Wasted a whole Saturday on a simple drywall patch

I had a 4 inch hole in my living room wall from moving a shelf and thought I'd have it fixed in an hour. It took me 8 hours because I kept messing up the mud layers and the sanding left ridges I couldn't see until the paint dried. The trick I finally learned was to use a 12 inch taping knife for the final coat instead of the little 6 inch one. Has anyone else run into trouble getting that smooth finish with regular joint compound?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana_bell7415d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain. I did the exact same thing last year and ended up with a wall that looked like a topographical map. That 12 inch knife tip is gold though, and I also found that thinning the mud just a little with water helped me get the coats way smoother.

elliot_harris258d ago

Wait, is bad drywall really that big of a deal? I've seen some rough walls in my day and honestly a little texture just gives the place character. Feels like people get too caught up in making everything perfectly flat and smooth. Unless you're planning on hanging a mirror right there or something why does it matter? A topographical map look just means you've got some free wall art. I'll take a slightly bumpy wall over spending a whole weekend fussing with mud any day.

kai77915d ago

Heard a pro say adding a drop of dish soap to thin mud prevents bubbles too.