For questions about drywall (aka plasterboard) installation, repair & finishing.
2
votes
2answers
552 views
How can I mask water damaged ceiling drywall with faux painting?
My tub upstairs leaked a large portion of water directly above the middle of the kitchen ceiling. The ceiling drywall doesn't have a hole in it, and the paint isn't bubbling. However after I fixed the ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
How do you bend a sheet a drywall into a curve?
How do you bend a sheet a drywall into a curve? I tried wetting the back surface with a paint roller, letting it soak for 30 minutes, then scoring the back paper in parallel lines about an inch apart ...
3
votes
1answer
594 views
What wall material should be used behind the Kerdi system in a tub/shower?
I know from my previous question that in most cases a cement board of some kind needs to be used. However, when the Kerdi membrane system is being used behind the tile, is it still necessary to use a ...
5
votes
2answers
5k views
How should I level (flatten) ceiling joists for drywall?
My kitchen ceiling joists are old and at varying heights. I'm trying to make it level, or at least flat, in preparation for drywall installation. Would you suggest installing strips of wood to the ...
6
votes
1answer
773 views
Will my pocket door affect my installation of a tub surround?
My wife and I have decided to install a tub surround around our tub (best place to put it!). We are planning on removing the tile and the drywall behind the tub and installing one of the surrounds ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
How do I repair a canned light that's falling down?
I apologize if the term is not "can light", but I don't know what these types of lights are called.
Anyhow, the "can" of one of our lights has fallen out from the drywall ceiling (just a bit), and ...
2
votes
4answers
7k views
How do I cover large gaps in drywall?
We've just completed our first drywall project and the outcome wasn't so great in places. There are a couple spots in particular that have 1/2-1/4" gaps.
I was wondering, is there a nifty way to ...
3
votes
2answers
673 views
How do I install drywall when the door is too close to a concrete wall?
I'm looking for suggestions to finish one of the walls in my basement. I've included the pictures of the wall below. As you can see the doors are right up against the wall on both sides. There's ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
How does wood paneling compare to drywall?
what does wood paneling do better or worse than drywall? For example
cost
ease of installation
ease of modification
maintenance
longevity
fire resistance
noise insulation
heat insulation
etc.
6
votes
3answers
14k views
How do I repair a curtain rod anchor that was ripped out of the wall?
My children managed to pull on the curtains hard enough to yank the bracket which attached the curtain rod to the wall out. What is the best way to repair this?
Here's what it looks like:
5
votes
1answer
215 views
What material to use to patch a hole near a heater?
The previous owner installed a base-board heater in the bathroom, but did a really poor job. Below the heater, there is a hole in the drywall where the wiring goes into the wall about the size of ...
5
votes
2answers
778 views
Can water-damaged drywall be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
We have a basement bathroom that has water damage from the bathroom above. The damage is old, so it has completely dried, however it has bubbled the paint so the damage is obvious.
Mold is not a ...
2
votes
2answers
741 views
How do I repair a drywall ceiling when there is blown in insulation above?
I was finishing the space above a garage. The space was buried in blown in cellulose insulation and we framed in some walls, laid a subfloor, and finished the room. During framing two different ...
2
votes
2answers
245 views
Tips for texturing ceilings?
I'm getting ready to texture ceilings for the first time using an air-compressor / hopper. I plan to practice first on some old sample sheets of drywall I have laying around but was also hoping to ...
5
votes
1answer
412 views
How do I splice a drywall metal outside corner bead?
When re-finishing my ceiling (formerly popcorn, now smooth) I had some trouble with the edge of the tray ceiling in the master bedroom. Since the length of the tray was longer than a standard metal ...
2
votes
1answer
198 views
How large are in-wall heating vents that connect to registers?
I'm curious how large heating vents can typically be when connecting to in-wall registers. Do they fill up the entire space between studs?
I'm framing for some drywall patches and would ideally not ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
Is there a technique or tool for consistently placing drywall screws correctly?
Is there a special technique or tool for consistently placing drywall screws correctly?
I'm using a standard Dewalt DWD115K (with no auto-stop mechanism) so I'm usually paranoid of going too deep ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Can quick-drying mud be used on the same drywall joints where slow-drying mud was used?
I think I phrased the summary/title poorly but essentially, I'd like to know if all drywall mud coats need to use the same type of joint compound for all coats or if I can transition to quick drying ...
4
votes
2answers
369 views
How should I repair drywall where heating registers used to be?
We recently had an asbestos abatement crew remove heating ducts in our house that had asbestos-lined duct insulation. Part of the process required them to remove the duct registers in the wall as ...
5
votes
2answers
866 views
What are the pros and cons of rolled-on wall/ceiling texture paint?
I just recently learned that some wall/ceiling textures can be applied with a paint-roller and special texture "paint".
Here are a couple examples from Home Depot:
I was hoping to get more ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I keep leftover drywall mud from drying out in the box?
I'm not quite sure how much drywall mud I'll be using for my upcoming project so I'm planning to buy a box of it. Assuming that I have some left over, is there a technique for not wasting it? Will it ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
What consistency should drywall mud be?
