How to Mud Drywall

After hanging a drywall, you will find that it has so many imperfections particularly at the seams, joints and corners. In order to hide all those defects, mud or joint compound is applied on them. Moreover, it also helps to get a smooth drywall surface which can make the task of interior painting or wallpaper installation much easier. The joint compound or mud tends to shrink as it dries up. So if only one coat of mud is applied then the flaws will be visible all over again once the mud becomes dry. For this reason, at least 3 coats of mud has to be applied to obtain the best results. For this project, you require some tools and material. They are: mud, one mud pan, a roll of drywall tape, flat drywall knives of various lengths and a metal corner spreader.

How to Mud Drywall

Seams

Seams or joints are those areas of the drywall where ends of two drywall boards meet. Take a knife and slide it over the hung drywall and find out where the screw of the seams hit the knife. Thus you can identify the location of the seams. Then measure the length of each of the seams. Take some mud on the metal spreader and coat the center of the seam covering its entire length so that a uniform layer of one-fourth inch of mud is formed. Cut tape as per the length of the seam and paste it over the applied mud with a gentle hand. Then flatten the tape properly using the knife. This way excess mud will come out of the seam which should be wiped off. Let it dry out overnight and then apply another coat of mud on the seam which should cover the width of the tape. This step should be repeated once the second coat has dried up. Once all the three coats have dried up sand the mud to get a smooth surface.

Corners

A drywall has two corners. One is the inside corner and the other one is the outside corners. There is a slight difference on how you apply mud on these two corners. To begin with, take the measurements of the inside corners and cut the tape according to it. Apply mud on the tape to form a thin bed and press it over the inside corners with the help of a knife. Put some mud on the tape to form a thin layer of one inch and spread it up to 2 inches on both sides of the corner joint. 3 coats of mud has to be applied and do it once the previous coat has dried up completely. The outside corners of a drywall consist of a fiberglass or metal corner bead which are fitted with nails. Add the first coat of mud on the corner bead and spread it over 4-5 inches away from its edge. The next coat has to be extended to 6-8 inches and the final one should cover 10-12 inches.

Screws

This is the last step of mud application on the drywall. Inspect each and every screw or fasteners on the drywall carefully and find out if the head of each screw is below the surface of the drywall or not. If no, push them in using a screwdriver. Take small amount of mud on the knife and smear it over the screw heads to cover them. Do not use excess mud as it will form lumps on the drywall. Allow the mud to dry up overnight and apply another coat of mud on the next day. This should be repeated 3 times or more until the screw holes are sealed up. After the final application of mud is dry, sand it to make a smooth surface.

There is no shortcut method to finish the task in a hurry. You can repeat the application of mud only after the previous coat has cured thoroughly. Till then you have to wait patiently. Many people make the mistake of applying one thick layer of the mud instead of repeated application of thin layers. This is a wrong technique as it causes ridges on the dry wall. For this reason, repeated thinner layers are considered as more effective. All the best!