9/15

Tape the Inside Corners

Paper tape is more flexible than fiber mesh and has a crease in it, which makes it easier to push into the corners. Our pro uses a banjo to install paper tape on all the inside corners. He holds the tape secure with one hand as he moves the banjo along the corner. Once a long section of tape is pulled out, he pushes it into the corner with a corner trowel.

If you don’t own a banjo, lay down a thin coat of mud and push the tape into the mud. Make sure there’s mud under every square inch of the tape or you’ll end up with bubbles. Banjos do a great job of applying the proper amount of mud to the tape, but regular joint compound will have to be watered down when you’re using one. This will require about 1 cup of water for every gallon of mud, but it depends on the moisture content of the mud you’re working with, so just keep adding a little water until it’s roughly the consistency of yogurt.

10/15

Top-coat the Corner Tape

A banjo applies mud only on the bottom of the tape, so once the tape is laid down, it will need to be top-coated. Our pro uses a corner trowel. Corner trowels can be tricky to work with—the secret (as with much of taping) is to not lay down too much mud. This is especially true where inside corners meet the ceiling and floor. Too much mud will round out the corners, making it difficult to install trim and moldings.

Start at the top of an inside corner an inch or so down from the ceiling because a lot of mud will ooze out the top side of the trowel when you first press it to the walls. Then go back for another pass and smooth out the excess left behind. Once the tape has been covered, go back with the 6-inch knife and clean up each side of the tape. This step takes skill and practice. An easier (but more time-consuming) method is to top-coat one side of the tape, and do the other side after the first side has dried.

11/15

Fill the Screw Holes

Make two passes over every screw hole with a 6-inch taping knife. Hit all the screws that line up vertically in the field of each panel of drywall at the same time. To eliminate voids, each pass should come from a different direction. One efficient method is to lay out a thick coat in an upward motion, and then come back down, scraping off the excess as you go. Don’t forget about the screws on the ceiling. Save yourself a lot of walking around by covering all the joints, corners and screw holes in one area of a room at a time. It’s time to set up some fans and call it a day.