How To Drywall - Drywall Finishing and Taping Joints

Step 1 - Place mud on the joint at a width slightly more than the width of the tape.  Make sure ALL the surface where the tape will be placed is covered with an ample supply of mud. Leave no bare spots! Don't worry if there is a little excess.  If your mud is thinned out properly and the tape is wet down, the excess will come off.

Note: The way I "slightly thin" the mud is to wet the tool down in water and place the tool into the mud - I do this a few times. Also, repeat this procedure as needed if you see the mud is starting to dry up.

Step 2 - Now here's a great tip: Very quickly pass the tape piece through a bucket of water wetting both sides of the tape.

Place the tape on the mud, covering the joint. Center the tape over the joint.

Step 3 - Wet down the 4 inch knife.  Then, hold the wet tape at the very top and start drawing the 4 inch knife down tightly against the tape at about a 45 degree angle.  The mud should shoot out the sides onto the knife.  After a few feet, take the excess off the knife by scraping on the pan, rewet the knife, and draw down more of the tape until all of the tape is tightly adhered to the joint.  Let this joint dry thoroughly.  Note: If the joint is along 2 edges, you will notice that the joint sits in a recessed surface.  This recessed surface will allow you to cover the tape easier in subsequent steps.  If the joint is along two ends, the surface is not recessed and you would have what is called a butt joint. You can use the procedure on this page or use a modified procedure for butt joints shown here. When your tape dries, it will look like this. Use leftover mud to fill screw depressions, discard unused mud, and clean tools thoroughly.

NEW! - Watch a Short Video of Me Taping Several Joints - Click Here

Step 3 is a critical step!  Remember: Use ample amounts of slightly thinned mud, wet tape, & wet tools, and apply enough pressure to cause the majority of the mud to shoot out from under the tape, leaving the tape securely adhered with no bumps or pockets of mud underneath the tape.  Small amounts of excess mud to the sides of the tape is not a problem - you will knock this off in the next step.

Note: A professional would probably apply the tape and the next coat (Step 5) in one step.  I don't recommend this because (in my experience), if you move the tape while applying the coat, you get air pockets or the tape may buckle, leaving you no other option but to immediately scrape everything off and start over. Better for the non-professional to break this up into two simpler steps.

Step 4 - After all is dry (8 - 24 hours), use the (dry) 10 inch knife and scrape down any mud that is causing the surface to not be level for the next coat. Often, I use two hands on the tool to exert the pressure needed. The art of taping sheetrock is completely dependent on a level surface to draw the knife down on the subsequent coat(s)!

Step 5 - Place ample slightly thinned mud over the tape to a width of about 6 inches. This will extend just slightly beyond the recessed area (if it is not a butt joint).  It's OK to place on more mud than needed.  What's not OK is to leave more on than you should in the next step.

NEW! - Watch a Short Video of Me Overcoating a Taped Joint - Click Here
And Here is a Video of Me Overcoating a Taped Butt Joint - Click Here

Step 6 - Draw down the surface with a wetted down 10 inch knife.  Hold the knife at an angle closer to 90 degrees and place pressure on the knife as you draw down (or up) keeping the knife in motion as you draw.  Try to accomplish this in a single steady but solid pass and avoid getting a "washboard" surface! Use leftover mud to fill screw depressions, discard unused mud, and clean tools thoroughly.

At this point, you may be tempted to stop applying more coats since you seem to have filled in the recessed area and the surface is fairly level.  This is one of the most common errors!  The drywall will continue to shrink for months after it is painted and you will see a well defined valley.  You need more coats!

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Step 7 - Let the mud dry. (Another 4 - 12 hours)  Then, before applying more mud, use your dry 10" knife to level out any mud sticking up or fix a washboard surface.  To deal with a "washboard surface", draw the knife perpendicular to the ridges and keep scraping till the ridges are gone. If you hold the knife almost perpendicular to the wall, you can scrape off non-level spots quite well.  Just make sure there are no ridges!  Keep the surface level!  Don't sand. Don't dry sand, don't wet sand, just plain don't sand at all at this point!  If this is a butt joint, click here for instructions on an optional procedure.

