finish drywall myself, or hire a pro?

[Aharami]

I finishing my basement, and so far have done everything myself - subfloor, framing, insulation, hang drywall, etc. I'm at the point where Im ready to start taping and finishing off the drywall and I'm debating whether I should do it myself or hire a pro.

I have done drywall repair before, patching up numerous holes when I was running cat6 cables and electrical wires in my bedrooms and living room. Those patches came out nice, but I've never taped off and finished the long straight lines, inside, and outside corners of new drywall installation before.

I've had a few pros come by to give me estimates and they range from $600 - 800. Part of me is saying, save the $600 and do it yourself, how hard can it be? But the other part realizes that this is the finishing part and if it's not done right, it won't look as nice. Plus, although I'm in no hurry, what might take me a few weeks, a pro will be able to do much faster.

So what should I do? save the headache, or save the money? how hard is it to get it to look nice?

 

[highland145]

I HATE doing mudding. Takes me 4 times as long. But $600 is $600.

 

[PottedMeat]

your basement? i'd just do a little at a time and save the cash.


painting drywall on the other hand... i fucking hate painting.

 

[Aharami]

I HATE doing mudding. Takes me 4 times as long. But $600 is $600.

yea, it's not my favorite thing to do either, but like you said, $600 is $600. That money can be put toward my projector or speakers

 

[dquan97]

How many seams/corners? Might also have to account for material/tool costs.

 

[amdskip]

Ceiling or walls?

 

[Aharami]

How many seams/corners? Might also have to account for material/tool costs.

It's a 15x26 basement with a soffit running the 26' length. about 30 4x8 sheets altogether with a decent # of inside and outside corners. It's the inside corners that scare me.

the quotes are just for labor. Materials will be extra, but I already have two big buckets of the blue joint compound

 

[SSSnail]

It's easier than you think, take your time and you should be fine. If you can do all the things you posted, finishing dry walls shouldn't be a problem.

As for inside corners, if you don't have the proper tool use cardboard.

 

[Aharami]

Ceiling or walls?

both. 7' ceilings

 

[911paramedic]

How many seams/corners? Might also have to account for material/tool costs.

This.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Personally, I wouldn't do it myself. I'll probably be finishing my basement within the next 6 months or so and I'll be hiring someone to do the drywall. I'd much rather spend the money and know it will look good when it's finished.

 

[Modelworks]

Are the sheets perfectly aligned and flat at the seams ? finishing the seams is easy as long as the sheet seams are good. It is when one side is slightly higher or corners not at straight angles that it becomes difficult and takes a pro.
Be sure to use fiberglass mesh tape on the seams, that paper stuff isn't nearly as good.
A wide putty knife, some drywall compound, utility knife, and a little sandpaper is all you need.


Another advantage of the mesh tape is you can apply it before you start because it is adhesive backed like regular tape. So just cut and apply then go over it with compound.

 

[Aharami]

Are the sheets perfectly aligned and flat at the seams ? finishing the seams is easy as long as the sheet seams are good. It is when one side is slightly higher or corners not at straight angles that it becomes difficult and takes a pro.
Be sure to use fiberglass mesh tape on the seams, that paper stuff isn't nearly as good.
A wide putty knife, some drywall compound, utility knife, and a little sandpaper is all you need.

yea I did a pretty good job on hanging the drywall. All the contractors asked me if I hung it myself and were complimenting my work. But maybe they were just sucking up so I hire them

 

[Modelworks]

yea I did a pretty good job on hanging the drywall. All the contractors asked me if I hung it myself and were complimenting my work. But maybe they were just sucking up so I hire them

What I would do is buy some tape and a small amount of compound and try it in one spot to see how it comes out and if you like it before deciding to buy all the supplies and do the whole room.

Check out the manufacturer sites too they have videos
http://www.usg.com/interiors.html

 

[edro]

You will never get it as good looking as a pro. Drywall is more art than science.
$600 is cheap for a job that size.
That is almost 1000sq/ft, with multiple corners.

