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Dustless (ha) drywall sanding

CarbonBased | Posted in Tools for Home Building on January 10, 2007 12:07pm

Hi, all:

I need to patch drywall cracks in an inhabited part of my house, and I can’t reliably separate the area from the rest of the house.  I have a good shop vac with a HEPA filter.  Can anyone recommend a sanding tool that will attach to the vac hose and catch most of the dust while I’m sanding?

Thanks,

CarbonBased

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Replies

  1. torn | Jan 10, 2007 12:15am | #1

    I can't reliably separate the area from the rest of the house.

    Why?

  2. FHB Editor
    JFink | Jan 10, 2007 12:34am | #2

    Try the dust control joint compound from USG - sanded material drops straight to the floor. Really fantastic.

    Justin Fink - FHB Editorial

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Moderator

  3. dustinf | Jan 10, 2007 12:56am | #3

    If you're careful when you apply the joint compound you should have a minimal amount of sanding. 

    I just chase my sanding block with the shop vac hose.

    Tune in Tokyo.

    1. rwjiudice | Jan 10, 2007 01:06am | #4

      When DWing my basement, I sanded with a PorterCable random Orbit sander that has a vacuum outlet which I hooked up to my shopvac. Wonderfull!!

  4. User avater
    fengelman | Jan 10, 2007 01:28am | #5

    be carefull with the knives, then "sand" with a damp sponge!

    I wish I didn't know now, what I didn't know then
  5. User avater
    gdcarpenter | Jan 10, 2007 01:35am | #6

    For a small job I have used a hand held pad with a built in handle that accepts standard sanding meshes and comes with a hose and adapters. Connect the hand held unit to the shop vac and 90% of your dust goes in the can right off. Believe I found it at Lowes in NC.

    Let's not confuse the issue with facts!

  6. wood4rd | Jan 10, 2007 01:53am | #7

        Most of the BB stores have sanding blocks you hook up to your shop vac hose and use the sanding screens. I would also recommend the drywall dust bags for your shop vac or your Hepa filter wll clog up right away.
       If you just have a few drywall cracks the wet sponge or sanding might do the job. 



    Edited 1/9/2007 6:17 pm ET by wood4rd

  7. Stilletto | Jan 10, 2007 01:57am | #8

    Call your local rental shop and ask if they have the Porter Cable drywall sander.  The tool is well worth the rental fee. 

    It's a random orbital sander on a stick that is hooked up to a shop vac.  You can sand an entire house in a half a day with one if you stay moving. 

     

     

     

    1. Zano | Jan 10, 2007 02:28am | #9

      What's so wrong with compound dust?  Anyone brush their teeth, drink beer or wine, eat vegetables, take any medicinal pills cause gypsum is found in all of them.

      Those screen sandpaper with the vacuum attached..good luck.  Orbital sanders is for rookies.  The most imprtant factor in a great finish is sanding..take a gimmick to try to sand and you may get an acceptable finish..never a great finish.

      Drywall finishing is artwork and hand sanding is the best.  Drink a pack of beer, brush your teeth after, get some in your lungs..you'll live!

      Best way is to sand it well by hand and then clean the dust with a broom, vaccum, mop , whatever.  Seal off the area where your working and hand sand it..the best way!

      1. torn | Jan 10, 2007 02:55am | #10

        "hand sanding is the best"Really???? Seems to me that no sanding is the best... You obviously haven't sanded much. And inhaled gypsum has a significantly different effect on the body from ingested gypsum.To the OP; if you really can't seal off the work area from the rest of the house... if you're careful with your mudding job, a damp sponge should be all you need. No sanding required. Use thin coats, feather well, and don't count on your last coat to give you a perfect finish. If your "scratch coat" is rough, every coat on top of it will be rough too...

        1. Zano | Jan 10, 2007 04:10pm | #14

          Torn,

          I tried the Porter Cable twice..never again.  First time I had a basement with 8'6" ceiling and after 3 minutes my shoulders were aching.  Tilt it off a little and it  tears into the mud.  How do you do corners with it?