Step 8 - Apply another coat that is about 8 inches wide as you did in step 7.  Use ample amounts of slightly thinned mud.

Step 9 - Draw down the surface with a wetted down 10 inch knife.  Hold the knife at about a 90 degree angle and place pressure on the knife as you did in Step 9, keeping the knife in motion as you draw.  Try to accomplish this in a single steady but solid pass and avoid getting a "washboard" surface! Use leftover mud to fill screw depressions, discard unused mud, and clean tools thoroughly.

At this point, you are really tempted to stop applying more coats since now for sure you seem to have filled in the recessed area and the surface is fairly level. To get a professional look, you need at least 1 more coat since shrinkage will still result in a visible joint if you stop now.

Step 10 - Let the mud dry. (Another 4 - 12 hours)  Then, before applying more mud, use your dry 10" knife to level out any mud sticking up or fix a washboard surface. Knock off the high spots and keep the surface level!  Don't sand. Don't dry sand, don't wet sand, just plain don't sand at all at this point!

Step 11 - Apply another coat that is about 10 inches wide as you did in step 8.  Use ample amounts of slightly thinned mud.

Step 12 - Draw down the surface with a wetted down 10 inch knife.  Hold the knife at about a 90 degree angle and place pressure on the knife as you did in Step 9, keeping the knife in motion as you draw.  Try to accomplish this in a single steady but solid pass and avoid getting a "washboard" surface!
 

Step 13 - At this point a pro would perhaps use a 12 inch (or wider) knife to apply more coats.  I have found the 12-inch knife harder to apply correct pressure without getting a lot of washboard.  Instead, I usually apply a light thinned out coat overlapping each edge of the 10 inch wide coat, thus making my 10" joint as wide as 16 inches (note this has not been sanded).  Sometimes I don't have to apply these coats, although for the "professional look" I usual do.  Whenever you apply more coats, just remember to knock off high spots, use thinned mud, and apply sufficient steady pressure on the knife.

 Knock off any surface imperfections, dust or vacuum the surface, then get a lamp or trouble light (The Light Of Truth) and shine it at a low angle.  You will see any imperfections - perhaps more than you care to see!

Fill in any drag marks, air pockets, or other imperfections with a small amount of thinned mud applied and drawn down tightly with either knife.  I like to use the 4.5 inch knife if possible since I can exert more pressure (and leave as little mud on the wall as possible).  At this point the smaller amounts of mud will dry very quickly (within minutes).  If you are seeing faint washboard-like waves even after knocking down the surface, you can remedy this nicely by applying a very thin coat of thinned mud drawn perpendicular to the waves as shown here (this was an outside corner) - this is a much better move than trying to sand the surface level! When dry, knock down the surface again.

When this step is completed, you should have a wall that would look half-way decent even if you did not sand.  Here is a picture of the wall I have been documenting for this site before sanding.

Step 14 - Now, finally, sand very lightly as needed with a sheet of fine 220 grit paper on a 3"x8" sanding block (also an 8-inch piece of 2x4 works well). Dust or vacuum the surface, shine a light again, and fill in any remaining imperfections with thinned mud firmly drawn down.  You shouldn't have to sand again. Do not use coarser grit paper except for problem areas like the meeting of 2 inside corners, or narrow strips where you can't properly use a knife to prepare the surface. Avoid sanding the paper surface of the drywall!

Step 15 - Prime with a latex primer.  Don't work the primer around too much - it can lift compound!  Paint with a latex paint.  Note that some primers require you to paint within 48 hours of priming.

Step 16 - Show your friends the nice job you did. (here's a pic of the painted wall I documented for this site) Tell them about this web site drywallinfo.com !

OK, if you mastered taping a joint, you are ready for inside corners.  Again, my method for corners would probably not cut it with professionals due to its extra steps, but the results are comparable!  CLICK HERE FOR STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS.

Have you seen the drywall FAQ's section? Many common questions answered.

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