On Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 4:59:37 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sun, 18 Oct 2015 11:21:16 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

my dad taught me years ago to use the paper tape, and dip it in water first.

===

That's a little counterintuitive. Do put down a thin layer of mud
first and then bed the tape in it?

Yes. A thin layer of mud, dip the paper tape in a bowl of water (already cut to length), pull it through two fingers to get rid of the excess water, then bed it into the mud using the taping knife with just a touch of mud on top. Next day you come back and hit it just a tiny bit with sandpaper to knock down the high spots, and there won't be much, then do a second light coat. After that dries do the final and sand. Again, the idea is to not leave a lot of mud to sand.

Not as fast as the pros, but I've always gotten good results.

On 10/18/2015 7:42 PM, wrote:
On Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 4:59:37 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sun, 18 Oct 2015 11:21:16 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

my dad taught me years ago to use the paper tape, and dip it in water first.

===

That's a little counterintuitive. Do put down a thin layer of mud
first and then bed the tape in it?

Yes. A thin layer of mud, dip the paper tape in a bowl of water (already cut to length), pull it through two fingers to get rid of the excess water, then bed it into the mud using the taping knife with just a touch of mud on top. Next day you come back and hit it just a tiny bit with sandpaper to knock down the high spots, and there won't be much, then do a second light coat. After that dries do the final and sand. Again, the idea is to not leave a lot of mud to sand.

Not as fast as the pros, but I've always gotten good results.



When I was stationed at Fort Allen in Puerto Rico (only "Fort" in the US
Navy) there was a project going on to renovate the open space enlisted
barracks into many, two man rooms. The Sea Bees were in charge
of the project and they finished the sheetrock walls by smearing them
with mud and then, using a sponge, they "pulled" the mud straight out,
forming a wall with a gazillion little sharp spikes when it dried and
hardened.

The reason was to discourage drunks from coming back from the club and
punching holes in the walls. Didn't always work but at least they knew
who was hitting the walls with their fists.

On 10/18/15 8:05 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/18/2015 7:42 PM, wrote:
On Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 4:59:37 PM UTC-4,
wrote:
On Sun, 18 Oct 2015 11:21:16 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

my dad taught me years ago to use the paper tape, and dip it in
water first.

===

That's a little counterintuitive. Do put down a thin layer of mud
first and then bed the tape in it?

Yes. A thin layer of mud, dip the paper tape in a bowl of water
(already cut to length), pull it through two fingers to get rid of the
excess water, then bed it into the mud using the taping knife with
just a touch of mud on top. Next day you come back and hit it just a
tiny bit with sandpaper to knock down the high spots, and there won't
be much, then do a second light coat. After that dries do the final
and sand. Again, the idea is to not leave a lot of mud to sand.

Not as fast as the pros, but I've always gotten good results.



When I was stationed at Fort Allen in Puerto Rico (only "Fort" in the US
Navy) there was a project going on to renovate the open space enlisted
barracks into many, two man rooms. The Sea Bees were in charge
of the project and they finished the sheetrock walls by smearing them
with mud and then, using a sponge, they "pulled" the mud straight out,
forming a wall with a gazillion little sharp spikes when it dried and
hardened.

The reason was to discourage drunks from coming back from the club and
punching holes in the walls. Didn't always work but at least they knew
who was hitting the walls with their fists.

Years ago, my wife "treated" some navy personnel from the Jax naval air
station who were ordered into therapy after getting drunk and beating
the crap out of their wives or girlfriends. It was up to my wife to
decide whether they could say in therapy for the number of sessions
assigned by the judges or whether they'd have to go to jail. I think
these were guys who were living off the base in civilian housing.

To help the fellas behave, the county stationed one of its extra tall
deputies outside the group therapy meeting room during sessions. One tap
on a buzzer and the deputy would rush in, take the offender by the
scruff of the neck, and toss him into a holding cell until he could be
transported to the county jail.

There was a significant drinking problem among some of the navy
personnel in those days. I doubt the percentage was large, but it was
enough to be singled out for special attention in the domestic violence
courts and among the patrol officers who looked for drinking drivers.

- show quoted text -
Yes. A thin layer of mud, dip the paper tape in a bowl of water (already cut to length), pull it through two fingers to get rid of the excess water, then bed it into the mud using the taping knife with just a touch of mud on top. Next day you come back and hit it just a tiny bit with sandpaper to knock down the high spots, and there won't be much, then do a second light coat. After that dries do the final and sand. Again, the idea is to not leave a lot of mud to sand.

Not as fast as the pros, but I've always gotten good results.
.....
I've done that too especially the places that I'm not picky and meets the wife's ok.

On Friday, October 16, 2015 at 9:33:49 AM UTC-4, wrote:
As you all know, South Carolina was hit hard with the recent flooding, and some of the worst was right here in the area I live. While I was fortunate that our house is on a hill and we didn't suffer any damage at all, many were not that lucky and lost nearly everything.

One person that was hit hard is a fellow I work with. He lives with his elderly, disabled mother in her home, taking care of her while working a full-time production job. He's a really good guy. The water was three feet deep in the home. They lost all their furniture except for the dining room table and china cabinet. Most of the sheetrock and cabinetry had to be ripped out of the home. Also the home had recently been paid off, so the mother had cancelled their flood insurance. On top of that, a couple of days later the mother had a stroke and has just been released from ICU to a regular room at the hospital. Bad stuff happens to good people.

One of the ladies I work with started a GoFundMe page to help them out. I'm posting this in hopes that maybe some of you rec.boats regulars might be able to make a contribution to them. Anything would be appreciated.

https://www.gofundme.com/rc6dqats

For those of you that contributed...

On behalf of Tim and his mother, thank you. His mother is going to be evaluated and hopefully released tomorrow from rehab at the skilled nursing facility. Unfortunately, she'll have to go to Tim's brother's house, as her home is still in limbo. The state/county officials have not ruled yet what the fate of the homes in that area will be. The possibilities are issuing permits for repair, requiring them to be raised some amount before rebuilding, or being condemned. Repairing is bad enough, but option two or three is financially devastating for them.

Tim had run out of vacation time here at work, so the company allowed a bunch of us to donate our PTO time to him so he'd continue to be paid while he's out dealing with this stuff. They had to turn some people away. Pretty cool.

BTW, I told him that some of the contributions had come from complete strangers that leaned about his situation on a internet discussion group. It brought a brief smile to his face. He hasn't had much to smile about lately. Good stuff.

Thanks!

Thanks for the update.