Appreciation post: That job in Phoenix back in 2018 that made me switch to pre-filling screw holes

I was hanging board on a 5,000 square foot custom home out near Scottsdale and the GC kept riding me about mudding over screw pops. After the third punch list walkthrough, I started filling every screw hole with a dab of mud before taping and it cut my callback rate by about 80%. Anybody else pick up a habit from a tough job that stuck with you?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicaw1128d ago

That GC sounds like a real hardass but honestly he did you a favor. Pre-filling screw holes seems like more work upfront but it saves so much time on the back end. My question is how did you handle the drying time on those pre-fills before taping? I've tried this a few times but I always ended up with tiny bubbles or the mud cracking if I didn't wait long enough. Did you use a special mix or just your regular all-purpose? Because I'm thinking the humidity in Phoenix probably helped it dry faster compared to some places.

gibson.sean28d ago

Are you not using a quick-set compound? That would fix your whole timeline issue.