Overheard a homeowner ask why his drywall guy didn't just 'smooth it out with a big knife'

Dude was dead serious thinking you can skim coat a whole room with one 12 inch blade and zero mud work. How do you even respond to that without sounding like a jerk?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnb957d agoMost Upvoted

...wait so the paper would actually peel if you tried that? I never even thought about the moisture thing, I just figured it would look terrible but damn that's a whole other level of disaster.

blair_lewis857d ago

The thing nobody talks about is how the moisture in the mud would make the paper on the drywall bubble and peel if you tried that. A big knife like that needs a perfect mix of wet and dry mud to work, plus you have to know where to start and stop. Most homeowners think drywall is like spreading peanut butter on bread, but the mud actually shrinks and cracks if you lay it on too thick. You'd end up with a sanding nightmare and probably have to redo half the wall anyway. The real skill is in the angles and the pressure you use, not just the size of the tool.