Tonight I was able to spend a few minutes in the basement trying to make some progress on finishing the backdrop. I am currently finishing the seams with drywall compound and tape. Personally, I think drywall finishing is very difficult and requires a special touch. I did successfully finish the basement in our last home in Michigan on my own but it was an arduous and frustrating process. I will only provide a minimum of tips or advice as it not something I consider myself to be very talented in this area.

The first picture was actually accomplished a couple of days ago. I applied the base coat and seated the drywall tape into the base coat. A little bit of the compound should also end up on top of the tape. Here are some things to keep in mind at this stage:

• The base coat needs to be thick enough to allow the tape to be embedded in the compound.
• Do not squeeze all the compound out from underneath the tape
• Keep the first coat light and try to not get a large build up of material, it will just be more to remove later

I then let this set for at least 24 hours. For me it was 72 hours before I got back to it again. The objective with the second coat is cover 2″ further out on each side, build the thin coat over the tape, and provide the base to taper and feather the compound out to flat finish of the hardboard. It takes some practice. One tool I have found useful is to use a stainless steel trough. It really helps to get a nice even coat of compound on the blade.

I am optimistic that with the final coat, the primer, and the flat coat for the sky that the result will be better than just leaving the hardboard joints as is.