Things You'll Need:
- 4-to-6-inch drywall knife
- 8-to-10-inch drywall knife
- Pan for joint compound
- Joint compound
- Drywall tape
- Drywall corner tape
- Utility knife
- Drywall sander
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Step 1
Take a broad putty knife and run it over your walls wherever there are rows of nails or screws. You want to make sure that they are all countersunk and below the surface of the drywall before you start. Turn off the power to the room and tape over electrical outlets.
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Step 2
Get some drywall compound (commonly called mud). It comes in two basic types: ready-mixed, and powder you mix up yourself. The do-it-yourself mix is cheaper, but requires you to mix each batch to a uniform consistency. Also you will probably want a mixer attachment for a drill to get it completely blended, and at least two five-gallon buckets -- one for mixing and one for cleaning. The ready-mix is a bit more expensive but is already the correct consistency, and as a bonus once you get done you have free buckets with lids. I recommend going this route.
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Step 3
Use the smaller putty knife (4 to 6 inches), to lay the mud smoothly along a joint. Do the walls and ceilings first and save the corners until last. Do one long joint at a time until you are confident enough to go faster. Make sure you use plenty, filling in the beveled gaps. It's OK if it is a bit thick, you will smooth it out later. Cut a piece to fit along your mud and use the same putty knife to smooth it down until it's embedded in the mud. You want to see mud smooshing out along the edges as you work.
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Step 4
If any spots seem light, lift the tape and put more mud underneath. If there isn't enough mud under the tape it will come loose later and you'll have a big repair on your hands. When running the tape near ceilings and inside corners, cut it about an inch short to make room for the corner tape. As you mud all your joints, hit the nail holes as well.
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Step 5
You can use regular flat drywall tape for inside corners but this requires a bit more finesse to crease and fold it straight into the corner without wrinkles. It is easier to get corner tape, which is precreased along the entire length and is much easier to work with. Lay your mud well into the corner joint, letting it spread onto the wall on each side of the corner. Cut your tape to fit and use the knife to embed it into the corner in a straight, crisp line, doing one side at a time. Now you can let the whole job dry overnight.
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Step 6
If you plan on using a very heavy irregular texture like a Mediterranean finish or most hand-troweled finishes, you may be able to stop here. The joints are filled and the tape is securely set so you won't get any cracking later on, and heavy, irregular texures will indeed cover up any imperfections. But if you are going to do a light skip-trowel or sprayed texture, your joints and seams will show through so you need to do one more coat to make everything smooth.
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Step 7
If you use a broader drywall knife 8"-10" wide for your next coat, it will help feather out all your joints. Go over your job so far and use a putty knife to knock down and very blobby bits. Now go over each joint with a wide, smooth swathe of joint compound. Fill in irregularities but try to make it as smooth as you can. The thicker it is along the edges, the more sanding you have to do. Very experienced drywall finishers can do it well enough that sanding is barely required, but that takes time to learn.
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Step 8
Let your second coat dry overnight. Now use a drywall sander (with an extension pole for the ceiling and high walls) to sand proud edges and smooth out all your joints. Rectangular sanding sponges are useful for inside corners. Your job may not be perfect enough for a smooth-painted finish but should be perfectly adequate for texturing at this point.
