Drywall mudding

• McFly1955

  

  Hi all,
  
  I'm in the tear apart and planning stage of a basement remodel.
  
  Will be hanging the drywall, both ceiling and walls planned as of now, although I may change my mind about the ceiling when the time comes.
  
  1/2 of the room will be a theater area, which will include surround sound and a 1080p projector, a couch, a chair, the other half will be for photography (my wife takes baby/kid photos on the side).
  
  Anyways, pretty much everything will be a do-it-yourself project with the help of my father-in-law who is very knowledgeable and experienced with this sort of project. One thing he doesn't want to take on is finishing the drywall (mud and tape, etc).
  
  Wall sizes are 7 1/2 feet tall --- lengths of 24ft, 12ft, 12ft, and 16ft.
  
  Is it realistic for me to think I can finish the drywall all by myself, with no experience doing this before? (I've worked with joint compound before for several days when redoing a small bathroom, no experience taping/mudding)
  
  If not, what am I looking to pay for just the finishing of the drywall for the wall sizes above?
  
  Thanks
• fish82

  

  I've never seen a do-it-yourself mud job that looked good. Hang it yourself, but pay someone to finish it. You'll thank yourself later.
• Timber

  Priceless!
  Finishing drywall really, really stinks in my opinion. Not that it is difficult, but those who do it well make it look so easy. We had to wall paper so we could cover my idiot marks.LOL It take time.. repeat steps and patience. None of these qualities work well with my A.D.D. and wanting to finish projects too quickly.
  Not sure of the going rate, but knowing someone who would do it "on the side" would be a good way of getting a deal.
• power i

  

  My husband can do anything except finish drywall.
• ernest_t_bass

  

  Patience is key. I think that anyone can do it, as long as you have patience. That is... patience in EVERY single step. Make sure you cut the tape right, lay the tape right, measure it right, not too much mud, not too little mud, get out all air pockets, give it enough coats, and THEN you have the fun part of sanding, and sanding it right. Have fun!
• Rider_In_Ttown

  

  I did it all myself, it is not too hard. It is not a fun job though. You will need help hanging the ceilings. I gave my brother & a friend some beer and we hung the ceiling in a few hours. I hung all the walls myself. I did put a knock down finish to cover up some mistakes on my end.
• pinstriper

  I was building a custom home last feb and left the walk-out basement unfinished, planning on finishing it myelff with a lot of help from family and friends. So I watched alot of the subs do their stuff throughout the process. I'm pretty handy when it comes to framing, when it comes to electrical, when it comes to finish work, painting, etc. What I learned when I watched the mud and tape guys is that when I get to that part of the job that I need to call them. That's just something I'm not messing with. A bad mud and tape job will make your house look like shit. Pay the money (cash) to a sub looking for work on the side and get it done the right way the first time.
• bartsimpson

  Don't do it....anyone who says "you can do mudding yourself" probably doesn't care what the finished product looks like. It's not very expensive to pay someone to do it as it doesn't take very long if you've already hung the drywall. You'll be much happier when you go to paint if you've had someone good do the taping/mudding.
  
  If you're putting in a home theater, I'd reconsider putting drywall on the ceiling for a couple reasons.
  
  1) it doesn't sound good. Dropped tile ceiling is much better for accoustics
  
  2) if you run wiring above it (which you most likely will with a projector) it sucks if you have problems.
  
  As for the rest of the theater job....plan ahead BEFORE you drywall. Put outlets in the places that need outlets and put 2" PVC pipe in the walls. Have it go thru the top of the wall framing and end at a outlet box where you're going to have your a/v stuff sitting. Cut the top out of a plastic outlet box and put the lower end of the PVC right into the box, this way you can run all your wiring inside the walls. You don't want wires running around along walls and looking like crap.
• bcubed

  

  For that size room you would be better off not putting a drywall ceiling in, (it's alot easier if you need to run wires later and or have a leak to replace a suspended ceiling tile. As for finishing the drywall, DON'T DO IT! You will be much happier if you have someone do it for you! It should probably only cost you a couple hundred dollars or so, no more than three hundred and they will have it done and ready to be painted in just a few days. As opposed to you learning as you go and it taking 2 weeks or more. Most drywall guys love a good finish only job where they can run in the morning and apply a coat and then come back in the afternoon and apply another one. It will probably only take them about an hour to put a coat on each time.
• THE4RINGZ

  

  You can do it. Go slow. Don't put on too much mud with each coat.. Add a little bit of dish soap to the compound when mixing. Plan for at least three coats. Sand like hell.Get a wide knife. Take your time.
• Gobuckeyes1

  I have done it myself, and I have hired it done.
  
  I would hire it done if at all possible. I can do a decent job, but the pros can do a better job in a fraction of the time. It's worth it to not have to spend the extra time and deal with the frustration and an inferior job, IMO.
• TedSheckler

  

  fish82 wrote: I've never seen a do-it-yourself mud job that looked good. Hang it yourself, but pay someone to finish it. You'll thank yourself later.

  This!
• bcubed

  

  ^^^While you waste more mud, sandpaper, and clean-up than is necessary! Hire it done it is not that expensive and saves a tremendous amount of time.
• Prescott

  Here you go. It isn't a difficult job if you use the right tools and have some patience.
  
  http://www.drywallinfo.com/
• Thunder70

  

  get a lift for the ceiling. my dad and I hung the drywall for my master (12' sheets) in about an hour. I will never hang a ceiling with out a lift. Finishing drywall isn't too bad. If you take your time you won't have to sand later (which is the hardest/worst part).
• Thunder70

  

  for the home theater, this website is full of great tips/tricks.
  
  www.avsforum.com