          If you know how to finish as I do, been doing it for 20 years now, you need very little hand sanding.  With a pole it's much faster, cleaner, better and far less fatigue.

          I have never seen a professional crew of finishers use a mechanical sander..any type.  The people who use it are the finishers who cater to the housewife.  I'd love to see a finished job done with a mechanical where the ceiling is 9' high and smooth.  Better yet, try a 10" high ceiling or a cathedral ceiling.  Let me mark it out for you after your done and you'll be touching up a few times at least.

          As one housewife replied to me when I started finishing her addition after I told her that there will be dust, she said "This is construction and I know there will be dust".  She got a great drywall job. 

          The water collecter type in a bucket:  Much harder than the Porter Cable as the screen sander with the vacuum sticks to the wall and it's difficult to move the sander.  Weaken the suction of the vacuum so that you can move the screen sander and the dust falls to the floor.

          Both are slow and don't do an adequate job and none can sand the corners properly, especially where two walls meet the ceiling.

          1. wood4rd | Jan 10, 2007 05:20pm | #15

               Zano,  as the OP stated " I need to patch some drywall cracks in the room" he isnt re-taping the entire room.  For small patching jobs I use the screen sander all the time. There is an adjustment valve on it to control the suction, you dont lower the suction of the vacuum. My customers always comment on the clean job it does.  I agree it isnt for big taping jobs because it is much slower, for them I use the pole sander with sand paper, and the sanding blocks (sponges) for the corners.   One other thing about the sanding screens. The course ones like the 100-150 leave sanding marks, so for the finish I always use a 240 or finer and go lightly.  Gary  

          2. CarbonBased | Jan 10, 2007 06:00pm | #17

            Wood4rd:

            Who makes the screen sander that you mentioned?

            Thanks,

            CarbonBased

          3. wood4rd | Jan 10, 2007 07:40pm | #21

              Carbonbased,   I just checked the sander and unfortunatley there is no name or logo printed on it.  I have had it for several years so the original box is long gone.   It is black, about the size of a regular drywall sander and the hose attaches to the rear of the handle, where there is a swivel air regulator to adjust the suction and the bottom is soft rubber with grooves to channel the air and dust to the hose.   Its a simple thing that was only about $20 or less. It really sucks if you have the valve shut and it will stay on the wall by itself. I always have it open a little or it wont slide very easy.     It sounds like you wont really need to sand the walls, since the texture will probably hide the patching anyways.Good luck,Gary

          4. torn | Jan 10, 2007 05:37pm | #16

            I'm confused - I never recommended any kind of power sander.  Maybe you meant to direct your reply to someone else?

            I stated that a good mud job leaves very little to do in the way of sanding...

          5. Zano | Jan 10, 2007 07:10pm | #19

            Torn,

            Sorry I directed my post to you as I tend to merge replies.  Right, a good finishng job leaves very little sanding so as I stated only non-professional finishers will use a mechanical sander or those pro's who appease the housewife.  When a housewife dictates to me how to finish.well what can I say  except Lady let me do it my way and the room will be cleaner after I sand it then before I found it.

  8. Flips | Jan 10, 2007 04:06am | #11

    Try the Sand Kleen system available from several large online retailers.  They manufacturer a pole and a hand sander that connect via a plastic hose to a bucket of water which in turn is connected via another plastic hose to your shop vac which supplies the suction.  The sanding dust is almost entirely absored by the water which makes the job easier on your shop vac. 

    The system is primarily designed for homeowners who don't want to spend several hundred dollars to get effective dust control.  I've had mine for several years and it works quite well.  The only real complaint I have is that it produces a loud whistling noise.  When I use the system, I always wear hearing protection. 



    Edited 1/9/2007 8:10 pm ET by Flips

    1. TomT226 | Jan 11, 2007 03:05pm | #27

      You can get'em at HD now.  $55 or so.... 

  9. PutnamEco | Jan 10, 2007 07:20am | #12

    http://www.zipwall.com/ Maybe??

