A knockdown knife won’t scrape down big bulges or fill wide depressions, so make the surface as flat as you can with a 12- or 14-in. metal knife first. Then drag the knockdown knife gently over the surface in one continuous pass. Apply light, even pressure, and don’t stop or hesitate. On a butt joint, you’ll have to make two or three passes to smooth the whole surface. You can make more passes if necessary, but stop before the compound starts to harden. Although the rubber blade is soft, it can still make a mess of partially hardened compounds. Knockdown knives are available in 18- and 22-inch. widths at drywall taping suppliers and some home centers and hardware stores. A 22-inch. version is best for butt joints. To order one online, search for “knockdown knife.”
It takes a steady hand to embed tape in inside corners with a standard drywall taping knife. One little slip of the knife and you’ll gouge one side while you’re smoothing the other. An inside corner knife not only eliminates that problem but does the job faster. Outside corner knives are also available, but we don’t recommend them, since corner bead makes smoothing outside corners almost foolproof. Save yourself $100s by taping your own walls. We'll show you how. This article shows you everything you need to get perfectly smooth walls, without having to worry about nail pops, cracks, and bad joints later. We take a beginner DIY approach, so even if you've never used drywall taping tools before, you can get good results on your walls.
Drywall can get water damaged in many different ways. Worn out shingles that can’t keep out the water anymore, or even a leaking roof caused from ice build-up in the winter. Pipes that are broken or frozen can create extreme water damage to your drywall. Until the water damage is bad enough that it seeps through a wall and becomes noticeable, it can go unnoticed for days or even weeks. Something that can cause severe damage through multiple levels of your home or office is an overflowing toilet. Malfunctioning clothes washers or dishwashers can cause severe damage to your structure from major water damage that can fill your home with water. Follow this link for more information.
