My uncle taught me how to drywall and tape the joints over 40 years ago. He
always preferred to hang the sheets vertically with as many factory joints
as could be made, then tape and mud the joints with increasing width layers,
feathering the edges wider with each layer. The non-factory edges had to be
feathered wider during the taping process to make them look right, so he
tried to minimize the number of them because they took a bit longer to do.
After each layer of mud dried he would use a taping knife to scrape off any
high spots or bumps before applying another layer of mud. Two or sometimes
three layers was all that was usually necessary for good results. His final
"sanding" wasn't sanding at all. He never used sandpaper. He used a large
damp sponge to wipe off and smooth any remaining bumps and surface
imperfections. While doing this on the seams he also wiped across the whole
surface of the drywall and not just the joint areas. By doing this, the
whole wall surface became coated with a thin smooth layer of drywall mud,
which reduced the differences in texture between the paper sheetrock surface
and the seams, making them even less visible after the walls were painted.
He never used sandpaper, his finished walls always looked great, and he
never had any plaster dust to clean up.

Charley


"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
...

"The Davenport's" wrote in message
...


true, it IS harder to get a smooth joint on a butt joint, however, this
is
offset with three things:

1) The long running joints are basically at waist height...easy to get
at
without stretching and stooping. Bad enough that you need to do that in
the corners, no sense doing it every 4' down the length of the wall,
too.

Standard ceiling heights aren't such a bad reach for the average height
person. It's less work as well, to reach and stoop to do factory joints
than it is to do butt joints. In the end you'll be doing more stooping
and
reaching with butt joints than with factory joints.


2) Along the same lines, the 4' vertical joints can be done by stooping
just once and getting on the drywallers bench just once. Most people
have
enough of a wingspan to handle reaching 4' without a lot of twisting.


You have to stoop for every joint - and you have to do all of the extra
work
of feathering out every one of those butt joints. I've seen a lot of
sheetrock hung horizontally, and most times the butt joints show. It's
not
worth taking the extra time and effort required to work those butt joints
when you can simply hang it vertically and deal with (almost) all factory
joints.

3) The vertical joints are not as noticeable, in general, as horizontal
joints, all other things being equal...that is that you make good
joints.

Which would be an arugment in favor or hanging it vertically and having
all
vertical joints without horizontal joints.


Final tip for a mudded wall...use a skim coat after you think you're
done...just think the crap out of the mud...think thick paint...and slap
it on, followed by a WIDE trowel. When I've done this, don't try to work
ONto a wet skim coat. Start in a corner and work as far down the wall as
possible. Then go to the next corner and do the same thing, going the
same
direction...and so on around the room. Next day, go the other way
around.
Prime and paint.


I've never tried this and it sounds like more work than just applying a
good
primer coat before painting, but I'll bet it does a nice job of creating a
consistent finish on the rock so that paint does not telegraph where the
spackle is.

--

-Mike-