Floating walls are non-load-bearing basement walls attached to the ceiling and anchored with 60D nails to a pressure-treated bottom plate on a floor. They are designed to protect construction from ground expansion and prevent strain on walls when the ground around the house foundations expands and contracts. The walls are attached to the ceiling with a 2″ gap between the bottom of the wall and the floor, which gets larger as the floor contracts and smaller as it expands.
Floating walls can help maximize space and improve the overall functionality of a basement without undergoing major construction. To create floating walls, turn the last board on the first wall sideways and overlap it about halfway past the connecting wall. This allows for fastening the two walls together while still having a surface for the wall. To isolate the wall, the walls will attach to the joists using a special L-shaped isolation bracket rather than being nailed directly to the joists.
Take a circular saw and cut a 4 1/2 inch gap in your studs. Nail a plate to the top and bottom of the gap, then pre-fill the sides and flat tape both sides. Tape the inside corner of the float both sides with a six-inch tape.
Renovate a bath and discover mold. Floating walls can be a great way to create additional rooms or separate spaces without undergoing major construction.
📹 How To Float A Wall Ready ForPlastering UsingSand And Cement
HOW TO RENDER SAND AND CEMENT A WALL READY FOR PLASTER OR TILES ON AN OLD WALL or NEW WALL Hi …
📹 MUD FRAMING!! How to FIX CROOKED WALLS!!!
Installing tile has a way of showing you what is wrong with the existing walls. This is how you fix it!
I’m a DIY-er and getting to terms with this process. I’m pretty sure I’m trying to finish with the devil float too early and end up pulling more more cement off the wall. Just wanted to check how deep the screws should protrude and should I be resisting the temptation to close in the finish too much. Notice that at 8:21 you’re more concerned with a “general” float with more emphasis on providing the key. Almost at the stage where I’m contemplating closing in the finish and then using a scratcher. Sounds numb I know but I reckon I’m over doing it and overthinking too. Thanks for helping Mac
I’m a painter in Michigan and I wish I that I had ever painted after a finisher with half your effort and attention to detail. I’m a way better finisher than most tapers in my area. They all have the attitude of I’ll leave that for the painters. Your articles have made me a better tradesman. Thanks for the content. Post a article of you doing a kick flip holding a full pan and a 6in knife.
First time seeing this done. Very informative and interesting. Thank you. Didn’t know there was a DW tool called a Darby. Now I do. Blessings to you and yours. I appreciate regular playback speed and NO music filler. I am more interested in your drywall skills than your editing skills. Some DIY YouTube presenters get confused in this area. Most people in the trades provide their own music…
Hey I just want to give a thumbs up & a professional opinion of you & your work.. I think your a skilled carpenter & drywall finisher, who actually CARES about there work. That’s not overly available these days, meaning even the being good at it, let alone Caring that your giving your clients a Lasting good job. Glad to have you in the Carpenter+ field. I’m a gc here in the Cin., Ohio area. We do basically everything, but I myself have started doing More drywall work personally in the past 3-4 years. So even though I’m skilled in most all areas I’d either had my own guys or subbed most finish work through the past 25 years. The more I’m doing drywall work on a few properties of my own & a few fix & flip houses I’ve bought, I’ve started really enjoying the patching & finishing. With that being said, though I’ve been in construction for over 30 years I’ve learned a few shortcuts & new tricks from you. So I Know a DIY’er definitely benefits from your vids. Good job. Eugene Brown.
Dude, love your articles. Thank you so much, they are really helpful. Recently started a project where I framed out and built about a 3-foot extension to a wall. Problem is that the existing wall wasn’t really straight. So now I have a vertical jump down the middle where the 2 walls butt together. Luckily I’m doing a heavy knockdown texture that should hide things fairly well. But I had all sorts of issues using mesh tape and having subsequent cracking. I watched your articles and redid it with paper tape. All is good now. But that vertical hump is still kinda there. So this particular article on how to fix crooked walls will really help. May I ask what kind of mud you used on that first coat? That looked thick!
Great job slinging the mud. I did 20 years of auto body repair and it was never like that. Much smaller-much thinner, but I see what you are doing. That said, I live in an 80 yr old plaster walled home and it drives me crazy when I fix something and my wife comments ” why didn’t you fix that little bump way over there while you were at it? (This house’s walls look like 10 pounds of walnuts stuffed into a one pound bag.)
