Reddit mentions: The best masonry hand trowels

Doing drywall doesn't take a lot of specialized equipment. There are tons of videos on youtube. I don't have one that's better than another, maybe someone else will chime in as well. A couple of ladders, a couple of screwguns, a utility knife to cut it. You can get a drywall square, but a straight board will work as well. You'll want a couple of blades- a 6" and a 10-12" should be fine. You can get drywall mud online, but the shipping is crazy. You'll need drywall tape. A jab saw will help to cut out for electrical boxes, etc. Screws would probably be ebtter purchased there also. You'll also want corner bead. A cornering tool is also helpful. You can buy more specialized equipment, but this should cover the essentials, except for the drywall itself. Best wishes to you, stay safe.

First of all, let me begin by saying that I like black floors. Ok, sorry. Second of all, from the look of your pics on some of the painted white floor boards, you can see the drills indentation around the hole, where they drilled in order to put in the nails. Those drilled holes are the only reason that oak is not all split up. And removing those pieces without the oak splitting up would prove difficult, if not impossible.

Question: Are the nailed cut boards moving when stepped upon? Or are they quite solid?
Because if they are solid, or near that, you can place some masking tape over the gaps between the boards, in order to keep a wood filler product from falling through, and just fill up the entire sloping area the best you can. Or you can caulk all of the gaps the day before you put down the filler, with construction glue. Construction glue might prove the better solution, to solidify and strengthen the area as much as possible before the putty becomes part of your floor.


Get something like this and mix it up, easy on the water.

And use something like this to smooth out the product.

I dealt with a similar issue when removing paneling from level 1 drywall in my home, and found a method that worked for me. Remove as much adhesive as possible with a scraper (a little damage to the facing is okay as long as you don’t gouge down to the gypsum). Then use a drywall sander with a 36-grit disk like this one and take it down a bit more to smooth things out.

WEN 6369 Variable Speed 5 Amp Drywall Sander with 15' Hose

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HRL9XYI/

Do any needed patches and repairs (gouges, holes, etc) and then roll the surface with a primer sealer (I used PPG). A good tip is to have some black added to the primer to add contrast. Then skim coat the surface with thinned out compound to get back to a nice, smooth finish. Prime and paint.

In my case it was more labor than doubling up or replacing the Sheetrock, but I just decided I didn’t want to deal with hauling all that drywall if I didn’t have to. For a ceiling I think it would probably be a worthwhile way to go (my shoulder doesn’t like taping overhead anymore).

For the skim coat, I rolled thinned premix on with a half inch roller, and scraped with a squeegee trowel like this (I used the 14” and 22” ones)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CCGEDOE/

The basics are pretty easy, and can usually be found at a standard Ace, or even easier, just on Amazon.

Metric tape, 5m.

Folding ruler, 2m.

Trowel. Most archaeologists in the US tend to use Marshalltown 45-5 pointer trowels. Some like the margin trowels as well.

Line level.

I'll add more later...

edit:

Honestly, those are the only things you really need. You could also throw in things like a file for your trowel or to touch up a shovel if needed, but usually that's not really necessary. You could buy a Munsell book, but they're quite expensive and someone running a project will have one available.

For reference, the rubbing brick looks something like this.

They work pretty well for smoothing and minimal removal.

if you buy a couple concrete tools, edger and trowel, (this kit is an awesome buy) you can finish the bottom in the video and use it for the top. this way you won't have any voids to repair.

Don't count on paint to fill in anything.

And don't trust your eyes necessarily to notice what will or will not stand out.

Trust your fingers. If you can feel changes in topography as you drag your fingers across the wall, it will definitely show through your paint.

Intense option on skim-coating is to thin down some all purpose compound and apply it with a roller, then skim it off with a wide trowel.

These guys are kind of gimmicky but I can attest that for an amateur they really help. I found one locally at the Sherwin Williams store. Might have even been cheaper than Amazon.

They had a machine to lay it, and then used a form like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Curb-It-Yourself-Concrete-Trowel/dp/B01MZAWYI6

Good luck!

A dremel maybe? I'd make a little jig for the extension cable (see amazon ) but there's Dremel brand adapters & tools you might be interested in.

See if you can borrow a saw from someone or a splitter even.

http://www.amazon.com/Bon-11-590-Buster-10-Inch-Capacity/dp/B0002264M4

Absolutely! You can get one here

I would skim over every area that's rough or cracked. You can go back and sand it if you can't get it even with the trowel. Use drywall mudd and thin it down with water to a consistency that works.

http://www.amazon.com/15-432-18-Inch-Trowel-Drywall-Smoother/dp/B008JBQCVS

Glaze on the shelf will liquify again and again. Covering little drops with kiln wash might overwhelm the glaze with its refractory properties, or some of the glaze might seep a little and attach to pots. You would need to grind the foot or sand the pot to get the glaze off. The bottom line is there is going to be some work either in preparation before the firing, or fixing some pots after the firing.

Buy something like this product (probably cheaper at your local hardware supply). Wear a respirator when you scrape your shelves.

https://www.amazon.com/MARSHALLTOWN-RB192-6-Inch-3-Inch-1-Inch/dp/B003A83G8M

Here you go (Everhard Fairmont Tongs & Wiss Tongs):

https://www.amazon.com/MT14000-Fairmont-Seamers-Straight-Handle/dp/B000PW5FLM?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_19330565011

https://www.amazon.com/MT14010-Fairmont-Seamers-Offset-Handle/dp/B000PW747A?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_19330565011

https://www.amazon.com/Wiss-WS3N-Straight-Handle-Seamer/dp/B0711SV5KP?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_3050571011

https://www.amazon.com/Wiss-WS4N-3-Offset-Handle/dp/B06XCD6HMC?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_3050571011

I do keep 2-3 sharpies in my box, and half a pack in my tool bag as well.

Regarding the center punch, I have one in my truck but I'm not doing a lot of fabrication so it only comes out 5% of the time if that (my box is damn heavy as it is).

This should be an easy pour for you. You call it a step, but we'd call it a pad.

We cantilever with steel brackets to the building foundations when we're dealing with relatively new excavations, because the ground hasn't had time to settle properly. It can take years, even if you're mechanically compacting it.

If you've had some base wash out, then your next step is to remove the old step and compact with crushed rock and sand. You can rent a plate tamper at some hardware stores. 4"- 6" should do, and wet it down when you tamp to help tighten it up.

If the sides of the step will be visible, then build your base up higher than the existing, and angle them on the sides so when you pour, you'll have a 'thickening' all the way around, and it'll help keep the pad from shifting.

Use expansion joint where the pad meets the existing foundation, and leave it 1/2" or so lower than the door sill. That way it won't mess anything up if it starts to heave in the winter (I guess that depends where you live, I'm in Canada)

One more thing. With what you're trying to do, you don't need to take the forms off, if you do the inside repair and the pad separately. The edges are done with one of these
, and as long as you kick or vibrate the sides, it'll release the bigger air bubbles and avoid 'honeycombing'. Hell, you can just tap it with a hammer.

Let me know if you have any other questions

I guess this could be a viable option, but it seems like a pain to try to find and mark all of your ceiling joists so you're getting screws into something solid. Let alone holding it flush against the ceiling while doing so (unless you also want to rent a drywall hanger).

I know I already mentioned it, but seriously consider skimming it. Worst case scenario, it's terrible and you can go back to your new 1/4 inch veneer plan. But I don't think it's really that hard.

You could even try one of these: https://www.amazon.com/15-432-18-Inch-Trowel-Drywall-Smoother/dp/B008JBQCVS