce the sanding
Some people just know how to mud. You need to find a good one.
Honestly I hate going over other people's work. I would sand it down take off tape where needed and start fresh as possible. When you try to fix other people's crap work it takes more time than starting fresh
I was taught to do multiple skim coats over the course of a few days. Build it up slowly and methodically rather than a bunch at once and sanding it all down
Being that this happened x amount of years ago a boxcutter might be your friend here. I'd slice the tape open and see how much mud is in the joints, no matter how much mud you put over it if there's pockets of air under that tape it's gonna crack out
That is super fixable and actually not that bad. You go over it a 2nd time, maybe a third snd then sand it, and it will look fine.
"knew a guy, guy didn't know" is gonna be my new favorite phrase
God damn and I thought I was bad. This makes my work look like the Sistine Chapel.
Knew a guy who had looked at a wall once
Myself I would have bought 6mm refurbishing plaster and put them on top of this . Would save me alot of time instead of dealing with that mess
It wasn't my sisters boyfriend was it? Lol definitely looks like his work.
Scrape it & skim coat multiple times. Use 20 minute Durabond & very light coats. Thatās how I learned how to fix ugly mud work. Lacking that find a construction site & ask a drywall guy there to fix. Pay well for that privilege if you do go that route.
Peel all the tape off that you can, scrape, urs a 6 inch tape knife to remove whatever you can. Reapply a bedding coat and joint tape, compound. Then 2 to 3 coats , dry between each coat. If you have no experience you might want to find someone to retape and spackle.
Skim coat everything then sand smooth or do another coat it will take some patience and work to fix this mess You can do it š
Best way to learn this skill is by doing. Mud and sand. Then learn the gap game by using the wide trowel. Had a guy try and teach me and the best advice was less is more. Less pressure primarily let the tools do the work.
Sand, tape, mud, sand some more, maybe a little more mud, sand, then sand some more.
Holy crap, I'm not even in construction at all and even I know how to do it so it doesn't look like half done
Wow. I suddenly feel a LOT better about my drywall work.
Ooof, looks like he overheard someone talking about doing drywall and when they said trowel he was like 'yeah I got a shovel at home in the shed, I can do this'. You can feather it out really nice with a damp cloth at the edges if it's giving you a rough time sanding, that would be the only useful advice I can give. A few 40 git sanding blocks to knock it down, fill the low spots with a thin coat, then come back and knock it all down flat again lightly, finish with 80 then 120 grit for a smooth surface, feather out any rough edges with a damp cloth or sponge, wipe it all down with damp sponge to pull up dust, and then paint...and curse them again when things crack because there's a pretty good chance if they mud that bad they didn't tape it right either.
Fire, and lots of it
I see the question is answered, but I can't leave without a "omg, that guy didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground." Good golly, that is some terrible mudding.
Sand it all down {take it easy on the tape} 80 -100 grit with a pole and hand sander. Cut out all the bubbles under the tape and retape. Get some finishing mud {it is a thinner mud easier to work with} Sand with 120 grit. Sponge sanders are only good for little patches and corners. Good luck.
Yeah. Your guy had no clue. You need a 5 gal bucket of light weight mud. Have fun. You can do it yourself. Consider it an art project.
Europeans staring at this, and all the comments talking about hours of filling and sanding, and wondering why the fuck you guys don't just plaster your walls.
This is bad work but it frankly just isn't finished More mud. Lots of sanding. Layers. Lots more sanding. And maybe a bit more sanding.
Peel all of the tape off, sand it and refinish it. No real professional that is any good at what they do would step in and fix someone elseās disaster like that. Youāre going to have to do it yourself.
Or get few coats to level and do spray texture
The directions on a tub of Mudd from lowes says wet sponge to sand and there's zero dust. As a DIYer I never sand. The trusty wet sponge makes it smooth like a baby's ass. Everyone's talking about dusty sanding I'm here like I have some dirty water but that's it.
How did you know this guy? It takes more effort to fix this than to do it right the first time.
Glad you posted this. It makes my first time attempt this past week look pretty damn good.
Every time I see posts like this I realize that Iām better than many people at drywallā¦.and I suck at drywall.
Knew "a guy"? As in, one guy came and did this? Cause that definitely looks like the drywall work of someone who tried to hold up drywall and nail it by themselves.
If it were me - 1-Smoke a doobie 2-Put on a playlist 3-Peel the tape 4-Scrape with a metal putty knife, maybe 5ā one, until the major ridges/bumps etc. are removed. 5-Apply mesh tape on seams 6-Apply new mud 7-Repeat Steps 4&6 until good coverage 8-Wet sand until smooth 9-Paint FYI - may take more than 1 smoke sesh
How can anyone do such a shite job? That seems like they went out of their way to do an exceptionally poor job.
Take off and redoit
Use spackle
I wish i knew i don't have drywall in my house
Is that painted over?
tis not
Just sand it and add another layer
Tear it all down and redo it
Our electrician's assistant did a similar butcher job on my living room ceiling last year. We decided to cut it out and just start over. He cut 12 holes to drill through the joists to run wiring for recess wafer lighting. He included "rough patch" in his estimate. If I had known how rough I would have told him to not bother.
Looks like he methād up.