I have completed many drywall installer over the years. Not out of choice, but just out necessity. Instead of paying a qualified dry-wall contractor who is actually knowledgeable, I have been guilty of a lot of remodeling mistakes that turned out to be costly. It’s clear that drywall finishing should be left up to the professionals. Perhaps you are guilty of the “how tough can it be?” mentality. This mentality has led me into numerous problems. But the greatest problem I’ve ever had was when I attempted to finish the drywall.

One of these occasions, I had the brilliant idea of creating a room for my large model railroad layout in our two-car garage. To divide the two bays I originally intended to create a wall with an opening in the middle. However, I was not satisfied with the design. So, I began to hang drywall on three wall so that the painted landscape would appear in the background. “Wouldn’t it look great to have lots and lots of blue sky, mountains, and little trees around the trains?” Retrospectively, connecting a panel border to the top of the table with a paint would have been an acceptable solution. But this would have made it far too difficult. I am glutton of punishment. I had to complete the entire room in order achieve the effect that I wanted.

I have never had any problems hanging drywall. The hardest part is cutting out the boards to your desired dimensions. Next, you need to attach the screws to the holes. The fun part begins when I have the finishing tape and a small mud knife in my fingers. All hell breaks loose, and then the swearing begins. I don’t know much about you but I find that my personality tends to be influenced by the “if it’s good enough, more is better” mindset. The reality is that drywall mud is not as simple as it seems. After countless hours of sanding the mud thickly, followed up by furious sanding more mud and then more sanding I usually have a bump from floor to ceiling where the seam used. I don’t even have to mention that my workspace is now covered in a dusty two-inch layer of powdery white dirt, which is second to the moon. As I rub the powdery residue from my hair, and wipe it out, my eyes are now dry and bloodshot. Why didn’t a good drywall company do this?