Caulking and Treating Drywall Gaps

ENIGMACODE

ENIGMACODE

New member
Hello again to all ;)

In regard to drywall installation, I've gotten some valuable information in the past from: Rod Gervais,Innovations,Rick,and Frederick.

Rod Gervais outlined the CORRECT method in installing drywall:

"Install the ceiling layer first - leave this 1/4 to 3/8" from the wall framing. Caulk this joint.
Install the wall layer...... leave this 1/4" to 3/8" from the wall/ floor/ ceiling - caulk this joint...... repeat this for the remaining 3 walls......
"Make certain that at the corner joints you are going to tape that the caulk is slightly recessed in the corners."

With the above being said, not to beat this horse again, I still have a few questions:
Was Rod saying that even in the inside corners of the walls (where the 2 sheets of drywall from each wall meet each other vertically), that this vertical seam ALSO needs to be separated by that 1/4" gap? :confused:

And one more question:
The 'TYPE' of caulking to be applied before the taping occurs in all of those gaps - Standard Latex Caulking ok? :confused:

Thanx again guys ..
Best Regards
Mike Fraticelli
ROCKON@ucwphilly.rr.com
 
Last edited:
Hey Buddy,

Happy to see things going well with your project.

On to the question:

Yes - you understand exactly what I've said - now add to that this -

Install a 1st coat (base coat) of tape and compound to any vertical and horizontal joints before installing your next layer of drywall.

What you are tyring to do here is two-fold.

The first is to seal up any and all passageways that air could possibly pass through.

Standard drywall installation fits into corners and creates small joints - but no perfect seal......... then someone comes along and applies a piece of paper and some joint compound over this - and thinks that it is magically equal to 2 solid pieces of drywall.........

Well it just insn't so.

My years of experience have shown me time and again that it you deal with every sheet you install asking the question "could air pass through here anywhere?" and seal up those passageways - you come out ahead.

In addition - picture what the constant theme is with studio construction -

MASS _ MASS AND MORE MASS........ that's how you handle those low frequencies.

Then we leave the corners open until we reach that little thickness of paper and 1/4" of joint compound.

And we wonder why we don't get everything we want.

Well, doing this the way I reccomend helps to make up for a lot of that loss in the corners, and also develops a mindset where every little crack and crevice becomes automatically something we deal with.

This isn't something I take lightly by the way - nor is it something I use only in studio construction.

For example - we are using this exact caulking and taping technique in the new 21 story hotel we have under construction right now............ to the tune of more than a 1/4 million dollars (US) in additional drywall costs........

We would not invest that much additional money unless we were certain we were getting one hell of a return for our investment.

I lean towards butyl based caulks for this - but wouldn't feel uncomfortable with any of the silicones either.

Take care,

Rod
 
Hey Rod - U DAH MAN :)

Rod ....

Thanx again for all your expert advice, and for your compliments ...

By the way, as I get ready to drywall over those boxed structures that I asked you about recently, I may have to snap off a few last minute shots of the assemblies before I start to address the enclosure of the boxed structures... ok?

Take care :)
Good luck with your hotel project :cool:

Best Regards
Mike Fraticelli
ROCKON@ucwphilly.rr.com
 
Mike,

It's my experience luck has nothing to do with it......... lol

We had our topping out ceremony a while back....... maybe I'll post a couple of shots of the project so you can take a look........

Thanks

Rod
 
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