Patching and Plastering - Do I have to tape the seams in Drywall?

Hi, I am about to hang some drywall for a basement bathroom. My question is, do I have to tape the seams of the drywall or can I just use spackling or something similar to fill the seams? I just would rather to not have to tape since it's so time consuming, I only have the weekend to do this in. Any help appreciated. Thanx

Yes you need to tape them. If you just fill the seams with mud sooner or later there will be a crack and then you will have to tape it to fix it. Better to do it right the first time - even if it takes longer.

There are fast setting compounds [durabond,easy sand] you can use to speed up drying time but they aren't as easy to work with as joint compound. Durabond is especially hard to sand.

Three types of work: good, fast and cheap.

You can only have two of the three. You're doing this yourself, so cheap is on the list. You can either have good (done with tape) or fast (all in one weekend). If you want good, you might need to extend your schedule.

Actually this can be done good and cheap & relatively fast, so long as you can work your mud quickly, which this being a bathroom, should be doable even for a diyer with no knowledge of taping.

You want to visit your local home center and pick a bag of quickset 90 min joint compound, I prefer a brand called "fastset 90" comes in a blue & white bag. This is in a powdered form and must be mixed up real good with a high speed drill and a mixer paddle, you want to thoroughally dissolve all the powder into your mud. Follow mixing directions on bag & you should come up with a mud bout the consistency of a peanut butter. You can use this for taping as well as your subsequent finish coats. The mud will be completely dry within 2 hrs and can be sanded between coat, however you can also use a damp sponge & lightly go over it before it dries to smooth out any globs. You can use the mesh tape which is self adhesive and easier for a diyer to handle, but paper tape is stronger, less like to crack, however to have to make sure you get any bubbles from under the tape before it dries.

Using the quickset mud you can easily hang and finish a single room in a weekend. HTH

Actually this can be done good and cheap & relatively fast, so long as you can work your mud quickly, which this being a bathroom, should be doable even for a diyer with no knowledge of taping.

You want to visit your local home center and pick a bag of quickset 90 min joint compound, I prefer a brand called "fastset 90" comes in a blue & white bag. This is in a powdered form and must be mixed up real good with a high speed drill and a mixer paddle, you want to thoroughally dissolve all the powder into your mud. Follow mixing directions on bag & you should come up with a mud bout the consistency of a peanut butter. You can use this for taping as well as your subsequent finish coats. The mud will be completely dry within 2 hrs and can be sanded between coat, however you can also use a damp sponge & lightly go over it before it dries to smooth out any globs. You can use the mesh tape which is self adhesive and easier for a diyer to handle, but paper tape is stronger, less like to crack, however to have to make sure you get any bubbles from under the tape before it dries.

Using the quickset mud you can easily hang and finish a single room in a weekend. HTH


Thanx, That's probably what I'll do.