Does Drywall Dust Have Calories?

Boy, I hope not!  My daughter told me that I looked like a ghost after all the sanding.

Did you know that drywall has a purpose?  I mean besides hiding all the ugly framework and inner workings.

In most states, it is a state requirement for houses and buildings.

Why?!

It's purpose is to be a fire barrier. To slow down a fire if it spreads.  You may have notices that it comes in different thicknesses.  Each thickness has a different rating of how much it slows down the fire.

It also comes in two different types.  The most popular is gypsum board.  This is a general, all purpose type of drywall and is generally used through out the house.

The other type is green board.  Green board is used for wet applications.  If it gets wet, it doesn't tend to "melt" like gypsum board will.  Since this is a bathroom, we are using green board in here.

It goes up the same as gypsum.  We are using screws to put ours up.  Some use nails, but it really sucks if you miss and make a dimple in the wall.

When you are putting up the drywall or green board, you want to leave as few as possible seams.  Also, beside corners, you want to butt the factory edges together.  The factory edges are slightly thinner to allow for mudding and taping.  You are going to use the smallest drywall knife for your first coat.  I put it on thick to get the tape to embed in the mud.  When you are putting the tape over the mud, use the knife again and take off the excesss mud.  Let it fully dry.  Sand smooth.  With a slightly larger knife, skim coat over the tape with more mud.  Let it dry.  Sand smooth.  Carefully look over your seam and skim coat over any areas where the tape is showing or the mud is rough.

You also want to skim coat over the screw heads.  When you are screwing down the drywall, sink the screw heads slightly below the surface of the drywall.  If when you are skimming over the screws and they show, just screw them down a bit more.  You will need to sand these smooth when they are dry also.

When you are doing the final sand, make sure the edges are feathered out and smooth.  Run your hand over it.  If you can feel an edge, you need to sand more.  It's important to get the sanding smooth.  If not, you will see every blemish when you paint.

Also, make sure that there are no bubbles in your tape.  A bubble is made when there is not enough mud under the tape.  If you do get a bubble, just cut it out with a utility knife and mud over.

Corners are a bit trickier and a royal pain.  You have two types of corners, inside and outside.  Inside corners, mud the drywall. fold the tape in half and with your fingers first, fit into the corner.  Let it dry, sand smooth and repeat with a slightly larger knife.  Outside corners you will want to use corner bead instead of tape.  There are two types of corner bead, metal and plastic.  I prefer the metal since it is easier to use.  Plastic tends to move and twist when you are taping.  Metal corner bead is more durable also.  When the room is finished, it will protect the corner better from every day use.

The hardest part is the drying time inbetween coats.  It seems like it takes FOREVER!

Got all that done?  Now it is time to prime all the new drywall and paint.

Speaking of painting....I need to get that done.