Drywall mudding/ painting question.

[daveroy]

It's not exactly a garage issue, but i used lots of tools (nailer, screwgun, etc) so far. And it seems there are experts on here for everything so here goes. A bit of back story, then the question.

My oldest moved back home while she finishes school. So I had to build a room in the base (in about 24 hours). We had always planned on finishing this particular corner of the basement anyway, but not in this kind of rush. So the two concrete walls, will stay concrete for now (already painted white, so not quite so dungeon-ish). I framed out the other two walls, and put up the drywall, and the door... so she has a room w/ some modicum of privacy. The other side is the workout area and the gaming center/ TV for the rest of the kids or I would have just let her have the whole basement.

This all got announced on Friday night, and she moved in yesterday afternoon. Oh yeah, and that particular corner of the basement was stacked to the floor joists with all the remnants of every other project, craft, and hobby that any of the 7 of us have tried in the last 8 years!!

Now for the question. I did not have near enough time to mud/tape/mud/sand/etc the drywall. If I go ahead and prime/paint the raw drywall the way it is now, just to make it a little more civilized looking, painting right over the screw heads, and ignoring the joints... will it cause issues with adding mud and tape later to finish it proper?

 

[p_mori7]

I think you'll be OK. After all, when somebody repairs a section of damaged drywall, are the adjoining sections not already painted ? When I repaired a 12"x12" section of my bathroom cieling, I had no issues whatsoever when taping/mudding to tie the repair into the rest of the cieling. Just remember, that the areas covered with joint compound will need a good primer before applying paint in order to get good adhesion.

 

[BD1]

Maybe get some quotes on having it done. you may find it maybe the same
price or close to what it would cost you. Maybe panel over the drywall.

 

[Trey T]

Generally, that's a backward execution. However, if you have to just use flat paint as it will provide adhesion to the joint compound. Also don't lay too many coats of paint as the layers will become brittle, especially where the space doesn't get used enough to properly control the temperature.

 

[Tucko]

Since you have a pile to the ceiling of others projects, crafts, etc. something tells me you will NEVER come back to this project after it's painted and she moves in...Not that it's a bad thing...

 

[rlitman]

Just use a flat paint. Mud won't stick as well to a gloss.

Edit: looks like somebody beat me to this, between the time I read the OP, and the time I send this response.

BTW, this would be a good place to use primer, instead of paint (just be sure to use a water based primer, and not oil based). It will give excellent adhesion to the mud at a later time, it is cheap, and it won't hurt the paint going over it.

 

[MoonRise]

My take?

Half-a## or do it right. Your call.

I'd really say to just take the extra day or two and at least put up 2-3 skim coats of mud. One thin coat with some tape over the joints in the morning and another thin coat that evening and you are almost there. Smooth it all a bit the next day and paint, or take the extra day and put on the last 1-2 coats of mud. Done.

Screw and nail heads/holes don't take much mud and should dry pretty quickly, unless you really 'bashed' the wallboard when you put the fasteners in. Two coats of mud is usually about all they typically need to be 'done'.

Joints/seams may take another 1-2 coats, depending on just how well you fit things together, on whether you are doing the factory tapered seams (the tapered depression gives you a place to put the mud and not have to feather it out as far in order to get 'flat' or looking flat) or doing end-to-end **** joints (takes more compound and more coats and bigger knives to taper out the joint and feather the mud out and and try to blend it all in to the rest of the flat wall).

Inside and outside corners again depend a bit on how well you fit things together as to just how much mud and how many coats you will need in order to make it all look 'nice'.

Or you could go with a kind of 'cottage' look ( vertical seams on the drywall panels and then just a piece of 1x for a quasi board-n-batten look) or 'dorm' look (paint it and cover the walls with posters ) or some 'industrial' look (paint dark grey and run some random pieces of piping/duct wrok around ) or give it the full-out 'club' look (paint it all flat black and put almost no lights in there ) or ... , etc, etc, etc.

Your (and her) call as to how you want the 'decor' to go.

But if you want it to look like 'finished' drywall, take the extra day or two and mud the nails/screws (easy) and the joints/seams.

