How to remove drywall mud

[jasonvt]

A few weeks ago I made the decision to re-do my garage. It needed some drywall put up since half was unfinished. I found a guy (friend of a friend) and he agreed to do the drywall and paint work and we agreed on a price. Well, this morning he sends me an email saying he is going to have to walk away if I dont pay an additional $1000 since he is in the red by that much.
The current condition is all the drywall is hung and 3 coats of mud have been applied. The floor is covered in drywall mud and if he walks away, I guess it will be my problem. I am planning to put down Legacy primer, epoxy and clear once the paint is complete. Does anyone know how easily drywall mud can be removed? I was planning to degrease with simple green and acid etch with muriatic acid before putting down the primer. Should this be enough to remove the mud or will I need to add another step?

Thanks

 

[Smiliesafari]

Muriatic should melt that with no problem.

 

[lisiecki1]

mud removes pretty easy with simple water and scrubbing

 

[jasonvt]

thanks guys, that's good news.

 

[ringneck]

After you get everything sanded and ready to go, just use a mud knife and scrape it (comes up easy). Then you can sweep and mop the debris up, followed by your prep for the epoxy.

Good Luck! Stinks you have to clean up after someone that isn’t finishing the job they committed to.

 

[jasonvt]

thanks. yeah, it does stink. especially since he was in the red because he admittedly miscalculated when doing the estimate and is now asking me to make up the difference.

 

[JimVonBaden]

After you get everything sanded and ready to go, just use a mud knife and scrape it (comes up easy). Then you can sweep and mop the debris up, followed by your prep for the epoxy.

Good Luck! Stinks you have to clean up after someone that isn’t finishing the job they committed to.

I did the same on mine. Lots of old mud on my floor before I cleaned it up. Scrape, stiff bristle broom, then mop the rest.

Jim

 

[JimVonBaden]

thanks. yeah, it does stink. especially since he was in the red because he admittedly miscalculated when doing the estimate and is now asking me to make up the difference.

Sounds like a real loser to me. I would file a claim for unfinished work. His miscalculation is not your problem, it is his.

Jim

PS Of course you won't get anything, so maybe not worth the hassle.

 

[jasonvt]

He's a nice guy and has done good work thus far. But this is business and if the estimates came in at $1000 more than what he gave me, I wouldn't have started the project.

 

[MoonRise]

As said, scrape up the 'big' glops and then a bit of water and a stiff brush to scrub off the rest of the drywall compound off the floor.

It's just water based 'mud', in the true sense of 'mud. Add water and it gets 'wet' again. It doesn't permanently harden/cure, it's not Bondo or such.

Want an excuse to use some sort of 'power' tool to clean the floor? Pressure washer. Not so much for the drywall compound/mud, but for the ground-in dust and grime and other 'crud' on the concrete. Before putting on the epoxy floor coating, you'll probably still have to etch it with the muriatic acid and rinse well. But that is to get some 'tooth' and to clean the concrete so the epoxy can bond well to it and has nothing to do with any glopped-on drywall mud.

 

[50cal]

I wonder how well a rug doctor would work for this?

 

[GShelton]

I wonder how well a rug doctor would work for this?

The problem is that they vent downward and will blow dust everywhere. I know that from experience.

 

[spotco2]

Simple water and a brush or broom will remove it.

 

[admactanium]

Off of concrete? All you need is a large putty knife to scrape it up. Even quickset mud pops right up when you scrape it off of a hard surface.

 

[jasonvt]

I havent heard from him in about 36 hours, so I assume he is walking away.
I should probably start a new thread, but Ill ask here. Since I paid half the amount down payment with a credit card, is it within my rights to dispute the charge? My thought was that I was going to have a few estimates done to complete the work and withhold any amount over what the original contract was for. and maybe additional for the hassle of delayed completion, time invested to have more estimates, etc.

 

[red]

I havent heard from him in about 36 hours, so I assume he is walking away.
I should probably start a new thread, but Ill ask here. Since I paid half the amount down payment with a credit card, is it within my rights to dispute the charge? My thought was that I was going to have a few estimates done to complete the work and withhold any amount over what the original contract was for. and maybe additional for the hassle of delayed completion, time invested to have more estimates, etc.

Seriously? Didn't you say he mis-estimated? So now you want to really put the screws to him . . . . . sounds like someone is being a . . . .. . Glad I'm not your friend . . .

 

[jasonvt]

Yes, seriously. He isn't my friend. He's a friend of a friend (who is also irritated at him over this). It's really not my problem that he miscalculated. The total we agreed on is the amount I was willing to pay for the work. If I have to find someone to finish the work and it costs more than what is left on the balance, he should be held responsible. I am giving him the chance to finish the job for the agreed price. He is ignoring my emails and calls. And he is ignoring emails and calls from my friend.

