Pay attention to small details while taping

By Myron Ferguson

I’m pretty good at taping beveled edge seams, I have a lot of great ideas for making butted seams disappear, and I am very through when coating screws to make sure none are loose. But what about the less obvious details?  Many of which don’t jump out at you when you enter a room but will show up later as a minor inconvenience for the next sub coming along. Or worse yet show up on the contractors punch list that is waiting for you.

What about that inside corner right next to the floor? If I don’t do a good job sanding or leave a buildup of compound the person attaching the baseboard will have to chop away the extra compound and there may even be a slight repair that has to be done.

Screws along rough openings of doors and windows are something I just don’t like coating and sanding. I look over all the screws and coat the ones that are too far from the rough opening edge. Also look over the rough opening, if it looks a bit oversized than no matter how close to the edge the screws are they will have to be coated.

Mud in electrical boxes often can’t  be avoided because switch boxes and outlets in kitchens fall at the seam height. Make sure they are cleaned and vacuumed before you leave

Dust left around the edges of window and door openings left from the router can be a real pain for the painter. I suggest running a vacuum around the edges during cleanup and vacuum the window frames off while you are at it.

Of course leaving chunks of compound on the floor or on doorway framing will also get you in trouble.

My plan is to keep the people I am working for happy while I am there and not give them anything to complain about after I leave.