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| The Process of Drywall and Painting |
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The drywall phase of new residential construction is the first step in taking your new home from the rough stages to the finsh stages of construction. There are eight steps that your new home will go through during the entire drywall process. Each step requires different skilled tradesman that upon completion have worked together giving you a level four drywall finish. The process is as follows.
After your home has had plumbing, electrical, mechanical, framing, and insulaton inspections it will be stocked by a drywall supplier. The supplier uses a boom truck that will place drywall sheets and accessories such as joint compound, glue, screws, tape, corner bead, inside angle tape, and nails in your new home on specified floors based on your houses specifications and options. Now your new home is stocked and ready for the next step; hanging.
Drywall is hung first on your ceilings. Each roof truss or floor joist is first coated with glue. Next, the piece of drywall is placed in position and nailed along the edges. After the ceiling is hung and before the glue cures, each piece of drywall is screwed per home builders specifications. When the ceilings of your new home are completely hung and screwed it is time to hang the walls. The walls of your home are hung, nailed, and screwed per your home builders specifications. In completion of hanging drywall in your new home: the drywall waste is removed and ready for the next step;taping.
Joint taping is the first step for the drywall finisher. There are several different tools and methods in drywall taping that all lead to the end result. A light coat of drywall compound is applied between the two pieces of drywall and the tape. The joint is then gone over by a small drywall knife that adheres the tape to the drywall and removes any air pockets that may exist between the drywall and the joint tape. In completion of entirely taping your new home the joint compound must dry which leads us to the next step; blocking.
Blocking the drywall in you new home can be completed through two different methods. Either a hand finish or a box finish. Neither method is better, it is tradesman prefererence that determines method applied. A coat of drywall compound is applied over the tape coat between ten inches and twelve inches wide. This application needs set up or dry in completion which usually requires forty-eight hours unless outside factors such as humity or tempatures above or below standards apply. After the block coat is dry the next step in the drywall finishing process is ready; skimming.
The skim coat is also applied by two different methods hand or box. The skim coat is applied wider than the block coat, between twelve and sixteen inches. The skim coat usually requies twenty-four to forty eight hours to dry depending on environmental conditions. This leads us to the next step ; sanding.
I(nthe sanding process there are gernerally three steps. The first steps is sanding the flats. The flats are all the wall ceiling areas that do not change planes. The second step is sanding the angles. The angles are always sanded with sanding blocks which leaves the angles between sanding planes even and without exagerated imperfections. FDinally your sub-flooring is scraped and swept, empty pails of joint compound are disposed of, and your home is cleaned and ready for the next phase of the finish process.
Point-up of your new home is the stage between the painters prime coat and the painters final coat of the walls, ceilings, trima, and doors of your home. A drywall mechanic will check every wall and ceiling in every room of your home for imperfections. It is important for the drywall mechanic to shine a high wattage spot light on the wall and ceiling areas to be pointed-up. Since the walls and ceilings have been primed at this stage, the light will cast shadows contrasting wall and ceiling areas that are acceptable to those needing point-up. In completion of point-up; the walls, ceilings, and angles of your new home are sanded leaving it ready for the painters second and final coat.
The check-out is the final step in the drywall process. After flooring, counter tops, shelving, electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures, grills and registers are installed the check-out occurs. A drywall mechanic will check all ceilings and walls in every room in your new home one last time. The drywall mechanic is looking for any flaws or repairs present from the other finish trades completing their work. These check-out areas are then sanded and ready for the painters to touch-up.
The drywall process in your new home in complemented by the painting process. Painting your new home has fewer steps than the drywall process but each step is just as important. Each builder executes the paint process a little differently depending on what works with their schedule better. No process is better than another and all have the same end result.
The painting process begins after the drywall in your new home has been sanded. All of the walls and ceilings in your new home are primed with a flat base coat sealing the wall and ceiling areas.
The interior trim and doors are also prepared for the second coat. This step in the painting process involves the application of caulk on trim at joints and edges and the application of putty in all nail holes.
Once the exterior trim of your new home is complete along with the shutters, garage door, brick, and exterior doors it is ready to prep and paint. All exterior trim is caulked, puttied, primed if trim is not pre-primed, and finished off with a coat of exterior grade gloss paint providing enough sheen to compliment the brick, stone, or siding that you selected.
The second coat of paint is the most important step in the painting process of your new home. This step occurs after your new home is primed, prepped, pointed-up, and sanded. The application of a second coat of flat paint on all of your new homes walls and ceilings leaves a uniform smooth finish. A coat of enamel is also applied on all trim leaving a contrasting finish with the flat walls and ceilings. Any finished oak rails, steps, cap boards, and built-ins will receive a coat of stain and a coat of sanding sealer to protect the wood until the touch-up.
The final step in the paint process is the touch-up. The touch-up is one of the last phases during the construction process of your new home. After all trades and flooring are complete and after the drywall check-out the touch-up occurs. Any drywall check-out areas, dirt marks, new interior trim, and paint imperfections are painted over to give your new home a uniform and clean appearance. A final coat of polyurethane is applied to all stained grade railing and steps to achieve a smooth shiny finsh.
The eight steps in the drywall process and the five steps to the painting process are all completed by skilled tradesman and each one builds on the last leaving a level four drywall finish and a clean uniform paint job as a result. Construction Applicators is commited to excellence and has a great deal of pride in delivering you a home of unmatched quality and providing the service needed to ensure your satisfaction with the drywall and painting in your new home. |
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