I finally took a foreman's advice about pre-filling my screw holes

I used to just tape and mud everything in one go, thinking it saved time. But a foreman on a big hotel job in Austin last spring pulled me aside and told me I was creating air pockets that'd show up after the third coat. He showed me how he runs a quick pass with a 6 inch knife to fill every screw dimple before he even touches the tape. I tried it on the next 20 rooms and holy cow, the finish was way flatter with way less sanding. It adds maybe 10 minutes per board but saves an hour of fixing later. Anyone else do this or am I just slow to catch on?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert_smith361mo ago

Man, that Nashville humidity will eat you alive on a mud job (did a summer in Houston once, felt like I was taping inside a shower). Your old timer sounds like he saved you weeks of headache. I do the same pre-fill trick now out of habit, but I still catch myself getting impatient and skipping it on smaller patch jobs. Then I'm kicking myself later when I'm sanding bumps that shouldn't even be there.

uma_nguyen241mo ago

That bit about "creating air pockets that'd show up after the third coat" hits home. I was on a hotel job in Nashville a few years back and my tape kept bubbling up in the same spots. I figured it was bad mud or the humidity, but the old timer next to me just shook his head and said I was trapping air under my tape. He made me pre-fill every screw hole with a fast drying compound before I even touched the tape. Took forever on the first room but the second room was way smoother. Now I do it automatic without thinking.

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