First, you will have to look over the drywall installation and do your small inspection.
Look for big gap in drywall joints and peel off any paper that is loose.
If any of the corners of wallboard are broken cut them with a drywall knife and prefill all the defiencies with a hard powder compound like Plaster of Paris,Quick set dry mud,or concrete fill.
These materials will dry hard in only a few minutes and you will be able to start taping shortly.
Remove all the screws that are loose and make sure all the screws are in the drywall and not sticking out.
Mixing
When taping I recommend you use a Drywall taping compound.
These compounds are specially formulated to do taping and installing corner beads and drywall trims. It has more glue in it than a coating or finishing compound.
If you are hand taping you still should add a little water to you mud and try to get the consistency of butter and hopefully it will spread like butter.
If you are using certain taping tools like a Bazooka,Bango or Tube then you will need to add more water but if you are using these tools you already know how to mix your mud.
Before starting to tape you should install all the corner beads,Paper beads,metal beads or plastic beads you can read our blog on What types of Drywall corner bead should you use.
You can also watch our video on How to install a corner bead.
Once the corner beads are on we can start taping.
List of Tools and Materials
Tools Materials
Work Bench /Step ladder Drywall Tape
Mud Mixer Drywall Corner Beads
4" and 6 " Drywall Knife Drywall Taping Mud
12 " and 14 " Trowel Drywall Coating mud
Pole Sander Drywall Sandpaper
Hawk , Mud Pan or Trowel 5 gallon Container
Tape Holder Drywall & Water
Taping the Drywall Factory Beveled Joints.
Spread the compound in the factory beveled edge with a 6"drywall knife all over the joint about 1/4 inch thick.
Make sure it is spread evenly all over the joint. Place the tape over the wet mud and pull it tight and cut it straight where the wall ends.
Now you need to wipe it tight to the drywall inside that factory beveled edge.
Always start in the middle of the joint going towards the end.Remove all excess of compound and watch for air bubbles if the tape bubbles it means that you have no mud under it so it can't stick the tape to the wall, fix it right away.
Taping a Butt-Joints
Butt joints are the end of the drywall the edges without factory beveld edges.
These joints need special attention as they are much harder to hide because there is no beveled edges.
You have to tape like a normal joint but they are more tricky to hide, you will have to build them wider when coating and they might require more than 3 coats.
Taping Inside Corners
To tape the inside corners use a 4" drywall knife .
Spread the mud evenly about 1/8 " on both sides of the corner do not spread more than 8 ft at the time and the compound will not set before you are done with the corner.
Use both hand and ply the tape in half using the crease and place it in the wet compound.
Just like taping a joint you have to start from the middle going towards the ends and wipe the tape tight and clean, watch for bubbles.
Spot the Drywall Screws
That should be the easiest thing about taping .
Using a 4" drywall knife insert compound inside the screw holes and wipe it tight.
If a screw was miss push the drywall paper back into the hole using the handle end of your drywall knife and fill it like there was a screw there.
Coating a Corner Bead
To coat a corner bead you will use a 12" trowel with a 6 "drywall knife or a hawk.
You must fill the corner about 12 " wide .Let the trowel do the work apply only little or no pressure on the trowel when applying the compound and tilt your trowel it towards the corner when spreading.
Once you spread the corner about 8 ft long on both sides just wipe the edges by using your 6" drywall knife, always tilt your tool towards the corner when wiping.
Now wipe the whole corner using your trowel and tilt it a on 45 degree angle to minimize the edge.
Conclusion
I do not recommend to anyone with little or no experience to tackle a job bigger than you can handle, know your limits.
Taping and plastering is a skilled trade and an art , so please if you are in need of a professional ,hire one.
Cheers
Sylvio Giroux