Drywall News and New Products

When repairing nail holes, nail pops in drywall, or pre-filling large gaps between sheets or in corners, you may use ordinary all-purpose joint compound. But, this compound takes a fairly long time to dry and also will shrink a fair amount, requiring additional coats (and time). A better way to do these types of jobs is to use a sand-able patching plaster (also known as spackle). There are many suitable products, but the one I tried and found to work well is DAP  Sandable Patching Plaster, available at most hardware or home stores. Just make sure the product states “sands easily”.

I used this product to fill in some nail holes and also I used it to fill in a dent in my drywall made from a door handle. In the case of the door handle dent I placed and excess amount of the  patching plaster (rather than skimming it level) just to see if it would sand off OK. It sanded just fine, almost as easily as joint compound. See photos below.

Another place you would want to use this type of compound would be to pre-fill in gaps between two sheets of drywall before you tape. Joint compound can take a long time to dry, and if the gaps are large, ordinary joint compound can even crack as it shrinks, requiring follow-up coats to account for shrinkage. A quick drying, low shrinkage sandable spackle or patching plaster prevents both of these problems!

At the beginning of April in 2009, I hung 23.5 pounds from a single Hercules Hook. VK6CXBWT366F Since that time I have kept a record of what happened. The hook deformed a little, then a little more, and even a little more still. But still the weight is held up! After 14 months, the 23.5 pounds of weight still hangs and the hook has maintained it previous deformation (at 9 months) of 1/2 inch. The hook, however dug into the wall to about a quarter inch. I would not want anything valuable hanging in such a fashion, since a little more of the hook digging in could pull it out fairly easily. As I mentioned in previous posts, one could provide some insurance by using a combination of a hook and a screw in a stud to hold up a heavy 20-pound mirror or painting. For light wall hangings, however, I would have no reservations.

I think my next update will be a video of me measuring the amount of weight required to bring this 23.5 pound weight down!

The photo shown here illustrates the challenges my friend Luke faced in finishing his log cabin. About half his walls were natural log, but the other half were finished drywall. And being log built, it is natural to have more non-90-degree angles than a traditional home. So I let Luke use the samples I had of Strait Flex Non-Paper Tape for these odd angles.  And it worked very well for him! He used the Original, Mid-size, and Large-size tape. Luke used the tape to not only tape seams but also to bridge small gaps at the corners. I had tried this product as well in the past and have a step-by-step taping tutorial available here. The nice thing about this product is that it is readily available at Menards home stores and other home stores and hardware stores.
_{Disclaimer: Strait flex sent me product samples free of charge to try out. I was not compensated in any other way.}

Hercules Hooks Deformed by 1/2"

It has been 9 months since my Hercules Picture Hooks Experiment involving 23.5 pounds hung from a single hercules hook. Two weeks after hanging the weight, there was a 1/8″ permanent deformation of the hook from its original shape. Then 3 months later there was a 1/4″ permanent deformation – see this Hercules Hook update. Now, it is a total of 9 months from the date I hung the weight. The result is a full 1/2″ deformation of the hook, as you can see on the left in the photo. Also, where the hook is in the wall, the hercules hook is gradually digging its way into the drywall. The hook has dug in about 1/8″ into the drywall, as shown in the lower photo. Keep in mind that this 23.5 pound weight hangs undisturbed. In a situation where a shelf was hung, you would occasionally bump the shelf, place items on it, or otherwise disturb it. So in a more realistic application you would probably see even a bit more deformation of the hook or digging into the drywall.

With what I have seen so far, I would not recommend maxing out the Hercules hook weight carrying capacity unless you plan on taking down that shelf or mirror within the year. On the other hand, these Hercules hooks are wonderful for lighter items like photos or light portraits.

Hook Digs Into the Wall With Time

I will continue to leave this weight hanging (as long as my wife’s patience holds out) and report back, maybe in a few months or whenever that 23.5 weight comes crashing to the ground.

