Should I finish mudding drywall where wooden trim was removed myself?
Finishing raw drywall where tall trim or cabinets were removed is a small enough job to DIY, but tackling an entire skim coat as a first-timer involves a steep learning curve. While you can scrape the surface flat, prime the raw paper, and apply a skim coat yourself, it requires significant patience and can quickly become a frustrating process.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Taking a few hours to finish the mudding work independently to get it done faster and cheaperDid this help you?
- 2Put the cabinet back upDid this help you?
- 3Hire someone or leave it alone so you don't have to stare at itDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Scrape it flat with a sheetrock knife. Prime the raw paper, skim coat it. Prime it and paint it. Sounds easy enough but you'll pull your hair out and learn a lot lol”source ↗
“An entire wall of skim coating as a first timer will teach you patience real quick, but if the cabinet was there it's not like you're staring at it from across the room every day”source ↗
“Missing new drywall to below area where foot tall wooden trim was removed. Should I mud the rest myself?”source ↗
“Had the mud guy come and do a ton of work, but he left a lot not done.”source ↗
“Second, should I bother taking a few hours this evening and finish the rest myself?”source ↗
“Zero clue where to start honestly but seems like a small enough job to try myself.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 31How to fix a botched drywall patch with uneven edges and gaps
- 5How to fix a gap behind an outlet faceplate
- 6How to fix flooring gaps after removing a wall
- 5How to match wall texture when fixing drywall patches
- 2How to remove and reinstall wood wall panels without ruining them
- 9New drywall cracks after a renovation