Little Confused about Skim Coating

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marriednamobile
Posts: 129
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:04 am
Location: Michigan

One website says to use straight putty all over the wall...
Then I see another that uses joint compound that has been watered down...
Can someone PLEASE give me a tutorial on how to do this?
Which products I should use?
How many coats?
How thin or thick or product?
Argh. :?:
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Yanita
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

Hi,

Exactly what are you trying to do...

Remove battens and fill to get a smooth seam..OR...texture your walls?

Yanita
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
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Yanita
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

OK, just reviewed some of your previous post about this...it looks like you want to remove the battens and fill them.

First off these battens are designed to cover the seams of the 2 panels that butt together. Not all these gaps will be the same from panel to panel.

Regular sheetrock has recessed edges to allow for true tape and mud procedure. These wall boards do not have that recessed area.

Most folks here will fill the gaps with joint compound (sheetrock mud). Seldom does anyone try to tape and feather and the edges. If you notice your wallboard has a very slight texture to it, you will not be able to replicate this texture over a very large area. There fore to tape and mud will leave you with a very large flat seam. once painted it will be very noticeable.

IF you choose to fill with joint compound fill in with putty knife. make sure it is smooth. Let cure (dry) at least 24 hours. once it is dry add another coat. 24 hours latter sand lightly, prime your walls and paint color of your choice.

Again, these seams will be visible as they will be smooth and the wall board is not.

If you choose to fill with caulking then fill the gaps, and smooth with a damp sponge or rag. If you use caulking use a flexible one. Again, this method will still show seams.

The purpose of the battens is to cover the seams. Our homes are designed to shift a little. With the wall panels having a gap between them allows them to shift slightly and not press against each other and crack.

Now if you would like a different batten strip take a walk through any home improvement store and see what is available to use in place of the original.

I seen homes where folks have used various moldings to use as battens and some have even made there own. If you want a real thin batten you could purchase a sheet of luan (1/4 inch sheet of finished plywood). You cut this down with a table saw to any width you desire.

You could either paint it stain it, and I have even seen where some of wood burned designs into it.

If you want to texture an entire wall then let me know and I can give instructions for that as well. There are also many old threads on that and some pics as well.

Hopefully this has helped. If you still need further instruction PLEASE come to this thread and reply and ask here.

Yanita

PS, regardless of which method you choose to fill the gaps IF your home has a tendency to shift with the changing of the seasons you will probably get visible cracks...it is the nature of the beast.
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
NMBowtie
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:10 pm
Location: NM

If you just remove the battens and fill in the joints with joint compound, they WILL crack. If you tape them like you would regular drywall, they will have a much better chance of not cracking, but still might over time. Alot of it will depend on what kind of foundation your home is on and how much it shifts.

In mine, I have done several rooms taping and feathering like regular drywall. Since these panels don't have the beveled edges, it makes it a little more complicated. I prefer the premixed joint compound that comes in pails or boxes since it is easier to use, and usually you don't have to mess with getting a smooth consistency for taping. I also prefer the fiberglass mesh joint tape.

To start, I remove the battens. Next, I screw the drywall to the studs at the joints and where the studs fall in the centers of the panels as well as top and bottom. I place the screws about 6" apart on the joints and about 8" apart in the field. I have found that if I don't do this, the staples the panels are originally put up with allow a little movement and therefore cracks develop. Then, I apply the mesh tape (it is self adhesive). Next, using a 4" taping knife, I embed the joint tape (making sure the joint fills in) with joint compound. Let that dry the recommended time (usually 24 hours). Also, fill in the screw dimples at this time. Then, using a 6" or 8" taping knife I lightly scrape the dried compound to knock off any bumps or high spots. I then skim coat the joint again using the wider knife and also give the screw heads another coat. After that dries, I scrape and skim coat again using the 8" or a 12" knife and do one pass up each side of the joint to feather it out further. This makes the skimmed area around 24" wide and usually feathers it enough that it looks smooth. If your panels are textured, you can also do a thin skim coat over the entire wall while you are doing the third coat. Sand it as necessary to smooth it out. You can then apply whatever texture you want using standard texturing methods.
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