I've been reviewing various drywall videos and documentation but I haven't found clear details on what kind of thickness the joint compound should be. Is there a definitive answer for this? Or does ...
10
votes
3answers
292 views
Why are progressively larger drywall knives used after each mudding pass?
I've been researching drywall finishing techniques and have noticed that when a first coat of mud compound is used, a smaller 6 inch taping knife is used... then on the second mud application, a ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
What are some tips/techniques for applying knockdown texture to drywall?
I'd like to get advice on applying knockdown texture and fixing my own mistakes in the process. The consistency I'm looking for is something similar to this:
As per an eHow article, I think the ...
3
votes
1answer
505 views
How do I replace missing drywall strips after an asbestos abatement?
I'm getting ready for my first major DIY project (about a week away). Here's a summary:
We confirmed the presence of Asbestos in our house heating vent insulation and acoustic ceilings. We're ...
8
votes
1answer
827 views
How should I mount a TV stand on a wall covered in drywall?
How should I mount a TV stand on a wall covered in drywall? Should I trenail it to the wall?
2
votes
5answers
882 views
Should I install baseboards before or after skimcoating?
My bathroom walls were a mix of plaster and drywall with various layers of paint, primer, and skim coating. I attempted to skim coat the walls myself to prepare for priming and painting, but I wasn't ...
3
votes
5answers
286 views
What quick and dirty tool/method should I use for cutting scrap drywall?
I have a pile of drywall scrap that's been sitting in my garage for a few years after a remodel, "just in case". My buddy came up with the idea of turning it into "karate boards" for our kids to ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
What are some alternatives to wall anchors?
I've used these anchors in the past...I really like them for heavy duty mounting in drywall (for things such as vertical standards for shelves).
However, these make pretty big holes in the drywall. ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
What kind of wall material should be used in wet areas in a bathroom?
I'm replacing a one piece fiberglass tub with a two piece (tub + surround) unit. In the bathroom right now, there's just drywall, no special material. Should I replace the drywall with greenboard, ...
5
votes
4answers
986 views
How can I finish this “peeled” drywall?
While doing some work in my bathroom, one thing led to another and paint started peeling. I found that under many layers of paint was some wallpaper so it seemed natural to pull...
I started peeling ...
2
votes
1answer
265 views
Installing a shelf on a stucco-covered wall
We have a wall in the workroom next to our kitchen where we'd like to put a long, shallow shelf. The wall is stucco, and I'm a little concerned about the wall crumbling or cracking around the pilot ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
What should I do about a gap between hardwood and drywall?
First-time home-owner - house less than 1 year old.
We had our home built last December, and have been discovering all sorts of problems with it. The latest was a trail of ants within our kitchen ...
3
votes
4answers
3k views
Why does the plaster crack beneath the window sill?
Sorry if this is an obvious question.
Can anyone tell me why the dry lined plaster in our house so frequently cracks beneath the edge of the windows?
At first I thought it may be relating to the ...
15
votes
8answers
42k views
How much weight can screws in drywall withstand?
I've always had the question of how much weight can a single screw into a drywall withstand?
For instance, I would like to do things like this:
It's hanged with 5 screws. The whole thing weights ...
28
votes
8answers
36k views
How do I run wires for a wall-mount flatscreen TV?
Like a lot of you, we have several wall-mounted LCD HDTVs in the house. The TVs have two wires -- power and HDMI -- running down the wall to the power outlet and cable box.
I've historically been too ...
10
votes
4answers
8k views
What are the different types of drywall anchors, and what are the advantages of each?
I recently put up wire shelving in my pantry, and spent forever figuring out what type of drywall anchor I should use. I even found several types that I didn't even know existed. It might be good to ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I find places to nail/screw into walls of ICF (insulated concrete form) home?
The home I bought has exterior walls made of ICF (insulated concrete form). I don't know the brand or type, I just know that somehow the builders attached the drywall to the styrofoam/concrete.
I'm ...
18
votes
5answers
3k views
What is the best method to patch a large hole (2-3 inches) in drywall?
I have a large hole where a TV wall mount once was (I believe the hole was used to run power and coax cable to the TV). I have since moved the TV and would like to patch the hole. What is the best way ...
4
votes
1answer
791 views
How well do metal inside corner beads work?
I'm currently doing some drywalling in my basement, and the biggest PITA for me is always finishing the inside corners.
Recently I saw at Home Depot they have these metal inside corner bead pieces. ...
15
votes
4answers
2k views
How do I find studs when stud finders won't work?
I was trying to hang my TV at my new place, on an interior wall (between living room and a bathroom). Using the stud finder on other walls worked fine, but on this wall I got some very strange ...
13
votes
6answers
3k views
How do I remove wallpaper from drywall?
I know there are a lot of different ways to remove wallpaper, ranging from elbow grease to chemicals and steam machines.
What way(s) work(s) best?
11
votes
7answers
809 views
Is fiberglass mesh tape a good choice for drywall?
I'm going to be doing some drywalling shortly and was wondering what experiences other have had with the self adhesive fiberglass mesh tape.
Is it a good choice or am I going to regret using it?
