Hit 1000 square feet of drywall mudding and finally lost my mind

I was smoothing out my 37th batch of joint compound in the basement last week and realized I'd sanded through the paper tape on three separate seams. That's when I counted up the sheets I'd hung - 47 of them, 12 feet each - and it hit me that I'm 18 hours into taping alone. Has anyone else lost track of time and then found out you've been way too aggressive with the sanding block?

2 comments

2 Comments

amymason21d ago

Oh man, you're describing my personal hell right there. I think I hit that exact moment around sheet 30 when my wrist started making a noise that sounded like a rusty door hinge. That's when you know you've gone too far, when you can't feel your fingers anymore and the drywall dust has basically turned your lungs into a bag of concrete mix. Sanding through the tape is like a rite of passage at this point, I swear. Pretty sure half my basement wall is held together by dust and regret at this point. Hope you've got a good chiropractor on speed dial, because you're gonna need it.

dixon.ryan20d agoTop Commenter

Hold up, is it really that bad? I mean yeah drywall dust sucks and your wrist gets sore, but you're talking like you need a full medical team on standby. I've done my share of taping and mudding and yeah it's annoying but people act like it's equivalent to building the pyramids with a spoon. Pop some ibuprofen, wear a mask that actually fits, and take a break every once in a while. Half the drama around drywall work is just people loving to complain about it. If it was that dangerous half the houses in America would collapse.