• Major drywall taping pages will be cleaned up so the code does not cause problems with alternative browsers. These changes will consist of replacing excessive old code that I put in way back using FrontPage 2003 with up-to-date validated code that uses CSS and is error checked.
• A more comprehensive top menu so you may find this blog from any page.
• Videos converted to Flash format so users with Macs can view them. I did not realize this was a problem til some helpful site visitor pointed it out recently.

Hopefully, you find these changes helpful. It will take a bit of time to do all these changes, but I have already completed the drywallinfo home page and much of the the drywall taping joints page. As always, I welcome any input you have. Also, I will gladly help you with any drywall questions you have on your current drywall project. Contact me at mikesemail2000-drywall@yahoo.com .

Checking To Make Sure Screws Sit Below The Surface

My wife called me up from my office to watch Ask This Old House show how to finish  inside and outside drywall corners.

Outside Corners by Ask This Old House
First they showed outside corners. I was happy to see that they recommended using corner brace that was either all vinyl or all metal with no paper. (Paper-faced outside corner bead is to be avoided!) And I liked how they showed the application of coats. They left out several  seemingly-insignificant details however. First you must always, always, always scrape down the surface level before applying the next coat! A pimple-size bump of mud will give you a nice speed bump when you apply the next coat! It only takes a minute or two to knock off any such bumps before applying the next coat and it is essential to do. Another crucial step left out was to check to see that no fastening screws or nails were sticking up, as shown in the photo here – these will also mess up your job! My outside corner procedure includes these crucial steps.

Inside Corners by Ask This Old House
In their procedure, they recommended the paper-faced metal corner bead. Now this bead works nicely on the perfectly square sample mini-wall they demonstrated on but in reality, most walls are not so ideal. If your 8-ft long corner has even the slightest curve or bend in it, the nice perfect metal corner will not want to conform – the result is a pocket of air under part of the corner bead! Been there and done that! Instead, I prefer paper tape, which will follow the contour of the wall, using multiple steps to make a perfectly straight looking corner even if the corner you started out with was not straight, as shown in my inside  corner procedure.

Moral of the story: Don’t trust everything you see on TV!

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

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.

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.

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!

Here is the nail pop!

What Causes Nail Pops?
Nail pops occur in drywall that has been secured with drywall nails as opposed to drywall screws. This commonly occurs in homes that are 30 or more years old but can also show up in newer homes. The nail pops are due to the nail working its way out which is caused by shifting of the structure or can be caused simply by someone pushing against the drywall (like next to a bed). In older homes these nail pops are to be expected and there is no need for concern.

Repairing Nail Pops is as Easy as 123!

Drive in the nail pop with several screws

To fix nail pops, simply drive in two or three screws next to the nail head so that the screw head pulls the nail head in below the surface. The screw heads should also be driven below the surface. You should use a star drive deck screw like the one shown here as it takes a lot of torque to drive this screw and you will have a difficult time with a regular drywall screw. Also, the head of a regular drywall screw may snap off. Once you drive the screws in, simply fill in the depression with a few coats of joint compound and sand level, taking care not to sand off a layer of paint. Then prime and repaint.

Fill, finish, prime and paint!

If you want to see an actual repair along with a few more details, go to Drywallinfo.com Nail Pops.

About an eighth of an inch deformation of the hook

After 2 weeks with 23.5 pounds hanging from one hook, I inspected the Hercules Hook. It had straightened out ever so slightly. About 1/8″ deformation of the Hercules Hook was observed. I measured deformation by placing the hook next to an unused hook.  The Hercules Hook from this experiment is shown next to an unused hook in the photo on the left.

I placed the Hercules Hook back into the drywall with the 23.5 pound weight back in place.

With what I know now, I would not recommend hanging extremely heavy objects (over 20 pounds per hook) from a single Hercules Hook in a drywall wall as I would expect deformation to continue with time. I would, however fully recommend this product for hanging lighter objects like framed photos weighing less than 10 pounds.

In two months I will check on this hook again and see if there is any further deformation.  I will then post my findings.

23.5 lbs On Hercules Hook

A few weeks after I bragged about how well the Hercules Hooks worked in hanging our heavy portrait, wouldn’t you know it – my wife had me move the portrait a few inches down   When I removed the hook, to my surprise, I saw that is was 2/3 of the way straightened! It looked somewhat like the hook did in my first Hercules Hook trial that failed when my daughter pulled the hook out of the drywall.

Two things come to mind: 1. Either the hook is straightening slowly with time under the heavy load . . . OR . . .  2. The hook is catching on the insulation of this exterior wall and thus can not function quite like it should.

At any rate, I rehung the heavy portrait with one screw in a stud and one hercules hook in the drywall. This allowed me to hang the photo centered where we wanted, yet gave me a little insurance with the picture wire draped over the screw. I would recommend this solution for any very heavy portrait or mirror.

With respect to the question: “Will the hook straighten out under heavy weight if properly hung?” I decided to conduct another trial. I have hung 23.5 pounds of weight on a hook and will check the condition of the hook after several weeks and perhaps check it again after several months.  The weight is shown pictured on the left. The hook is in drywall that has no insulation in it, thus it is allowed to function as designed.

Stay tuned!

Hercules Hooks, however, seemed like they could actually work. So I ordered a bunch to check them out myself. To test these, I had my kids sit on a very low (and safe) platform that was about 11″ off the floor, supported by ropes hung from two Hercules Hooks.

The first claim I tested was the ease of use. The hooks went in very easily, although I need some practice to achieve Billy May’s speed!

Click on Image To View

Then I tested the weight carrying claims. The As Seen On TV ad claims they support up to 150 pounds, but if you read the fine print on The Official Hercules Hook Website, they say “For heavy objects over 40 lbs. use multiple hooks to distribute weight evenly”. So I decided to use two hooks to see if I could get the 80 pounds of carrying capacity they seem to imply. I had my 60 pound daughter sit on the platform – no problem. Then I had my 77 pound son Mark try it. He carefully lifted his feet off the floor and the platform supported him. Then, I had Laura, who weighed 83 pounds, sit on the platform. Laura was OK until she tried to lift both feet off the floor. Then one side pulled out after the hook straightened a bit. So when they say 40 pounds, they mean 40 pounds! Watch The Video Here!.

Finally, the hercules hooks do not damage the wall much. A little dab of drywall joint compound or spackle, or just some paint alone could repair the holes left. Even where the hook pulled out, the damage was minimal.

In conclusion, I would recommend these hooks for holding no more than 30 pounds per hook. So a single mirror on one hook should not weigh more than 30 pounds. You would not want to push the 40 pound limit, as any external force pushing down (like cleaning the mirror) could result in the hook straightening. The same goes for items hung on two hooks – do not put anything heavier than 60 or 70 pounds. With respect to the 150 pound claim, I believe you could indeed support the 150 pounds with 4 hooks, but the weight would have to be distributed perfectly.  So if two of the four hooks were not quite lined up to support weight, the result could be as much as 75 pounds on each of the other two hooks. Getting 4 hooks placed in the exact correct locations might be tricky for some furniture items.

Basically, all the As-Seen-On-TV Hercules Hooks claims are true, provided you add an asterisk* by the Holds Up To 150 Pounds* claim to include a note “*Do not support more than 40 pounds per hook. Items requiring more than one hook must have weight distributed evenly on the hooks”. From the official Hercules Hooks Website statement, one might get the idea that two hooks could support up to 150 pounds. Even so, this easy-to-install hook can quickly hang pictures and items weighing up to 30 pounds or heavier items up to 60 or 70 pounds if two hooks are used. I would say it is a nice product to have around the house.