I am in this exact situation at the moment except I can put my hand between the sluther and the wall I’m using a big knife and just putting on one coat after the next but I’m taking your tips hopefully it will be faster than what I’m doing so the trowel is better than the knife I think I have one in the van I’m trying method thanks
So Ben… we DIYers often think quickset “drying” & “setting up” are synonymous; but they are not. So are you saying it can attain hardness before actually fully dry? So where does timeline come into play? So for, say, 45 min quickset, it actually drys in 45 but can start hardening at 30… or vise-versa? You feel the hardness; see the dry? Does it turn white when dry, or what indication? This seems like theres a BIG skill in knowing how thick to apply it so its dry & hard in same timeframe, to prevent shrinkage & cracking, and for what usage. I guess this comes with practice. You have to “feel” it….and I mean innately, not touching…Wayne
To create the screed bed against the tile edge, you can also cut a plastic putty knife on a dog-leg so that you ride it on the tile edge, and it gives you the mud at the exact setback that you are looking for. (I had to do something similar recently, where I was setting some small mosaic tile against 1 foot by 2 foot tiles, and the 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch notch trowel I had to use for the large tiles created valleys and gaps that the small tiles would not sit evenly on. I had an old 6 inch steel trowel that I used an angle grinder with a thin cut off blade to create a lip that rode on the large tile, so then I put more thinset down, and used it to screed off the thinset at the right height beside the large tile, so that the mosaic tile was fully supported at the correct height)
If in your articles you could add the compounds you use in the information section that would be a tremendous help. As I’m in the States, I’m not sure the manufacturers or even the substances are the same. But like this article for instance, I have to do something similar to a wall and I’m not sure what to use. Quickset 90 minute? All purpose compounds? Skim coat compounds? Some other substances? Thanks.
I have an 1/8 mismatch between a newly created wall and this does show an excellent way to bring them both within specifications. Kinda wish I had your type trowel, I have the straight 12 inch blue type but I will make it work. What impresses me the most is that your presentation is as smooth and level as your walls turn out. Expert in communication and the trade.
Hey VC was that structolite? (or whatever you guys call it canada?) I saw some aggregate in it, that stuff is a lot of fun to work with, did you mix it with hot mud (and hot water as stated in the article) to make it set up faster? I always do the same in this article but instead of floating whole wall I will float out that edge from the schluter, then float the base out to, and casing or whatever else has some gaps.
Great job. Thanks a lot, these articles about flatening walls out evenly are a life saver. Can you make one about leveling out a really crappy made warped wall. Had a huge problem with that in my late dad’s old house. And making poorly made pillars and frames close to perfectly square? Also, is there some article about what mud to use for what and when? I am not familliar with the mud you used for mud framing that stairway slope with steel beads. I am from Europe, this is one of my favorite websites for construction and mudding.
Freaking Loved It !! My Painters just wanished. Half of the house is undone. Im trying to finish it myself ! As a former cnc machinist i know a thing or two about flatness and working by layers to achieve it. Aldo this will be additive not subtractive. Anyways your Awesome and your techniques seem great. I have high hopes finishing my apartment by learning from you. Wish me luck and stay awesome!
Watching your articles I’ve learned so much. You sharing your knowledge and experience has greatly improved my skills repairing drywall and taping. One especially important thing I’ve learned from perusal you is when to leave it alone. I used to get so carried away trying to perfect the mud at every turn even when I’m mostly happy with the outcome, there always seems to be one spot where I put my knife on it like perfect now I just wanna take down that line or fill that small hole I missed and every single time I put my knife to it I f*ck it up lol. Now I’ve learned when to just leave it alone and adapted that to my skill level like ok fix that on the next one because if I f*ck with it I’ll def f*ck it up lol. Thanks for sharing brother.
I was praying you would tell us about the next step (I assume, as I am an amateur with a surface issue as I prep for the Paladino Marmarino Plaster technique!), which is; how to smooth and get rid of the many imperfections to create a cohesive flat wall. Also, I was advised to use a thin-set product. My walls were erroneously recently textured, so I am now redoing the surface. Before I discovered this error, I applied a gallon of the plaster, which was a mess, so part of my issue is whether I now use that as the base and smooth it or put thinset on top of it as well. I appreciate all expert or experiential advice. Thank you.
it looks very nice, I am wondering what the best consistency and if there is a close formula to mix, I have a wall I am making a free floating countertop for a small bathroom vanity and I it is off, never have done walls before. At 9:18 you mentioned a product you added, I did not catch if you wouldn’t mind
I have approx 8’ tall existing “end cap” walls on either side of alcove shower that are like “rolling hills” – after a professional spent 8 days here on them and others too. 😢 I’ve gotten the walls around soaking tub almost to perfection, but am completely stumped on 1 of the end caps bc top and bottom protrude out further approx 6″ down/up and canNOT be sanded down so I’ve been trying to fill out the rest of the end cap between their furthest points, and end cap is only approx 6″ wide with both corners of it exposed to the room. It keeps me up at nite trying to figure out best approach.
u know i thought i was the only one who was good enough to pull things like this off.. I mean I knew there were others just never met anyone… I just call it floating but most every wall seams for walls and ceilings I do are more then 5/8-1 3/4 out… I close up new manufactured homes and there awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will get you so good at drywall doing them for 25 years though, there is nothing I can’t make look like glass!!!!!!! no trick or tip I dont know. Great job, were a dying breed!
