Learn how to mud drywall for small patch jobs or renovation projects.

We've done our fair share of renovation projects that have included drywall mudding and finishing. We've learned a few things, done a bunch of things wrong and have done a bunch of mudding and taping drywall right. I'll be sharing a bunch of that information today as well as when you should consider hiring out drywall, too!

Adding drywall tape and mud is just a step in the process of drywall installation!

If you have never done any part of drywall, then I do want to be clear and say that this step, adding drywall tape and mud, is just one big step in the whole drywall installation and finishing. At the end of this post, I'll include other drywall installation posts to check out for previous and future steps!

*Affiliate links below. Thanks for supporting this blog. Click to read my disclosure policy.

How to Mud Drywall

*To help simplify showing you how to tape and mud drywall, I'm only showing this tutorial on one kitchen wall.

Supplies and tools you'll need to mud and tape drywall

You will need a couple different sizes of taping knifes (we used a 12" and a 8"), mud pan, joint tape, wall sander, and wallboard joint compound (a.k.a. "mud"). We chose to buy the premixed buckets of mud but you can mix your joint compound yourself and save money if you'd like to go that route.

The premixed joint compound costs about $20 and it took one whole bucket for a patch job that ran about 16 feet with multiple seams.

How to tape and mud drywall

• Spread the joint compound over your seams working on one seam at a time and using a knife to spread. The seam should be completely covered with extra joint compound built up a bit on top.
• Place drywall tape over the joint compound that you just added.
• Anchor one side of the tape (with your finger or a second knife) and run your knife along the full length of the tape to set it firmly in the mud.
• Go over the drywall tape with more joint compound. Smooth out the application over the seams.
• When you are mudding drywall, you have to allow the mud to set before continuing on. Check your dry times at this stage and let dry.
• Using a drywall hand sander, sand where you used drywall tape and mud. This is VERY messy.
• Wipe walls down with a sponge or shop vac.
• Next, apply the second coat of mud using the 12" knife. All coats after the first are the same. You just start by applying some mud along the seam, and then use the large knife to gently smooth out the seams and widen the mudded area. This helps taper out the drywall so it covers the seam well in the middle and then gets thinner and thinner the farther away from the seam you go.
• Repeat this process until your seams look good. We went three rounds.

I know there are many of us (me included) that really need a visual for projects. So, here's a step-by-step of how to mud and tape drywall in photos with a bit more information for each step.

Step 1: Applying mud for sheetrock

We are using a 8" knife and spreading the joint compound over the seams (work with one seam at a time). The seam should be completely covered with extra built up on top of it.

Step 2: Taping Drywall

It usually works best if you focus on setting (pushing in) one end of the tape with your knife and then work from that end down the tape to set the rest of the tape into the mud.

Here's how the mudding and taping drywall looks at this point:

Step 3: Mud drywall again

After the tape mesh is applied, go back over the mesh with mud. Then, lightly smooth out the seam to get rid of any big edges. It doesn't need to be perfect. Repeat this process on all drywall seams.

Don't forget to let the joint compound dry here for the full dry time before continuing!

Step 4: Sanding the sheetrock

Just FYI - this is super messy, like messier than anything we have ever done. Take the time and cover your counters with plastic and hang plastic sheeting to help contain the drywall dust. You will thank yourself. Promise!

After you have sanded, wipe the loose dust off the walls with a large sponge or a shop vac!

Step 5: Repeat all steps as needed

Apply the next coat of mud using the 12" knife. All coats after the first are the same. You just start by applying some mud along the seam, and then use the large knife to gently smooth out the seams and widen the mudded area. This helps taper out the drywall so it covers the seam well in the middle and then gets thinner and thinner the farther away from the seam you go.

After the last sanding you can proceed to painting.

A tip for making it smoother and getting good results

Every time you mud drywall (we did this process three times), try to smooth and arc with the knife so that the drywall looks smooth. You do this by putting more pressure on the tapered side of the mud (away from the seem). This will help with the reapplication process.

All in all, installing the drywall (check out our tutorial for how to install drywall if you haven't), and finishing the drywall together are a pretty decent-sized project. It's definitely a doable project for a DIYer. But, between the install and letting the mud dry between coats; I'd say it's definitely a two-weekend-type project. For us, it was more like a 2 month project... but who's counting? =)