2 Coat Process???

mnjconstruction

Ok i will never say i am a professional drywall finisher. I can do it, have been for many many years, but I don't do it all the time. In our larger projects like new homes we usally sub it out. So I have a question for all you guys that sling mud for a living. Had a guy tell me that he finishes his drywall in 2 coats. He tapes it then next day applies finish coat and its ready to go. I have never heard of this before. I tape, hook, float then finish. thats 4 to his 2. Am I missing something? How many coats of mud do you apply?

precisionbuild

I do 3. Some do 4. Either way though, you still have to check your joints with a 12" or 14" knife to make sure they are flat.

2 coats is NEVER enough. Hack work.

Tony M

3 coats generally. There are lightweight jointing compounds available that say you can finish in 2 coats.

Adv.wall.tech

the only time i got away with 2 coats was when a knockdown texture followed . another way to do 2 coats is a thick second coat and a lot of sanding but i don't know anyone that stupid ! or do i ?

mnjconstruction

I just dont see how 2 coats would work. The guy that told me about it said he has been drywallin for 10 years. I'm going to be subbin a little upcoming work to him, under strict supervision. I myself am interested in how he does this. When I mud, I am sure not the fastest, but I have very little sanding. I learned from an old timer about 15 years ago. This man was an incredible finisher. He was about 60 at the time and he would get more done in a day then 3 or 4 other young men.

precisionbuild

Use a straight edge (12" drywall knife) to check him. No light showing and no rocking. He would make me too nervous though. I don't believe him.

Willie T

He's covered on a Level 3, (barely), but not on a Level 4, and certainly not a 5. Double check you aren't going to be held to the builder's specs before you let him do too much.

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mdshunk

My Dad built spec homes for years, and some of the finishers could do a good job in 2 coats. Good enough for a spec, that is. There's a different method for every budget. So many guys forget that.

Willie T

Sorry, I guess I should have written that all the way out. I meant the construction specifications in the contract documents. Sometimes a builder will specify a certain finish level, and you can get your tail in a bind if you don't read all that stuff. If the documents call for a Level 4, (or even a 5 in the high-end stuff) you dang well better be giving some of the pickier contractors just that, a Level 4, and no less.

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"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

A+ Texture

I've only ever heard of guys doing it with "hot mud"

Rx8

ive never had to put more than 2 coats of mud on a properly hung flat? run the box on 3 for the first coat, and 4 or 5 for the second, sands super easy, always get compliments and never any complaints. I do this on all the custom homes and cracker jack box homes. checked extremely well with a light... not sure why anyone would need more than 2 coats on a flat?

oldrivers

well hes counting the taping coat as 1 coat and then 1 more i think.

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GWHRsuperhero

and that is?

A+ Texture

others call it durabond, (quick setting compund)

Sir Mixalot

Or Easy Sand made by Sheetrock.(USG)

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Mellison

Hot mix: Eight parts compound to three parts plaster of paris and add water.
More plaster the "hotter" the mix.
That's how we do it here.

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MeatBallDryWall

LOL He's full of !

Jeremy B

The other day I was coating out a small high end cabin. When I coated over the tape the first time on a taper joint high on a rake wall, I worked the mud a couple of extra times as I was feathering it and accidentally crowned it out a little more than I did on the lower joints (I was hand coating as there wasn't enough drywall to justify getting my auto tools dirty). I lightly sand with a radius sander between coats and when I sanded that high joint I checked it with a 12" knife. No gapping or rocking or pitting. I had a heavy hand texture going on afterward and it was already looking like a level 4 joint so I left it. I was using Beadex light all purpose for the fill coat. My point is that the guy who claims he can get the job done in two coats might well be able to if he doesn't thin it down too much and has a consistent method. In my experience though, most people who claim to be able to skip a step or two of a process usually just have lower standards and don't know it.

Sir Mixalot

Exactly. The third coat is needed to fine tune any imperfections.

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