I have the opposite problem. I have old house all button lath, chicken wire cement. My walls very in thickness. When I put re-tile my shower, the wall it Butts up against will be thicker than the finished tile. So I’ll have a ridge of between the low tile and high wall. How do I join? The wall varies in thickness from about 1/4 to an inch in some places .
I did a wall that was crooked because a door got removed. I think they were careless when framing it because the door hid the the off square part. I did the fill on one side, but then realized that the reverse side was just as crooked the opposite way, and I would have the same problem there. I said the heck with it, ripped the wall off again and reframed that wall. Much better now. Real crap carpentry in our area, they put up housing divisions really fast and cheap.
I love this sort of stuff. Late to the party on this article, but I’ve finally started drywalling my job and I have a place where I need to do just this. This is also the first time I’ve noticed you mixing hot mud with joint compound, so that’s great information and I will try it. Also bought a featheredge just like yours.
I have a similar problem where somebody build a wall hung the drywall put the vanity up against it and it’s like a good half-inch to three-quarter of an inch off for my vanity is looking crooked how could I build that up without it looking like a gap behind the sink build it up on the left set backside and then across top of vanity with bud thank you for your help
Carpenter slaps it together and says the drywall guys can cover it up, the boarders slap their shit together and say the mudders can fix it, the mudders (except this guy) do their thing and say the finish carpenters can make it look good The finish carpenter does his thing and says a little caulk and paint fixes it, then iit still looks like crap and the home gets sold so nobody knows who the hackjobs are, or the homeowner thinks this is normal and puts up with it, or has to get it done over again. either way crooked walls should not be considered normal in this trade.
I have a similar issue at an “inside” corner; at the baseboard level the wall is 1/4″ low, blending to flush at about 18″ above the floor (above 18″ the wall is flat). The adjacent wall is plumb and square. The problem I am having is establishing a way to control the application of the mud to fill the low area so I don’t end up with a hump. I cut a tapered spline (1/4″ wide at the bottom, tapering to 0″ at the top). I’d like to see how you would have dealt with this.
Young man your articles are very helpful and work exceptional but that is a Plasters Rod or a straight edge not a darby! A darby is an old school plastering tool, it has a flat metal surface usually stainless steel or aluminum and has wooden handles. Your holding a 4′ rod, they come in lengths of 4′ 6′ 8′. Used for leveling plaster to a acceptable substate for the finish plaster or skim, veneer…whatever you call it in Vancouver
Thats 4-5 days of work on all the walls due to drying and sanding???? The drywall seems like regular drywall? Need a heater and fan and its a bathroom with high humidity and even more humidity in vancouver???? So many questions but good job. I know some old men that would do that in 10min as well like it was nothing. Aaah to be young and give a damn.
I had someone tile my shower that meets the bathroom walls at a corner. Previously, the tile was about a few inches away from the corner edge and he asked me if I wanted to tile it the very edge of the wall and I had agreed. When he finished, the tile was protruding from the wall by 1/4 – 1/2″. He said this was because my walls are slanted and I would be responsible for fixing this problem. I live on the west coast where I can only find lightweight mud. I’m worried if I fill it in using this method, my walls will be very brittle with the 1/2″ layer of light plaster. What do you suggest?
That wall was nothing compared to what I’ve seen lol i probably wouldve just filled that gap however i get packing the wall out with mud because fillers to me look like absolute shit sometimes, caulking is almost like art, it needs to be filled flush to actually look decent and out curiosity what do you charge for labour for a fix like that? Either way you seem to be a perfectionist which definitely goes appreciated in our business, love perusal your content
Thanks for the advice. You should see my bathroom walls, they have a 15mm depression from top to bottom that I need to try and straighten for tiling. Not being made any easier thanks to this coronavirus kockdown and no filler or tiles being available! Currently sat in the bath perusal this article wishing I could have a bloody shower!
Hey I love your articles. I have started a small painting business mostly old houses. There is always sheetrock repair to do. So your articles are so helpful. Can you do or maybe you already have do a article on what tools you need to take on every job. I end up either having so many tool, I can’t find the one I need or I didn’t bring the right tools for the job. Thanks.
