drywall mud for a basement hearth room

[michaelreinard]

I am remodeling my first floor (basement) hearth room and will soon be to the stage of mudding the drywall. I am a bit concerned about the wide swing in conditions that the room will experience since it will go from low 60s and damp to 80s and dry when my Osburn 2400 is firing. For this reason, I think I will have to use the setting-type joint compound instead of the premix. I think the premix will be more susceptible to absorbing moisture, shrinkage and cracking. However I have never worked with the setting compound. I hear it's tougher to work with and unsandable (which may be an issue for a novice like me).

Does anybody have any thoughts, experience, or regrets on this issue?

I should note that I never get water in the basement, but it is a bit damp. It's about 70% underground on one side fully above ground on the other side.

Thanks,
Mike.R

 

[RSNovi]

I have had my basement temps swing from mid 60's to high 90's with humidity swings from 50% to 10%. I have never had any problem with the drywall and I believe just regular mud was used.n the wood trim on the other hand swells and shrinks quite a bit.

 

[gpcollen1]

I have not run into anything that is not sandable. If you leave the Durabond on to dry and come back the next day it will be very hard. I have seen it sanded just after it was dry enough. If you apply the final coat correctly, you should not need much sanding anyway. These products dry more like concrete than like joint compound so they are best to use with those issues. I have seen folks only use the Durabond 90 for the final coat...so joint compound initially and the finish with Durabond. i am no expert but a DIYer with many friends in trades so take it for what it is worth...

 

[Jags]

You don't have to sand it. Use a damp sponge to smooth it out before it dries too much.

The bag stuff is pretty much the same as the stuff in the buckets. You have two versions of mud. The regular stuff and the "light" stuff. The regular stuff is designed for the tape imbedding and the light is for the second and 3rd coats. "Light" sands easily, the regular does not. The only advantage the bag stuff gives is that you can mix the amount you want and you can get different "set" times (5 min, 20 min, 45, 60 and 90 min).

Just finish the rock as normal. You can use bag or bucket stuff, won't matter (its the same stuff minus water). First coat and tape = the regular stuff (durabond - USG green lid, etc.) the second and 3rd = light (durabond lite, USG blue lid, etc).

Note: the REAL difference between the regular stuff and the light stuff is the amount of glue that is in the mix

Happy mudding.

 

[fishingpol]

Just my .02 here, lots of good advice already. Setting type (dry mix) is usually harder to sand. Good for quick set repairs but not finish coats. It is almost plaster like when set. I don't use pre-mix blue. It may dry quicker but it is lighter than green lid, I think there is more air in the mix. My preference is green lid. It is dense, spreads nice and sands nice. It is a bit tougher than blue lid. As far as moisture, primed walls and 2 coats of good latex paint, and you should be good.

Check the link and compare.

http://www.usg.com/interiors/joint-compounds.html

 

[michaelreinard]

Thanks everyone. A lot of great advice here. It looks like I was over thinking this one -- I will press on with the all purpose compound and let you know how it goes.