Use a float and other tools to complete your drywall or re-texturing project.
Repair cracks and holes in walls or ceilings, cover the indention where two sheets of gypsum board (drywall) meet or give an entire room the effect of plaster with pudding-textured joint compound, composed of clay, latex resin and gypsum, mica, talc or silicates. Do-it-yourselfers need only a few essential tools to mix, spread and smooth joint compound, depending on the project, while professionals add specialty items designed to increase work capacity and reduce fatigue.
About Joint Compound
Choose from two basic types of joint compound, also called drywall mud, based on your experience, time constraints and where you intend to use it. Setting-type joint compound or hot mud comes only in powdered form, dries quickly as a result of a chemical reaction and is difficult to sand. Drying-type joint compound, available premixed or in powder form, dries slowly through evaporation. Select from three formulations: All-purpose, taping (for embedding and applying mesh tape to joints and for second coat) and topping, used for final coats because it is whiter, dries quickly and sands smooth.
Basic Tools
Use a paddle or spiral mixer attachment on your power drill to add water to powdered joint compound or rejuvenate premixed mud. A trowel ---basically a handheld, flat shovel shape --- can carry and spread mud initially, especially when skim-coating or plastering entire walls. Use floats, or flat blocks with centered handles on the back, to press the mud into the drywall to remove air and ensure a strong bond. Use taping, joint or putty knives to spread, smooth and feather the compound. These tools have short handles and flat blades of varying widths. Putty knife blades range from 1.25 to 3 inches. Joint knives have 4- to 8-inch-wide blades, with 6 inches being the most popular size. Taping knives smooth large areas with blades of 9 to 12 inches wide.
Specialty Tools
Large projects and professional drywall finishers call for additional tools to make work easier, faster and more efficient. When working away from the joint compound supply, pile a "helping" of mud on a hawk, which is a flat, square platform, 10 to 14 inches wide, with a vertical central handle. Spray applicators with large hoppers mechanize the process of skim-coating entire rooms. For hand work at upper wall and ceiling heights, some pros prefer wearing special stilts to climbing up and down and moving ladders repeatedly. Angled trowels aid in making smooth inside and outside corners.
Accessories
Use plastic or anodized aluminum containers to mix and hold the mud. Manufacturers and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health suggest wearing dust masks during the application process as well as when sanding between coats, since some compounds contain silicates, known to be carcinogenic, and all types create dust. Pole sanders reduce dust exposure to a degree. Metal corner bead strips reinforce corner joints. Choose paper (plain or self-adhesive), flexible metal (for corners) or fiberglass joint tape to provide an adhesion surface for the joint compound.
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