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Picked up a trick for butt joints at a job site in Omaha last month | Drywall Installers - Talk Freely

Picked up a trick for butt joints at a job site in Omaha last month

I was working a commercial build with a new crew and the foreman showed me how he pre-fills his butt joints with hot mud before taping. He said it cuts down on bubbles and cracking later. I tried it on my next three jobs and I gotta say, the finish is way smoother with less sanding. Has anyone else found a method that just clicked after seeing it in person?

4 comments

4 Comments

charlienelson4mo ago

Tbh I gotta push back on the hot mud pre-fill thing. I tried it a few times and found it actually made my joints harder to sand since the hot mud dries way harder than the all purpose stuff I use for the final coat. I'd rather just take a little extra care with the tape embed and let the all purpose do its job without that rigid layer underneath.

leo6124mo ago

12 foot drywall is where the pre-fill really shines in my experience. The longer joints have a lot more flex and without that hot mud base you get those little ridges popping up along the tape line. I used to fight with sanding forever on long runs till I switched to this.

hart.mark3mo ago

charlienelson said the hot mud makes joints harder to sand because it dries harder. I see it different though. That harder base is actually what keeps the tape flat in the first place. If the mud underneath is soft, the tape can float on top and you get those air pockets or ridges when it shrinks back. The all purpose stuff is great for the top coats because it sands easy, but for the base layer I want something that won't move. That rigid layer underneath is doing all the work keeping everything straight. Different strokes I guess, but I've had way less callbacks since I stopped using all purpose for the bed coat.

zarab243mo ago

Got a buddy who used to skip pre-fill on everything and just went straight in with all purpose. He was over at my place helping with a basement reno and I made him try the hot mud base on a long hallway joint. He was grumbling about it the whole time but after it dried he just stared at it for a minute and said "okay that's way flatter than mine ever come out." Now he pre-fills every single butt joint and swears by it. Ever have a moment where you tried something just to shut someone up and it actually worked better?