Drywall is finished, now what??? (1 Viewer)

[Keith M.]

Well, the contractors said they are finished drywalling my theater...

Looks pretty messy in there!! I have to clean all the dried plaster on the floors/cutouts/lights and throw all the scraps out...

They did a good job as far as I can tell, just very messy!!

What drywall primer/sealer should I use before actually painting?

Should I go ahead and hang the door before trim work and carpet or after?

 

[MikeWh]

Should I go ahead and hang the door before trim work and carpet or after?

The order is usually door, trim, then carpet--- you need the door in before your can trim the door and you need the basemoulding in before you can stretch the carpet. My preferred order is:

Hang doors/windows
Cut trim to size
Paint walls and trim pieces (while not applied)
Apply trim
Caulk trim (if necessary)
Fill nail holes on trim
Touch up (paint) nail holes, caulk, and any dings on the walls
Install carpet

 

[Keith M.]

very good advice...

Thanks!!

 

[Jacques C]

Hmmm... That isn't the order I did mine in:

Drywall
Paint
Ceiling
Carpet
Doors
Trim

If you paint with no trim then there is nothing to tape off. As far as stretching, the carpet guy simply used a 2x4 as a backer when power stretching so he wouldn't hurt the walls. Turned out great.

Just sewing confusion and chaos.

 

[MikeWh]

If you paint with no trim then there is nothing to tape off.

In my order there's nothing to tape off either. I paint the walls before applying the trim. Maybe I should have made that clearer--- I cut the trim, then paint it (usually on the floor in the middle of the room), then apply it.

The order I suggested is just the one commonly used by contractors (with the exception that they usually have all the carpentry done before painting)--- however, they always install carpet last, so that their workers don't mess up the carpet. Also, I prefer to cut all finishing trim in the room under construction, rather than in my shop, so that miters and other small adjustments can be easily done, without running back and forth between different work spaces. I use a portable chop saw/miter saw for this. I wouldn't do this in a room with new carpet.

Also, I had to paint 53 pieces of moulding, in addition to 3 doors. Much easier to paint all that on the wooden subflooring of the HT (before carpet is installed), than to run up and down 3 flights of stairs back and forth to my workshop.

Finally, the touch-up painting to the trim and walls--- I would hate to have a painting accident on brand new carpet.


To add more confusion--

By "ceiling" were you thinking of a drop ceiling? If so, doing that after painting is fine.... although again, in contracted work, it wouldn't be done, because they don't want the guys mucking up the nicely painted walls. But for a DIY'er... you only have yourself to blame!!

 

[Keith M.]

Which chop saw/miter saw should I get? I only need it for trim work, and will probably never use it again...


Which is the most reasonably priced models? How much are they? Is it difficult to use? My only experience so far is w/ a circular saw...

 

[MikeWh]

Which chop saw/miter saw should I get? I only need it for trim work, and will probably never use it again...

Here's a quicky little buying guide:
http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=howT...smitersaw.html

The cheapest power miter will run you $100-175. http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=prod...alogId=B100060

Not too bad, but if you won't use it again... then I'd recommend the following:

1. If you must do compound miters (like for crown moulding), then a compound power miter is really the way to go. Find a friend/relative with one you can borrow (that's what I do. )
2. If you only have to make standard miter cuts (e.g., 45° edge miters) and don't have too many pieces of trim to cut, then consider a miter box. I personally hate miter boxes... they can be a real pain.... http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=prod...018359-20-600F
3. If you are really comfortable with your circular saw (and patient/careful with your cutting), then you can still use your circular saw (with it's base angled) along with a speed square. I do this all the time for simple miters.
http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=prod...00001099-S0101

 

[Jacques C]

The ceiling I put in was a drop ceiling. No scratches at all. As long as you are careful having the advantage of painting before putting in the ceiling assures that you don't get paint on the wall molding.

Take care.