    ------------------------------------------------------------------
    I saw it on the interweb, it must be true.
    1. JulianTracy | Jan 10, 2007 08:01am | #13

      I have the Porter Cable 7800 drywall sander and it'd be just the ticket for your job. Hooked up to a Fein vac, there is absolutly no dust that escapes, unless you are near the edge of a wall or something. Takes a light hand so that you don't burn through the tape, but once you get the hang of it - it's amazingly fast.F#$@ hand sanding!As a side note, I don't do enough drywall to justify the $400 + purchase price of the unit - I bought it used from a guy with 6-8 boxes of sanding disks for $225. The discs themselves would have run about that. Great deal, and a wonderful sander for remodeling and repairs as well as new drywall work. Great for going over a badly painted wall prior to re-painting it also.Anybody that dogs it has either not used one or didn't take the necessary time to figure out how to use it correctly and effectively.Fact is, the guy was selling it cause his guys were too ham-fisted/thick brained to be able to use it without ruining the drywall - he liked it just fine when he used it - I do too.JT

    2. CarbonBased | Jan 10, 2007 06:06pm | #18

      All:

      Thanks for the input.  My first time on the forum and really amazing - lots of great suggestions in less than 24 hours! 

      The room is open on two sides to the rest of the house and we have to walk thru it to get to the kitchen, but I might be able to temporarily partition part of it (seems obvious in hindsight, but I'm new at this . . .).

      My sanding job doesn't have to be perfect (fortunately), because I have to apply a final thincoat plaster finsh to match the obnoxious swirl texture already on the walls.  Maybe a damp sponge is all the sanding I need.

      Many thanks!

      CarbonBased

      1. Zano | Jan 10, 2007 07:14pm | #20

        Then only sand it a little with a wet sponge as the texture swirl will be worse than what you have to sand.

        ______________________

        To all,

        Here's the a great tip for sanding drywall:  Forget the screens, the paper 150 grit, or whatever grit and use fine Emery Cloth.  The Emery cloth does not tear at the corners of the sanding pole, does not scratch even light mud and lasts about 10 times longer.  Sure it costs more, but it lasts 10 times longer.

         

  10. User avater
    xxPaulCPxx | Jan 10, 2007 08:31pm | #22

    My daughter, who has sensitive skin, broke out in a full body rash when i used the dustless drywall mud from USG in the hallway to her room.  Rash went away after I sealed it and switched back to regular mud.  No one else in the family reacted like she did, just wanted to give you a heads up.

    Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA

    Also a CRX fanatic!

    1. sapwood | Jan 11, 2007 01:29am | #23

      Hey, it's a Zen thing. You have to see the wall as smooth....... know that there will be no sanding needed...... believe in your trowel. Only then can you succeed.OK, so I still have to sand.... but keeping the above in mind gets me very close.

    2. Marc5 | Jan 11, 2007 06:32am | #24

      I also vote against the "low dust formula" compound.  It's a very different finish....much harder that the other compounds.  I did not like the way it sanded--quite uneven.

      I just ordered the PC machine.  If it doesn't work, you guys will see it on ebay soon.

       

      1. wood4rd | Jan 11, 2007 08:53am | #25

             I agree about the way that stuff sands unevenly. I used it on a ceiing and couldnt get it smooth and had to go over it with the Plus 3. Never again.

        1. DonCanDo | Jan 11, 2007 02:31pm | #26

          I also just used the dust-control joint compound.  It was the first time I used it.  Mostly, I wanted to see what it was all about since I didn't plan on doing much sanding anyway.

          It was for a ceiling repair of about 40 sq. ft.  Because it was an odd shape and the joists were uneven, I skim coated the entire surface.  I didn't notice that it sanded any different than regular compound.  However, I did very little sanding.  Just a little feathering.

          As for its dust control feature... that part works.  I was actually a little surprised to see that it wasn't marketing hype.  Basically, the dust just falls to the floor.  I didn't notice any of it getting "airborne".

          -Don

  11. RickJohnson12 | Apr 13, 2021 05:15am | #28

    Why don't you hire any professional to do the work for you??

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