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Cutting outlet boxes in drywall can be tricky. And even with the best measurements, you can be off enough to result in a sliver of black space to one side of the outlet, like shown in the top photo of this page. So what can you do? There are two solutions:

1. Get an oversized outlet cover for the box. Sometimes, this can look almost like clown shoes if all the other outlets have regular covers. But it works. And it is easy.

2. Fix the hole so the gap is filled in. This can be fairly easy to do if the gap happens to occur over the stud. What I do then is use some rolled up fiberglass mesh tape that is screwed to the stud in a few places. Then I apply compound to the mesh tape making the surface level. The mesh adds strength to this repair. If, however, the gap occurs over an area with no stud, applying mud to the edge won’t work – the mud will easily chip off. But, however, there is another solution – use the Straitflex repair panel. The procedure I used with these panels is shown below.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

First, I cut out the repair panel using the template printed on the panel as a guide. I had to cut out a few extra places where the wall outlet is attached so the template would lie flat on the wall. If you take a close look at the photos you will see what I am talking about.

I placed the template around my outlet where I wanted it and traced around it with a pencil so I would know exactly where to put in once the compound was on.

Then, I applied about a quarter inch of compound to the back side of the patch, as directed.

I placed the patch on the wall and then used a 4 inch knife to press it in place, squeezing much of the mud underneath out through the holes in the patch.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

As directed, I placed another coat onto the patch immediately. My guess is that they want the overcoat to form a nice bond with the mud under the patch through the holes in the patch. This gives the patch extra strength I am thinking.

After the initial coat was dry, I used my taping knife to scrape off any high spots. Then I over coated the patch with another coat. This coat may or may not be all you need. What I found was that I needed to use a trouble light (or lamp with no shade) to add additional small thin coats to touch up this surface. The trouble light will reveal ridges or scratches that must be filled or feathered out. Make sure to not sand till all coats are on but rather use your taping knives to scrape down the surface and remove any bumps or ridges.

When all compound is on, then use some 200 grit or 220 grit sandpaper to sand this surface. Prime the area and paint over with paint to match. In summary, this drywall patch, available at the Straitflex website, would be a nice item to have on hand to repair a drywall wall outlet hole after cutting just a little too big. For more info on taping and finishing drywall, see my main site at drywallinfo.com

With First Coat - CLICK ON IMAGE

With 2nd Coat - CLICK ON IMAGE

Note: The samples were sent to me to test upon my request. I receive no other compensation from Straitflex.

Crack Tape

Strait Flex sent me a bunch of samples to try out. One of the products was call Crack Tape. And I just happened to have a few cracks needing fixing, so I thought I would give it a try. If you read my article on repairing drywall cracks that occur at the corners of windows and doors, you find that I am not too optimistic about any type of retaping holding up. Rather, I advocate removing drywall and putting up new pieces so there is no joint at the corners. But, this Strait Flex product is advertised to have 10 times the strength of regular paper tape. So maybe it would hold up?

I repaired one crack by simply taping over the top and then overcoating and feathering out the repair. Since this tape itself is a bit thicker than paper tape, it raises the surface a bit, which is never a good thing. But, on the other hand, this Strait Flex is a stiff non-paper composite material that is sand-able. So unlike paper tape, if you happen to sand down to the tape it is not as detrimental. My repair came out nice and is shown below.

I repaired another crack by using the drywall crack repair method shown here, but instead of using paper tape, I used the Strait Flex crack repair tape. The repair went well, and I would expect that the repair would hold up better in this high-stress area than regular paper tape. Another feature of this tape, besides being much stronger, is that you place the tape on, imbed it, and then immediately place a coat over the top. This allows a continuous coat to pass through the holes of the tape, giving it that much more strength. And since this tape is fairly stiff, I had no problems with snagging the tape by immediately overcoating. Check back at this site in 5 years or so to see how well it held up

You can order this product or other Straitflex products at the Straitflex website.

Going Over The Top of a Crack

Removing Old Tape First

Black Mold on Drywall!

