The U.S. Gypsum company introduced drywall, that it markets as Sheetrock, as an alternate to lath and plaster in the early 20th century. Though its popularity rose gradually, drywall is now the number one wall covering in the usa. It comes in 4-by-8-foot sheets that you screw or nail to your framing, but the installation is not complete until you complete the seams between sheets with tape and joint compound, or mud. When properly completed, a Sheetrock-covered wall resembles a plaster one, especially after the use of a feel, which is an optional process.
Use premixed mud or blend your own by pouring the powdered variety into a 5-gallon bucket and stirring in some water. It needs to be soft enough to spread on the walls, but stiff enough to stay on a drywall knife when you flip down the blade upside down. Use taping compound to tape seams and topping compound for complete coats, or utilize all-purpose joint compound for the two purposes.
Move a quantity of mud to a mudding tray, and it can be a rectangular trough with a steel scraping blade affixed to one lip. The blade will come in handy for keeping your application tools clean.
Coat a seam with mud using a 4-inch drywall knife. The coating width should be approximately the same diameter as the blade. Distribute the mud generously and evenly, being careful to prevent leaving voids.
Cover the seam with paper or fiberglass mesh drywall tape. Should you use paper tape, moisten it with water until you lay it on to enhance adhesion and stop bubbling and lifting. Scrape the tape level with the knife, removing excess mud from beneath the tape and returning into the tray. Distribute a coat of mud over depressions produced by nails and screws as you’re taping seams.
Tape inside corners with drywall tape, but utilize metal or vinyl corner beading for outside corners. Affix the beading with glue or drywall nails or screws, based on the type you use, and coat the edges with a layer of mud.
Let the mud dry, which can take anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. It is possible to accelerate the drying by conducting a heater in the room. Spread another coat of mud on all horizontal seams, inside and outside corners and fasteners and scrape it level having an 8-inch blade. Let it dry, then repeat the procedure, but scrape with a 12-inch blade. The progression of wider blades will create increasingly wider layers that will gradually feather into the wall.
Sand the final coat lightly with 120-grit sandpaper until you feel. Wipe off the sanding dust with a rag.
Texture the wall by spreading mud with a knife to create a swirl, Spanish knife, knock-down or comparable pattern. You could also thin mud to a pourable consistency and apply it with a sprayer or a paint roller to generate popcorn, eggshell and other patterns.
Let the feel dry, then sand it very lightly with 120-grit sandpaper to knock down some sharp edges. Cover the wall with wall primer before you paint it.