One of the advantages of using a professional basement finishing contractor is having a person to ensure quality construction. Construction management (e.g. managing tradesmen, quality control, etc.) is an essential part of the project and will make any difference between a poor finish along with a quality one.
On the counter, many areas of basement finishing seem mundane and self-explanatory. This is not very true. Unless you know and understand trade-specific construction specifications, you may be setting yourself up for huge disappointment.
Drywall is just one of these trades which seems quite easy and easy. However, should you not determine what you desire, you can find yourself walls that appear to be just like a garage, and not the basement finishing masterpiece you envisioned.
One specification that will ‘t be overlooked is drywall taping. For the advantage of those new to construction, drywall is that comes with your framing with nails and screws. Pieces are cut to adjust to every portion of your basement finishing project. Corners are covered with “corner bead,” a metal (or sometimes plastic/fiber) strip which is nailed to every corner.
After this, drywall “tape” is a part of a skim coat of drywall mud extraordinary of every seam inside the drywall. Once the taping is completed, it’s time to either paint – or texture using the desired wall texture.
Drywall taping will make or break the caliber of your finished walls. To make one of the most profit in your basement finishing job, it’s quite common for contractors to shortchange the taping process. Usually, this is performed by embedding the tape in mere a few coats of drywall mud.
If merely one coat is used you’re in danger of having that “garage” look. The thinking this is by using enough texture, the seams will not be noticed. Beware! This is a sure method of getting shoddy-looking walls. Even with massively heavy texture, you will observe ridges and lines along every seam. The purpose of basement finishing is NOT to deliver the “garage” look.
Even with a second coat and prodigious sanding, the result will likely be an inadequate finish. The danger here is not ridges and lines, but instead what looks like shadows or gentle humps inside the wall. This is especially true if you are close and look around the period of a wall.
For your basement finishing project you need to demand a 3-coat taping system, sometimes called a level-3 finish, just before any texture. If you want smooth walls without having texture request a level-4 and even level-5 smooth finish.
First, of most, the 3-coat system covers any tape in the seam and takes away the ridges and lines which are apparent with only 1-coat. Second, the 3-coat system spreads the drywall mud over seams over to 12″ or maybe more, that will remove the shadows and gentle humps. After texture, the walls with your basement finishing project will be finished with the quality you deserve.
When you hire someone to work in your home, can you prefer it once they go cheap? Or can you rather you’ll get a professional job? I believe the answer then is self-explanatory. Make sure your basement finishing contractor knows from the get-go that you won’t allow corner-cutting.
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