On Dec 16, 10:54*am, HerHusband wrote:
I have a detached garage that is 30x30 with 10 foot ceiligns that was
just built. The outside is metal and standard stud walls in the inside
with 2 feet on center studs for the most part.
I am debating drying to drywall the walls myself. I bought a drywall
book and have been reading it.
It suggested in a garage with tall ceilings to use drywall installed
vertically to eliminate butt seams which I understand.
However, there is a section in the book that stated in a garage there
is, "clearly no need to do three coats of compound in the tapered
edges of the drywall". Meaning, really the only coat of drywall mud
needed is the tape embedding coat.

First, with 24" stud spacing, you should probably use 5/8" drywall. 1/2"
would probably flex too much with that spacing. *If the stud spacing is
irregular, you might want to install horizontal strapping at 16" OC (1x3
boards screwed flat to the studs). Then you could use normal 1/2" drywall
on top of the strapping.

Otherwise, one coat of drywall compound will definitely show once it is
painted. Even if you get it PERFECTLY flat on the first coat (which you
shouldn't be focusing on), the compound will shrink as it dries.

Drywall work isn't difficult, it just takes practice. *Experienced pro's
can do it FAST, but that doesn't mean you can't do a good job if you take
your time. *You'll probably be staring at those garage walls a few years
so why not spend a little extra effort and try to do three proper coats. *
If nothing else, you'll develop skills you can use later on for other
projects.

Everyone has their own recommendations for hanging drywall and taping, so
here's mine:

1. Hang wall sheets vertically. This eliminates butt joints on long
walls, all sheet edges are supported, and even if a room is less than
12' long it lets you use shorter (i.e. lighter) sheets. This will be a
big advantage if you're working alone or with a single helper (i.e. The
wifey). *The disadvantage is having to go up and down a ladder to tape
the joints, but we did 14' walls with vertical joints and it's not a big
deal. The pro's just avoid it because it takes more time.

Try to avoid small pieces of drywall whenever possible. Drywall is cheap
and you'll end up with a better job using a large sheet than trying to
use all the little scraps. Use the scraps in a closet or something where
it doesn't matter.

2. Use self adhesive mesh tape. It's easy to apply, especially for
amateurs. *We used it to tape our garage an house and 7 years later every
seam is still invisible with no cracks.

3. Buy three GOOD drywall knives. A 6" for the first coat, a 8" or 10"
for the second coat, and a 12" for the final coat. *I also find a
dedicated corner knife makes taping inside corners much easier.

4. Ideally you should use a setting type compound for the first coat,
then premixed all-purpose for the additional coats. But we used all-
purpose for everything on our house and garage and it worked fine also.

5. Apply the tape to the drywall joints first. This is easier than trying
to switch back and forth between taping and applying mud.

6. Use the 6" knife to apply the mud to the seams, and the corner knife
to apply mud to the corners. Press the mud into the gaps and try to get
it smooth, but don't worry about making it perfect. Just don't leave any
major bumps you'll have to sand later.

You'll often see the pro's do long sweeps up the wall to catch all the
screw holes in the middle of the sheet. We just dabbed each hole and it
worked just as well. Push it in, screed it flush with the drywall
surface. If you have a "clinker" (a screw that isn't driven in enough),
nows the time to drive it in and remud. Again, we were focused on quality
more than speed.

7. Let the first coat dry fully before applying additional coats. This is
where the setting type compound has the advantage (it dries faster and
harder), but all-purpose will work fine if you give it time to dry.
You'll be able to tell by looking that the damp areas will be darker.

8. Apply the second coat with the 8"/10" knife. Hold the knife closer to
perpendicular to the wall, so you don't flex the blade and cause a
depression. Apply more mud than you need, then screed it off with the
knife.

9. Once coat number two dries, apply coat three with the 12" knife. Now
you're really trying to get it as smooth as possible. Small imperfections
can be sanded out later, but the better you do now, the less work you'll
have later.

If you take too long and the compound starts to dry out, you'll start
getting little gritty balls that will leave gouges in your work. If you
notice this happening, toss out that batch of mud and start over. Again,
joint compound is cheap and you'll never be able to get a smooth coat
once it starts drying out.

10. There's no reason you can't apply a fourth, fifth, or sixth coat if
you find things still look bad after the first three. This is usually
more of an issue with butt joints than the tapered edges. But three is
usually adequate once you get the hang of it. In fact, I usually only do
two coats on the corners as imperfections are much harder to see there.

11. When everything is level and dry, use flexible sanding blocks
(sponges with a sandpaper texture), or dedicated sanding pads (the kind
that mount to a pole are great for ceilings) to LIGHTLY sand the surfaces
smooth. You don't want to sand so much that you create depressions again,
you just want to knock off any ridges and level everything out. *Remember
to wear a dust mask, and be prepared to clean up with a shop vac that has
a "fine filter" bag installed (otherwise the fine dust will blow right
out the back into the room).

12. Apply a PVA primer intended for drywall before painting with a latex
paint.

Good luck, and have fun!

Anthony

Thanks so much for your informative post. My studds indeed are
irregular. My thought was to use full sheets untill they because
irregular in the spacing, then cut the sheets to fit the rest of the
studs. I never thought of your idea on the 1x3's but one problem I see
is the outlets would be way recesed if I used those.