 

[7th Kahuna]

Did you have a contract with the guy? I doubt the credit card company is going to be willing to get in the middle of it. You said you paid half down. Does that mean you are holding half or did you just mean you paid the other half by check or something? If you are still holding half, that should be more than enough to finish the job unless the guy SERIOUSLY underbid the work. If you have three coats of mud on the wall, and he was at all professional, all you should need is a final sanding and you are ready for paint. If you have paid him in full, my guess is your only real recourse would be small claims court. At that point, you really have to ask yourself if it is worth your time or energy.

 

[jasonvt]

You're right - it probably isn't worth the hassle of small claims courts. I am hoping this is a non-issues and the bids to complete the work come in at equal or less than the balance.
I paid half down and was holding the other half until completion. The contract states what the work to be done is and the fee. there are 3 coats of mud on the seams of the drywall, but the middle part is bare. I have no idea how to do drywall so I am not sure if the entire panel should get mud or not. Guess Ill find out when the estimates come in.

 

[7th Kahuna]

Just the seams. Garages typically only get one or two coats, but if you want it to look nice, then three, as you would do in the house. I am assuming he mudded over the screws in the middle of the board as well. Beyond that, the rest is paper which will be covered by paint. Following three coats, sanded, the walls should be smooth with no evidence of seams. Then it needs a coat of PVA primer and two coats of your paint of choice.

Should look something like this when finished:

http://wixphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/drywall_mudding.jpg

 

[jasonvt]

sounds good. thanks! i didn't check the entire room, but what i did check looks like its pretty well sanded and smooth.

 

[7th Kahuna]

No problem, sounds like you are in good shape then. Shouldn't cost too much to get the walls painted. And like everyone said, getting the floors clean should be pretty easy.

 

[bookman51]

I understand you are unhappy, and I do not blame you. However, sometimes there is a reason not to go with the lowest bid. If you had several bids, and he was only a bit under the rest, and you checked out his work, then okay, you got the shaft. However, if he was way under the other bids and you did not check out his work, you just paid some tuition to the school of hard knocks. Just be glad it did not cost a lot more. Wish you best best in getting it all done and looking good.

 

[kmacht]

Just out of curiosity, if you are willing to share, how big was the area being done and what was the original estimate? It is pretty easy to figure out how much drywall, mud, and paint is needed for an area. Unless you are doing an entire house I don't see how it is possible to underestimate a simple job like this by $1000 plus whatever profit he already had figured in.

Keith

 

[Zeke]

Sent you an email? Jeez, that's pretty lame. He can't even speak to you F2F. Let him go. As you've already found out, clean up is a breeze. The hard part is done.

 

[James-W]

Just out of curiosity, if you are willing to share, how big was the area being done and what was the original estimate? It is pretty easy to figure out how much drywall, mud, and paint is needed for an area. Unless you are doing an entire house I don't see how it is possible to underestimate a simple job like this by $1000 plus whatever profit he already had figured in.

Keith

I agree completely, it just sounds incredibly wrong that a drywall person could underestimate a one room garage by that much. I could see underestimating the job by a few dollars because maybe the price of drywall went up a little in price. But to screw up by $1,000 plus whatever profit he had been planning on making, that makes no sense to me. But I guess stranger things have happened.

 

[jasonvt]

I didn't go with him because he was the lowest bid. He was... but only by $50. I went with him because he was a friend of a friend. He doesnt do this on the side - he owns the small business that does drywall, paint, etc.
For the person that asked... the garage is 31.5x20. 9.5' ceiling. 37' or so needed insulation and drywall, the rest of the garage had drywall up and 1 coat of mud. he was to apply 2 more to that area, install drywall and apply 3 coats to the new wall. then i added 4 electrical outlets, window sills on 3 windows (which he didnt get to), baseboard and a chair rail (didnt install either). other than that, just wanted the walls painted. his total estimate was 2000 plus 50 for an electrical inspection. i paid 1050. whats left is window sills, baseboard, chair rail, paint and a few outlet covers. and cleanup... all his trash is still in my garage.

 

[JakeKohl]

I havent heard from him in about 36 hours, so I assume he is walking away.
I should probably start a new thread, but Ill ask here. Since I paid half the amount down payment with a credit card, is it within my rights to dispute the charge? My thought was that I was going to have a few estimates done to complete the work and withhold any amount over what the original contract was for. and maybe additional for the hassle of delayed completion, time invested to have more estimates, etc.

