01
On the rack
Ready-mix — 3.5-gallon boxes, lightweight and all-purpose
Setting-type — 18-pound bags, lightweight
Tape — paper, fiberglass mesh, and corner tape
StockedBy the pallet on a text.
Drywall · 5 of 7
Joint Compound and Tape
The part of the job that shows. Ready-mix and setting-type, by the box, the bag, and the pallet.
OUTWEST1995Five Colorado yards.
One outfit.
02
Lightweight or all-purpose
Lightweight sands easier and weighs less in the pan; most finishers use it for second and third coats. All-purpose bonds harder and is the safer bet for taping and for embedding corner bead. Setting-type — the bagged "hot mud" — cures by chemical reaction instead of drying, so it is what you reach for when the schedule does not allow overnight between coats.
03
Manufacturers
USG · Westpac Materials
Common questions
Ask the counter.
Which compound for the first coat over mesh tape?+
Setting-type. Mesh tape over ready-mix cracks. Paper tape is fine in either.
Does the compound freeze on the truck in winter?+
Ready-mix can, and it is not the same after. We keep it inside and load it last on cold mornings. Do not leave a pallet on site overnight in January.
The branch makes the call