For everyone that are blaming the Carpenter and saying ”How to hide a crooked wall” Do me a favor research crown in lumber then go to a store that sells lumber take a 2×4 confirm your research then hit yourself very hard on the head to make sure this information get across that layer of joe know it all !!
Ben, Appreciate your commitment and insights to best practices. Where Drywall has been finished by others and noticeable baseboard-wall gaps remain, I’ve heard one can feather in mud partial height to extend out wall surfaces. How high and wide (in.) might you recommend featherIng for baseboard gap of 1/8 in. approx. ?
Hi, thank you for this great article. I just need to know, are you using the same mud to stick the tiles to the wall? I’m doing my basement wall which is not straight and levelled at the bottom? The wall is concrete with mudplaster and paint. I think it will be good to just prime first but I need to level it first. The plaster and paint on concrete is in good condition.
I definitely like perusal your articles. I found your website because I am dealing with sheetrock in old work and nothing is straight or square. A lot of the techniques you use are new to me and I really appreciate your attention to detail. I am also learning about different products that I didn’t know were available, that make the job easier. Thank you!
So satisfying to watch how carefully you work to achieve a flat surface! My builder did such a sloppy job and the wall is visibly wobbly and he put tiles in staggered pattern from right to left instead of top to bottom / bottom to top so the vertical grout lines don’t line up! I was not on site often enough to let him fix this in a timely manner and too late as all the faucets and shower installed already 🙁
I love perusal your articles! Currently repairing my basement ceiling drywall and have found your articles so helpful! If I was to suggest anything it would be to put up a few more “intro” type articles, some of your articles are quite advanced or “non searchable” type things, but something like “how to fix a nail hole and not have to paint a whole wall” would be amazing :). Keep up the good work!
Have you ever used a darby on the ceiling?? Have a 1950’s ranch where the walls and ceilings are 3/8″ 2′ x 4′ “blueboard” then a layer of brown scratch plaster followed by the final thin coat of white plaster for a total of 3/4″. Problem is that the ceilings have started to sag between ceiling joists. When a ceiling light is on, it looks like a freaking roller coaster! Time for a darby? And 45 or 60 minute mud… just an amateur here working overhead! Thanks and I love your website. Best plastering website on YouTube. 😁
very nice job! wondering if you would do the same for a countertop going against a ‘wandering wall’ ? I’ve seen the technique of cutting into the drywall to make the countertop appear level, but I’m not sure that that is the correct method to use. Although what you are doing seems to require more time (and skill), it seems to me to be the correct method.
There’s something about the use of the word “mud” that bugs me. “Plaster” is a fairly sophisticated product, and plaster has been used to create many beautiful and artistic decorative features for centuries. Give it a little more respect than “mud” eh, and once your customers see it as more than “mud” then maybe you could charge an extra dollar or two an hour for doing it . 😉
When I was a painter and decorator, I got very interested in walls. Hanging wallpaper that’s a couple of hundred pounds a roll, having a good surface really matters. So I’d spend time talking with plasterers, and to them, the greatest challenge, the job that was their masterwork, was to plaster a squash court. Nothing else had to be quite so plumb, square, and flat. Apparently it would all start with setting a reference block of wood into a dab of plaster up near the top corner of one wall, then dropping a plumb from that to another reference block or setting a perfectly straight length of timber straight down. Then they’d run something parallel to it and plumb, then they had the reference edges for the derby, and it was all built out from there. Finished was with a very hard plaster (like Parian or similar) that would float to a gloss finish. I never saw anyone do it, only heard about it. It felt like a circus trick “Do you work in the circus? Yes? You’ll know then. No! Well, I can’t show you…”
Your almost there young skywalker !.lol Take it from a master plasterer and master renovator.= You weren’t around when the masters were plastering entire surfaces of walls over cement and lathe. Lesson # 1 = Loose that trowel your using. I started off with it for the first ten years then moved on up to a 12 inch scraper trowel. ( More movement in your wrist catching places your not getting in the application with greater ease.) 2= Your exhausting massive amounts of energy because you haven’t learned HOW to use ready mix plaster with lots or the perfect amount of water in it. ( By learning this, you save about 40 % of plaster used like on this wall. Its pretty watery..seems hard to control but its not…You will LOAD your trowel with ALOT less soupy plaster but it spreads longer and further.) Lesson 3= My way..the old ways…allows you to do a wall like this example in 4 min flat per coat of its entirity..( Fast and easy.) 4= Once you perfect this method there will be no VISIBLE butt joints even if the daylight or even a lamp shining on walls. Simple effective. 5= sanding the final coat is a breeze even under a lamp inspection.