He's a friend of a friend - right? He should get the benefit of the doubt. Clearly he was out of his depth and more than likely entered into this situation with good intent. I wouldn't mess with him further. Besides, you've only paid for half of it anyway.

 

[jasonvt]

He isnt returning my friend's messages now either....
Not sure on the cost per SF. He just gave me a total - didn't separate the drywall from the paint. For the work that was done, I had about 350SF drywall and it ran $1000, so $2.85/sf
but I also had insulation and 4 electrical outlets installed. and 2 additional coats of mud on the other 350sf of existing drywall.
Im going to let it go as long as the cost to finish the work doesnt exceed $1000

 

[workhurts]

Question really is whether or not you got a grand
worth of work. I think you probably did. Whether he underestimated or overestimated or ruined your schedule is really inconsequential.

Sounds like he just has paint left so why not paint the thing for another grand. $2k for the whole thing does not sound like an underbid especially for your area. 9.5' ceilings aren't that bad to paint. I just finished 12' ceilings which were a pain.

Save yourself some money and finish it yourself.

When I got quote they were all over the place and I have no doubt in my mind that it was completely in relation to the quality of work. People price things depending on work load, if they need money, of they have helpers and a million other things.

Again, did you get $1k worth of work?

 

[admactanium]

I didn't go with him because he was the lowest bid. He was... but only by $50. I went with him because he was a friend of a friend. He doesnt do this on the side - he owns the small business that does drywall, paint, etc.
For the person that asked... the garage is 31.5x20. 9.5' ceiling. 37' or so needed insulation and drywall, the rest of the garage had drywall up and 1 coat of mud. he was to apply 2 more to that area, install drywall and apply 3 coats to the new wall. then i added 4 electrical outlets, window sills on 3 windows (which he didnt get to), baseboard and a chair rail (didnt install either). other than that, just wanted the walls painted. his total estimate was 2000 plus 50 for an electrical inspection. i paid 1050. whats left is window sills, baseboard, chair rail, paint and a few outlet covers. and cleanup... all his trash is still in my garage.

If you're at all handy it actually sounds like you came out ahead on the deal. The hanging and mudding is the more labor intensive part. Painting is easy and wainscot and baseboard are easy as well. Paint, baseboard, wainscot and sills shouldn't cost you $1000 to do yourself.

 

[jasonvt]

I had 2 people come by for estimates today and yesterday - waiting to hear back.
I am handy and could do it myself, but don't have time. I work 6 or 7 days a week and 2 nights a week and have a 1.5 yr old. Id rather spend time with him and pay someone to do the garage than save some money and take a week or 2 to finish it myself in my free time.

 

[Kevin54]

A friend of a friend, and now it will probably pan out that your friend won't be a friend any longer. He underbid by a $1000 and he is in the business of doing that type of work? If it were me, I'd tell him to walk. You got screwed, he wants to make more money on a job that is probably fairly simple to begin with, and now he wants to threaten you by walking. Call his bluff and tell him to **** off. If you don't want to finish it yourself, there are many others hurting for a dollar or so that would be more than willing to finish it.

 

[pop pop]

Our unofficial corporate policy on bid work was if a contractor really was underwater, we would work with him up to the $ amount of the next higher bidder only. So you got another $50 to work with him on and he wants $1000. Not good. You are right to bid the remainder and use the unpaid balance owed to do it. If you have $ left over, you might remember him, otherwise move on.

 

[jasonvt]

Estimates have come in.. and they are not what I was hoping to hear. Theyre about $700 more than my unpaid balance with the original guy. Looking closer, he did not sand any of the drywall, did not install a 2'x24' section I wanted covered above the garage doors, didnt install window sills. I emailed him and asked for a partial refund given what it will cost to finish. I doubt he will respond.
I had planned a nice paint scheme (red on top, dark gray on bottom) with baseboard and chair rail. Its looking like I will have to not do the trim and switch to a light gray everywhere in order to save some money. Will still look nice I'm sure, but not what I originally wanted

 

[Kevin54]

I think pics are in order to back up the bitching

Either the people are really high as far as prices go in your area, or you are getting gouged from all. Post up some pics of what you have left. If it's sanding and hanging a little drywall. if the other guy had any talent at all, it shouldn't take too much to sand the joints he's already covered.

 

[darkk]

Tell me you DIDN'T pay him all the money before the job was finished!

 

[jasonvt]

Ill try to get some pics up, but it just looks like any other unfinished garage. the work that was done looks fine. its just I don't think enough was done. I put half down and was going to pay the other half at completion. so, he got half and I dont think I got half the work done...