Mud Work Hints and Methods

[Davy]

My dad come up with that nail trick, not sure where he got it from. I worked with him for 20 years before he pulled that trick out of his bag, don't know why it took him so long.

[Brad Denny]

Davy, what size ledgers and ply did you use on the joists? Nailed or screwed? Curious minds want to know. Good lookin' stuff by the way.

[Davy]

The carpenters nailed 1x4's on the sides of the 2x12 joists, then nailed 3/4 plywood down.

[cx]

Originally Posted by Davy

My dad come up with that nail trick, not sure where he got it from.

That's only on accounta your daddy didn't have him no cordless drills and long sheetrock screws, Davy.

[oogabooga]

Davy, very nice. I've done a variation on the nails, using screws instead. Found it easier for me adjusting the screws up or down to get level bang on.

Rob.

[jdstone]

Right on.....I'm really likin seein' this here thread back up.

Davy,,whats the deal with the ridges in the floor?

Now thats a mud man.

Did I mention I really like mud??

[oogabooga]

Doh.....CX beat me to it!

Rob.

[Davy]

Yeah, screws would work great. No, we didn't have a cordless drill back in those days.

I remember the first time we used the nails. We had a long bathroom to mud out. It was at least 30 ft from the bedroom door with alot of little ins and outs. But, our height started at the bedroom door so he got the nails out and I learned something that day. I think this is real handy for DIYers or anyone that has limited experience with mud. Having the heights figured out will save time, which is important when your mud is drying out.

[Hamilton]

Thats pretty clever Davy. Thanks for the new trick

[scuttlebuttrp]

I haven't asked any stupid questions in awhile so here goes. Besides this thread needs to be brought up once in awhile. It's pretty good.

Looking for an honest, edumacated type answer.

Does anyone use a thin mud bed on the wall without lath? How safe/unsafe do you think this is?

For example. If I have a minor dip of say an 1/8" in the wall. I'll put up flex and cut it off with a straightedge. If I have a wall that needs to be built up heavy, I'll hang lath and then use wallmud to get the wall right. But if I have a wall that needs too much for flex and it's too thin to mess with lath, I'll spread flex with a trowel, notching sideways to pretend that this will help, then cover the wall with lightweight wall mud like Customfloat. I'll even break out my lath strips to get it real nice.
The house I'm currently doing made me think of this question. Old plaster walls. 1/2" drywall leaves about a 1/4"- 1/2". But the framing is so bad, hanging 1/4" Hardi won't really fix these walls, so I did my thin wall mud thing.
I know this isn't "legal", but do you real mudguys think it's safe? I've been doing it for years and I've never heard of a problem. The thinking is, is that since Sturdiflex's shear strength is up in the 350 psi area, and the wall mud only weighs squat, it should stay indefinitely right? BTW I've run walls from an 1/8"- 1" this way and the only trouble I had was when the mud got real thick it tried slumping, and I had too finish it the next day. But the next day it's as hard as a rock and seems like it won't go anywhere.

So whatchya think? (yes, watchya is a real proper word here in the south.)

[madronatile]

Right on top of the drywall?

[scuttlebuttrp]

Usually CBU but this one's getting Kerdi so I told them to just hang drywall.
Yes I burned the flex in.

[Crestone Tile]

Hey Royce,

I'll admit that actually makes sense to me ... the mud is getting a mechanical hold with the notched thinset.

But ... you're hanging CBU, then the notched thinset, then mud, right?

Why not just scratch over lath and then mud?

(I hope I understand your method right.)

[scuttlebuttrp]

Because I have very cheap contractors who won't pay me to do a real mudjob. They'll pay me at least T&M to flatten their walls though. Plus this is the only time I normally get to play in the mud. BTW; the homeowner could see the twinkle in my eye as I was doing it.

Your understanding what I'm doing correctly. This method evolved from flattening the wall when it was too thick to just use flex though. It wasn't meant as a cheap mudwall but sometimes it can get pretty thick when the framing is real bad.

Another example would be; same house/ in the shower. End of wall has a giant load bearing post. Wall is good till that post then goes out of "flatness" from 0" to about 3/8" in 1'. Lightweight mud pulled this good and flat very quick. It's now solid and also if needed; plumb.

[John K]

Dust the cobwebs off this baby...