 

[Big-Foot]

I think you will be fine.. You might need/want to re-prime before you tape and mud in case there is anything on the paint that the mud won't adhere to. I have done lots of mud over a waterbased primer (spray texturing / knock-down) and it is stuck like glue and no problems well after the fact..

The only issue I can think of is sanding. If you hit the paint/primer, it may load up the sandpaper a bit..

 

[rlitman]

But if you want it to look like 'finished' drywall, take the extra day or two and mud the nails/screws (easy) and the joints/seams.

This really is the best way to go.
It doesn't take that long to do a halfa$$ed mud job. Less time than the painting. The biggest issue would be that you need to delay painting a couple of days while it dries. You could reduce this time, if you use setting plaster (like 90 minute; don't even think of using the 20 minute stuff), and another advantage to this is that real plaster doesn't harbor mold like the pre-mixed stuff in drywall taping mud. This is especially important in a basement.
Just mix about quart at a time, and so long as you don't use too much water, it should be ready to paint in 1 day (regular mud would too, but can take longer in thicker spots).
By the time you've finished the room, you'll see how much a good hawk can help you work fast.

Mudding the seams adds to soundproofing too.

 

[daveroy]

My take?

Half-a## or do it right. Your call.

....

But if you want it to look like 'finished' drywall, take the extra day or two and mud the nails/screws (easy) and the joints/seams.

I totally agree with you on this... but the circumstances (at this point) prohibit any delay, her stuff is already in the room. I may be able to clear the two new walls well enough to paint... but not well enough or for long enough to do a proper (slow by me!) mud and tape job. Besides its not really worth doing that when I still have to frame the other two walls eventually.

Sounds like I wont have any problem If I go with a water based primer (and I can still get that tinted). And we may not even go that far, It all depends on how bad she complains about the raw drywall look.

I will eventually be going back to fix this properly no matter what we do at this point. This new room has been designated the future scrap-booking/craft room by my lovely (and deserving) wife, and no half-a$$ job will be acceptable or tolerated (by me!) when that becomes the goal. There will be four properly framed / sheeted walls with outlets, mud, paint trim, molding and a ceiling!



Thanks for all the input! I knew you guys would have the answer!

 

[JasonW]

If there isn't time to do the mud right (smooth, etc.) then I would say skip it. It is easy enough to say two days is plenty of time but if you don't have the experience then it is going to take longer. Don't worry about it. Prime it with a PVA or similar primer and give it a coat of flat or eggshell paint. When you come back to finish it (father / daughter project?) mud it as per usual but rather than sanding, consider using a sponge to even it all out. They make sponges for drywall. By avoiding sanding you will also avoid tearing up the painted surface which may be difficult to smooth again. After all the mudding is done, prime and paint thoroughly (two or more coats). As I doubt this is a high humidity area you should be fine, but the higher the humidity the better those coats of paint better be or you risk the mud releasing a bit.

That said, what is your worst case scenario? You get your daughter in and settled and 5 years from now you tear out the drywall and start fresh. What did it really cost you other than time? Good luck with the schedule. Hope you have some help.

 

[RW-7]

If you are wanting to get a quick coat on it now, you can use "prep coat" It is like a very thin mud that just sprays or rolls on. We use it for level 5 finishes at work.
You can tape, mud and texture right over it. Nice thing is it sands like mud too.
After that some PVA primer if you are using water based top coat, and a couple coats of finish and your golden!
Good luck!

 

[JasonW]

If you are wanting to get a quick coat on it now, you can use "prep coat" It is like a very thin mud that just sprays or rolls on. We use it for level 5 finishes at work.
You can tape, mud and texture right over it. Nice thing is it sands like mud too.
After that some PVA primer if you are using water based top coat, and a couple coats of finish and your golden!
Good luck!

Is this a product you buy ready mixed or is it something you create on the fly from a specified mix or general purpose mud?

 

[kenfath]

IF you don't like the paneling idea, considering covering the bare drywall with heavy type wallpaper. It goes up quick and gives the wall a finished appearance.

 

[camarotoolman]

Get a finisher off craigs list, I've had some good people work cheap.