Over the weekend we finished hanging and finishing the drywall in the laundry room. It was humbling at times, but the result left us feeling pretty proud. We even spent a few minutes just admiring the space on Sunday.
There’s a real sense of euphoria that comes with completing a project—trust me, it can make a person do a little celebratory twirl.
Doing Our Research
We’re not calling ourselves professional drywallers yet, but after this project we’ll approach the next one with a lot more confidence. We spent time watching videos and reading tutorials and quickly discovered there are many ways to do things. Once we settled on a clear, commonly recommended approach, we followed that workflow and adapted as needed. This post summarizes the methods that worked best for us and includes a couple of videos we referenced.
At first I leaned toward hiring out the taping and mudding because it’s a skillful process. We’ve patched small holes before, but full seams are different. As the renovation progressed, though, we decided the laundry room would be a good place to practice: it has plenty of seams to work on, and many areas will be hidden later by baseboard, cabinets, and appliances, so mistakes are less critical here than in a main living area.
Materials to Tape, Mud, and Sand Drywall
Most of these items are available in the drywall section of any home improvement store:
- Rosin paper or protective floor covering to catch drops, splatters, and dust
- Joint compound (mud) — we avoided ultra-lightweight formulas and used about 4–5 gallons total
- Mud pan
- Drywall knives in a range of sizes (6″, 8″, 10″, and a larger one if desired)
- Corner trowel — very helpful for inside corners
- Drywall paper tape
- Bucket of water
- Work light (optional)
- Stepladder
The mud pan is handy because it’s lighter to carry and has metal edges where you can clean your knives during work.
Mudding Over the Screws
We began by covering the screw heads. Since we used a drywall countersink bit when installing the sheets, the screws were slightly recessed and easy to fill. Sherry worked on two walls and the hallway while I handled the other two walls and the ceiling, which sped things up.
Taping the Drywall Seams
For the seams we chose paper tape over mesh tape. Paper requires a bedding layer of mud but produces a smoother finish without the mesh texture showing through if sanded. First we applied a bedding layer on the horizontal seams, smoothing it with a 6″ knife to bridge the tapered edges of the drywall boards.
After smoothing that layer, we pressed a pre-cut length of paper tape into the wet mud and used the knife to embed it, working from the center toward each edge. It helps to hold the tape in place with a finger as you pull the knife across at first. Then we followed with an 8″ knife to add another layer and feather the edges so the seams blended into the wall.
The horizontal seams were straightforward and helped build our confidence before tackling corners.
Taping the Corners
Corners are more challenging than flat seams. We used pre-creased paper tape for inside corners, applied a bedding layer on both sides, and then smoothed the mud with a corner trowel. The corner trowel makes it much easier to form a crisp angle and smooth both faces at once.
After placing the tape with a light tap, we pressed it into the mud with the corner trowel. For tight top corners we found dipping the trowel in water helped it glide without dragging the tape. The room had many corners—vertical and horizontal around the ceiling and doorways—so this step took more time, but provided lots of practice. Also note that drying times vary; our first coat took longer than the typical 12–24 hours, so we waited an extra day before continuing.
Applying a Second Coat of Mud
Once the first coat was dry and even in color, we applied a second coat using a 10″ knife to spread and feather the edges further. We also added another coat over screw heads where the first layer had shrunk slightly while drying. Before the second corner coat we reviewed more tips and refined our technique, which helped a lot.
Wet Sanding the Drywall
After about 24 hours we sanded. Our goal was to reduce dust, so we tried wet sanding. A damp sanding sponge worked but required more effort than we expected. Instead, a 120-grit sanding block dampened slightly worked much better: it retained enough water to capture dust on the block and offered better scrubbing power. It’s not completely dust-free, but the dampness keeps most of the dust from turning into an airborne cloud and instead it falls to the floor right beneath the work area. We rinsed the block as needed and used a dry sanding block for stubborn spots.
Wet sanding smoothed out several rough areas and made the next coat easier to apply evenly.
Applying the Third (and Final) Coat of Mud
For the final finish coat we thinned the compound slightly—about the consistency of mayonnaise—by mixing a little water with a paddle mixer in a separate bucket. This allowed the mud to go on smoother and feather more easily. After this coat dried we did another light sanding to blend everything and prepare for primer.
Priming the Room
We primed the room as soon as we felt confident in the finish. Seeing the walls primed really made the space feel like a real room instead of a work site. The seams and corners looked smooth, and the hallway transitions blended well.
Next up for the laundry room: painting, then installing tile flooring. After that we’ll decide whether to temporarily move the washer and dryer back in or finish installing doors and trim first. Either way, finishing the drywall ourselves was excellent practice and a huge confidence boost for future projects.