Drywall Finishing: How to Tape and Float Sheetrock
© 2008 by Kelly Smith all rights reserved
While wood stud or metal framing and hanging drywall are relatively mechanical activities,
drywall finishing is more of an art form, but easily learned.
This article provides step by step instructions for taping and floating (or finishing) sheetrock
or drywall on walls and ceilings. A tool and material list is included for your convenience.
A Little Background — The Evolution of Wall Construction
Finishing sheetrock or drywall isn’t a new trade, but it’s not as old as its counterparts:
carpentry and plumbing. As a matter of fact, sheetrock made its debut way back in 1916, but it
really didn’t really catch on until World War II.
Before that, interior walls and ceilings were lathe
(wooden strips) and plaster. This process petered out when the war loomed; Uncle Sam needed a faster
way to build structures — barracks, office buildings, etc.
Sheetrock was the obvious candidate. This article will show you, the daring DIY’er, how to tape and
float sheetrock. The terms drywall and sheetrock are used interchangeably in this article, as they are
in the trade.
Of course, this isn’t just for new construction. The homeowner needs this knowledge for the
day to day drywall patches that come about from accidents or repairs. Very small repairs such as
repairing drywall seams
are easy.
Drywall Finishing Tools and Material
Here’s a list of tools and material you’ll need to tape and float sheetrock or drywall:
- 6” taping knife
- 10” taping knife
- Electric drill
- Ribbon mixer (found in drywall taping tool area of the home improvement store)
- Drywall hammer
- Screwdriver
- Mud pan
- Utility knife
- Stapler
- Dust mask
- Sanding pad, pole, and screens
- Plastic corner bead
- Drywall tape (fiberglass mesh type, not paper)
- 5 gallon bucket(s) of sheetrock mud (drywall compound)or powder
Preparing the Drywall
Go over all the surfaces and make sure that there are no nails or screws above the surface of the
drywall. If you find any, hammer the nails or screw in the screws (whichever were used in your home).
If there are any other protrusions, get rid of them.
All outside corners need corner bead. If at all possible, use just one stick per corner. This should
be no problem in the average home. If the drywall is ragged, use your utility knife to trim it to a nice,
square corner.
Then just stick it on the corner and staple it, making sure it’s straight. For outside corners,
miter it carefully (see photo above).
Mixing the Drywall Compound (Mud)
Buy your mud in the large plastic buckets or use bags of powder (not fast setting). The consistency of
premixed mud is a bit too thick to begin with.
Open the bucket and pour in a cup or so of water and thin it out with your drill and ribbon mixer.
Taping the Seams
Stick tape to all the seams and all inside corners. Do this all at once or as you go. Fill your mud
pan about 1/4 of the way full, and using your 6” knife, apply mud to all the seams, inside corners,
and nail/screw indentations.
All you are doing with the taping step is initial work. Do not leave any ridges of mud because you'll
just have to scrape them off prior to floating.
Floating the Walls and Ceilings
Now that the mud has dried, it's time to float the sheetrock. Use the big knife. The objective here
is to cover everything you did before but make the surface as smooth as possible. The seams will still be
indented.
You won’t meet that objective on the first floating pass. Don't give in to the temptation to just go
over it once because ‘the texture will cover it.’ On this pass you go over the tape filling in
the void.
As before, don't leave any ridges. After the mud dries, float it at least one more time.
On this pass you’ll be feathering the joints on the sides of the joint (and going over the nails again).
Final Step: Sanding
Once you’re satisfied that your surface is flush and smooth, use the sanding screens to finish it
off. Make sure you use your dust mask.
Once you're happy with this, you're ready to apply your choice of
easy drywall texturing techniques.
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