Our bathroom was getting mold on our ceiling and walls within 3 weeks of cleaning off the walls with straight bleach during fall and spring months. During these months, the inside humidity could be fairly high, yet a quick dip in outdoor temps could create cold spots on walls and ceilings. And to compound this even more, the hose on our bathroom fan disconnected at some point, venting damp air into the insulation. So I tore off all the ceiling drywall and exterior drywall, removed insulation, cleaned things up, and brought both my ceiling and exterior wall in 2″ to allow more insulation and increase the R-value. I also did a bang-up job on insulating my attic with brand new insulation using insulation chutes near the eaves. I replaced our tub and shower too as it had some cracks. I must admit this was a big job but I am glad I did it – mold is not something I want in my house! See removing black mold in drywall for details on this project.

What is the biggest difference between the horrific drywall work I did in my first few projects and the work I have done in my latest projects?

It takes me a lot longer to finish my drywall!

That sounds almost contradictory. After all, should one get faster, not slower? Not really.

When I first started, I gobbed the compound on, sculpting the thick layer with my taping knife, leaving it way too thick. Then, I followed with a good sanding. But things did not look right, so I gobbed on some more mud, let it dry, and sanded some more. At this point, I had all the compound I needed, so I just kept sanding. And sanding. And sanding. Finally, as things started to “level out” a bit, I started hitting paper tape and the paper drywall board. Sanded paper = fuzz. Oh well, the paint will cover . . . (wrong again!) I finished my wall in two days but it looked like a 6-year old’s art project.

Now, I put on the mud but take most of it off with a smooth stroke of the wide taping knife. Not two coats, but rather 4 or 5 along with some touch-up mudding. And I don’t touch the sandpaper till ALL coats are on and the surface could almost pass without a sanding. I now “knock” the surface down where needed with a taping knife. So now, it takes me nearly a week to finish a wall. But it looks like it was done by a good professional! (A good professional does not need to cover blemishes with texture). I use all-purpose compound for all coats. I guess if I were doing this for a living, I would use some faster drying compounds for the first coats. But as a DIYer, I am in no hurry.

For a free online 10-step video series on taping and repairing drywall, see Drywall Repair Videos.

Another 1/8" Deformation Since Last Time

It has been 3 months now since I first hung 23.5 pounds on a single Hercules Hook on a 1/2″ drywall panel. And it is still hanging, although the hook continues to deform, slowly but surely. As you can see from the photo, the hook has deformed another 1/8 inch or so since I checked 2 1/2 months ago. So now there is about 1/4″ of total deformation as compared to a new hook.

Also, the hook is starting to dig into the drywall where it hangs, with a total of about 1/8″ so far.

I have placed the weight back on the hook. The next time I post will be when my 23.5 pounds falls out. See you later on this topic!

Two 3-inch Mini Paint Rollers

The mini paint roller has quickly become my favorite tool for repainting a small drywall area that has been repaired. I used to use a regular size roller – my wife was always the one using the diminutive 3″ roller. And you really should always use a roller to finish the painting or priming – a brush or even a foam brush will leave streaks or brush marks where as the roller will blend your repair in nicely.

What I found was that the mini roller does just as good of a job finishing the surface and only takes a little bit longer to roll on paint on a small repaired area. The BIG advantage of the mini roller is that you can dip the roller directly in the paint can, thus eliminating the need for a messy tray to clean up. Also, the mini roller itself is much quicker to clean – you can fill up a mop bucket full of hot soapy water and clean the roller in this water very quickly.  Factoring in the savings in cleanup time, the mini roller cuts the total painting/cleanup time in about 1/2 for a small area painted. Another plus of the mini roller is that you can use it on narrow regions where a full size roller won’t fit.

Another good way to use the roller is to apply paint with a wide foam brush and then work the 3″ mini-roller into the paint. This allows you to put a fair amount of paint on without dripping.

Another good idea by my wife.  But please don’t tell here I said that!