I was quoted $1000 to hang and finish 1200sq/ft from a crew of Mexican drywallers who are very cheap compared to American "Angie's List" type contractors. (ceilings and walls)

Yeah, you can do it yourself, but it is very labor intensive, dirty, and you just don't have the experience to make it all look good.

I would gladly pay $600-800 to have it done and I don't contract anything out. (except drywall )

 

[bruceb]

You can try, but the tricky spots are the ceiling, inside corners and the corner beads for the outside corners, like on the soffit. It may pay to have a pro do it. Also, on new drywall, it is a good idea to use a Primer, before you put down your final paint color choice.

 

[Number1]

Taking your time is fine but you're going to have a mess in the house for that much longer. Hire the pro, it gets done and the house is back in order in no time.

I have been working in my kitchen and the sanding alone is a major pain and oh sooo messy.

 

[Squisher]

I'll guarantee that you'll be better at the end than you were at the beginning.


<---hung, mudded and taped about 50 sheets over the last year.

 

[2canSAM]

I would hire it out. Time is money and you are looking at a pretty good chunk of your time tied up, not only in laying the mud, sanding, mud, sand again routine but the prep work and clean up afterward. For that little bit of cash I would have someone else do it. If you go the DIY route though check into wetsanding. I have a friend that is a contractor and he swears by it.

 

[Number1]

I would hire it out. Time is money and you are looking at a pretty good chunk of your time tied up, not only in laying the mud, sanding, mud, sand again routine but the prep work and clean up afterward. For that little bit of cash I would have someone else do it. If you go the DIY route though check into wetsanding. I have a friend that is a contractor and he swears by it.

I had never heard of wetsanding drywall.
I am going to the hardware store to see what they think of this. I still have some sanding to do in the kitchen. Thanks.

Well the local hardware store has never heard of this, Ill have to check in the city.

 

[2canSAM]

I had never heard of wetsanding drywall.
I am going to the hardware store to see what they think of this. I still have some sanding to do in the kitchen. Thanks.

Well the local hardware store has never heard of this, Ill have to check in the city.

Basically uses a wet sponge instead of sanding after each coat is dry

Here are some links to the process

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-wet-sanding.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_4854065_wet-sand-drywall.html

 

[daw123]

I would pay for someone to do it if it involves skimming the walls and ceilings with plaster (and you might as well get them to do the making good and scrim tape across the joints in the boards).

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Basically uses a wet sponge instead of sanding after each coat is dry

Here are some links to the process

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-wet-sanding.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_4854065_wet-sand-drywall.html

Yep, done a fair amount of tape and bedding in my time and wet sanding is the way to go. It's faster and requires less clean up. It does take some practice to get it right and requires a little extra time to dry between coats.

The trick to tape and bed is making the last float smooth and seemless. Your first application of mud should be 1 -1/2 - 2x the width of the tape. Once it drys wet sand it smooth paying attention to feather the edges really thin. The next application of mud should be wider aprox 6-8" and this is where practice makes perfect, once this is properly floated out and fully dry you shouldn't be able to see a line at all. Lightly wet sand one last time and let dry and you should be ready to texture and paint.

 

[leeland]

If you can afford it and you have a decent guy doing the work I would totally farm that out.

I did two rooms on my own after someone else framed the walls...

The real PITA is getting it smooth...there is a definite learning curve involved and yah...in the end it turned out nice but I spend a lot of time going over and over and over areas.

I also had 2 small children at that time as well and could only do work after bedtime which sucked.

If you have the time and want to learn then I would say like the others that go ahead and do it yourself...

If you are tight on time and don't want to mess around...farm it out.

 

[Locut0s]

The only question you need to ask yourself here is how professional does it need to look? Sounds like you have enough experience and skill in general home renos that you will likely get it done at least reasonably well looking. Question is if it doesn't look 100&#37; is that OK with you or not? Would you regret it if it ended up looking only so so? If you would then hire a pro. Personally I would do it myself in your situation and put the money towards the HT hardware. But those are my priorities, not yours. That's what you really have to ask yourself, what are your priorities here.