Used to feather my mud way too wide on butt joints

I was out on a job last week in Nashville and noticed a guy taping next to me barely went past his tape on the seams. I always went like 12-14 inches out thinking it would blend better. Turns out that just makes more sanding work and wastes mud. Switched to keeping it tight around 6-8 inches and my finisher actually thanked me for the first time. Anybody else find that less is more on those factory edges?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanef341mo ago

Man, you've been living your whole drywall life wrong and nobody told you! I bet that finisher was biting his tongue for years just waiting for you to figure it out. Sounds like you finally found the secret to not making him hate his life.

samk771mo ago

Whoa, hold up... I mean come on, is drywall really that deep? It's just mud and tape, right? I've been doing it the same way for like fifteen years and the finishers I hire never complain about anything. They just show up, do their thing, and leave. Maybe your guy was just having a bad day or something... People on this sub act like there's one sacred way to hang drywall and if you do it different the world ends. I dunno, seems like there's more than one way to get a flat wall.

nancyjones1mo ago

Wait you were feathering factory edges 14 inches out? That's like painting a whole wall just to cover one spot. How did you not figure that out sooner?