Customer Reviews

Drywall: Hanging and Taping (Fine Homebuilding DVD Workshop)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had already purchased Myron's essential Drywall book when I happened upon this video at the San Francisco Public Library. If there were one video to learn the basics of hanging sheet-rock and mudding I highly would recommend this video. This video is excellent. You gain enough knowledge from this dvd to get you up to speed. Of course good drywalling takes much practice, but you feel as though you're an apprentice drywaller at the heels of a master. The section on mudding is particularly good in this video, which is the most crucial part of any drywall job. I liked the Taunton dvd on trim carpentry equally as well with Craig Savage. While I would have appreciated a longer video in both regards, the series is very useful, and Myron brings things to life by demonstrating how it's done.

I wanted a book that would illustrate the proper way to approach drywalling so I could judge the quality of work being done for a home renovation. The book tells it all in a very understandable way. I also purchased the DVD, which I also highly recommend.

The book was extremely helpful in understanding how to do a quality installation of drywall. The instructions were clear, the explanations detailed. It also gave a lot of ideas of how to install drywall in places I didn't think about before: e.g., curved walls and doorway arches. I came away with better ideas for the renovation, as well as how to judge the quality of the drywall installation. I just wish I still had the physical capabiity to lift and do the work! I highly recommend the book!

I'm a DIY-er that has drywalled occasionally over the last several years in new homes. I can cut and hang and handle any issues that arise but trying to get the seams to be invisible has been beyond me. So I, like others, bought Myron's book to learn how. The book is very well put together and like most Taunton publications, has great photography. I learned tons. He offers a lot of great tips for each step in the process. While Myron describes the techniques for taping quite well and I moved beyond putting diggers in the drywall and roughing up the paper surface, I was still stuck leaving trails of mud off the sides of the trowel or leaving trowel edge marks if I went back over it to pick up the trails or air bubbles under the tape.

So, I picked up the DVD figuring that if I saw the movements in action, it would help. For starters, be aware that while Amazon and Fine Homebuilding indicate that the date of the DVD is 2004, it was filmed 1998. The result is that some of the techniques that Myron used in the video have been replaced by newer ones given in the book.

I was a bit concerned when the video started as it seemed to be oriented for someone just starting up in the trade. It kinda carries this theme throughout. It's like their Pros for Pros series of books. But there is still a lot of great info for the DIY-er in it. Again, he offered a lot of great tips and pointers as he walks the viewer through each of the steps. It was pretty amazing watching him and his crew in action: Very easy to tell that there's a lot of experience there, especially Myron when he was taping. Unfortunately, he was moving too fast to really see how he was doing it. There's no mention of trowel angles and very little mention of how much pressure. He does cover some of this in his book, tho. The video was great with close-ups and a lot of detail such as showing screws at proper depths, taping inside and outside corners, applying drywall on curves, etc.

I'm glad that I picked up the video because I got quite a bit out of it. Unfortunately, just not what I was hoping for. But today, I Googled Myron and found a taping video he had done for JLC (Journal of Light Construction). It was #3 of a three part series. This is exactly what I was looking for! He really walked thru the taping and mudding step such that I'm ready for another go at it (Just in time, too because I've just hung all the drywall in my house and it's time to tape. I just wish I had someoneelse's house to practice on one more time beforehand!)

As for a recommendation about this video: The video is more focused on the steps and less about technique. But, there is info and tips in it that aren't in his book. Even in regards to taping, there is some info that is in the video only. The video doesn't have as much info in it as the book which moves beyond basic techniques and gets into mechanical taping, more detail on butted seams, off-angle corners, etc. I'm happy that I picked up the video and the book and found that the compliment each other quite well but I feel that neither of them are complete. As for one over the other, the book has more but it's tough to envision how to tape by just reading the book. It really took finding the JLC video for the light bulb to go off. I hope that Myron considers putting another video together which compiles all of this info and that Fine Homebuilding produces it because of their level of detail (The JLC video just doesn't have the requisite detailed, zoomed in shots. I kept squinting trying to see what the mudding looked like). In my opinion, other than taking a class with Myron, or having a pro watching over your shoulder, this is something that's better learned from a video than a book. Since the book is an easy read and you can pick up a used one here on Amazon, really cheap, it won't hurt your pocketbook if you get both and the book can fill in the gaps in the video.

OK, I'm off to find some more Myron Ferguson videos.

The book along with the DVD helped my wife and I do a great job on our first dry walling of an entire room. It came out perfect.

This is a good video for beginners working on "Do It Yourself" projects. We are putting up interior walls in my wife's shop and have just about no experience working with drywall. We picked up Framing Walls (Fine Homebuilding DVD Workshop) (very helpful) and Installing Doors & Windows in addition to this video and, combined, make a complete picture of building and finishing a wall.

This video feels a little bit dated, but it makes a great companion to a more up to date book.

Recommended!

CFH

We are building our own house, and I have little experience with such a project so I needed good references for how to do the various jobs, such as sheet rock installation. Starting from ground zero with no knowledge, this DVD helped to illustrate the various basic skills necessary to tackle such a job. It contains all the information needed for basic sheet rock installation, including tools, techniques, and tips. I found it very helpful without being overwhelming!