Took me 6 years to figure out I was overmixing my mud every single time

I was on a job up in Lansing last fall, finishing a basement ceiling for a guy. My mud was drying way too fast and kept crumbling on the edges no matter how much water I added. An old timer walked through, watched me mix for 10 seconds, and said "you're whipping all the air out of it, that's why it's setting up like concrete." I had been using a paddle mixer on full speed for like 3 minutes every batch. Now I just stir it slow until it's smooth, maybe 45 seconds tops, and it lays down perfect. Anyone else ever realize they were sabotaging their own work with some dumb habit they thought was the right way?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.derek25d ago

Slowed my paddle down too and it fixed everything.

miles94614d ago

That's actually a good life lesson in general. People rush through stuff thinking speed equals success, then realize slowing down gets you better results with less stress. It's wild how often that applies.

dylan_bell25d ago

Yeah I was the same, thought speed was king. You were right.