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What to Use for Fascia?

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  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:18 AM

hbgatsf
York1

One thing I've done that I learned from Lion in ND.  He showed me how to make all electrical connections behind the fascia.  That way my bad old body doesn't have to work under the layout.

When you do that the distance from the track to the bus is longer, so do you need to step up the size of the feeder wire?

Rick

 

Rick, my layout is small, and there is not any section wider than 3½ feet.  No feeder wire is more than a couple feet long.

I used bell wire which is solid AWG 20.  I had a lot of that wire on hand.

My cheap little meter showed no change in power at any part of the track, so I never worried about it.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    December 2009
  • From: Michigan
  • 325 posts
Posted by lifeontheranch on Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:42 AM

Another vote for 1/8" (actually 3mm) tempered hardboard. Inexpensive, facilitates small radii, excellent painting surface, good rigidity. Attached with countersunk 3/4" drywall screws which are mudded over. Joints lapped with short piece of hardboard glued in place on backside. Joints vee-ed out slightly, filled with construction adhesive and then mudded just like sheetrock. No visible fasteners. Backside markings show screw positions if I ever need to cut the fascia.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:43 AM

.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Maryland
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Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:45 AM

hbgatsf

 

 
ROBERT PETRICK

1/8" hardboard masonite. Smooth and continuous. Inside curves and outside curves. No visible joints. No visible fasteners or screwheads (even those in fancy cupped washers). 

 

 

Is your profession drywall work?  It sure looks like a pro did that!

What is the trick to getting the seams so good?  I beleive drywall actually has a slight bevel to the edges to give some room for tape and mud, but obviously hardboard does not.

Rick

 

Not trying to answer for Robert, and yes he did a beautiful job, but mainly it takes patience and the right tools and materials. And doing drywall is part of my professional skill set. Not every drywall joint has the tapered edge, yet still a professional maked the joints disappear. 

That said, as I mentioned above, I'm a professional carpenter and I really don't like working with Masonite, but, if that is the look you are going for, especially with the curves, than that is what youhave to do.

Sheldon

    

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  • From: Canada, eh?
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Posted by doctorwayne on Thursday, February 18, 2021 2:35 PM

lifeontheranch
...Another vote for 1/8" (actually 3mm) tempered hardboard. Inexpensive, facilitates small radii, excellent painting surface, good rigidity....

Tempered hardboard is no more flexible than regular hardboard.  The "tempering" is to the surface, to make it more resistant to damage - I learned that from a local lumber yard, and used tempered hardboard on four of my workbenches.  Three have stood up exceptionally well, while the one in my garage takes quite a beating, and couple of areas of the top will eventually need replacing.

Wayne

  • Member since
    December 2009
  • From: Michigan
  • 325 posts
Posted by lifeontheranch on Thursday, February 18, 2021 5:58 PM

doctorwayne

 

 
lifeontheranch
...Another vote for 1/8" (actually 3mm) tempered hardboard. Inexpensive, facilitates small radii, excellent painting surface, good rigidity....

 

Tempered hardboard is no more flexible than regular hardboard.  The "tempering" is to the surface, to make it more resistant to damage - I learned that from a local lumber yard, and used tempered hardboard on four of my workbenches.  Three have stood up exceptionally well, while the one in my garage takes quite a beating, and couple of areas of the top will eventually need replacing.

Wayne

 

I am aware of that. Mentioned tempered because the tempered side is an ideal surface for painting. The backside or untempered hardboard not so much.

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, February 18, 2021 9:44 PM

ATLANTIC CENTRAL
Not every drywall joint has the tapered edge, yet still a professional maked the joints disappear. 

I have been doing drywall for only about a year on my house, and I am finally able to make a non-tapered joint disappear!

I feather out about 12" away from the tape, and then texture. My straight edge shows a "hump of about 1/16" across 24", which will appear flat.

I used to try to make drywall flat, which is a fool's errand. Someone finally explained to me that no drywall is flat, it is just a series of invisible humps and valleys.

It takes practice, and I think I use 2-3 times as much joint compound as a professional would need to.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Maryland
  • 12,897 posts
Posted by ATLANTIC CENTRAL on Thursday, February 18, 2021 9:56 PM

SeeYou190

 

 
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
Not every drywall joint has the tapered edge, yet still a professional maked the joints disappear. 

 

I have been doing drywall for only about a year on my house, and I am finally able to make a non-tapered joint disappear!

I feather out about 12" away from the tape, and then texture. My straight edge shows a "hump of about 1/16" across 24", which will appear flat.

I used to try to make drywall flat, which is a fool's errand. Someone finally explained to me that no drywall is flat, it is just a series of invisible humps and valleys.

It takes practice, and I think I use 2-3 times as much joint compound as a professional would need to.

-Kevin

 

You got it, and with practice you get better and faster.

But up here nobody textures walls........

Sheldon

    

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
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Posted by York1 on Thursday, February 18, 2021 10:15 PM

It also helps to use flat or eggshell paint.

York1 John       

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    March 2017
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Posted by Track fiddler on Thursday, February 18, 2021 10:44 PM

Good evening

The most common mistake made with drywall compound by an amateur is they try to put to much on at one time.  You can put a liberal amount on applying it to the wall as you are going along but the trick of it all is, you have to pull it tight, almost like trying to wipe it all the way off with the blade of the mud knife before you move on to do some more. 

You don't even need to worry about what it looks like pulling it tight that way, because it will just get smoother on the next coat.  The stuff is made to build in layers on it's own.  It just gets smoother and smoother and builds on its own as you go along that way.  

Applied correctly like that. The stuff sets up and is no longer green, ready for another coat after you get around the room. Wax on-Wax off, they call it.

Just got back from mudding a basement in St Cloud last week.  Blaine and I dont have to sand our mud jobs.  Just need to scrape the boogers out of the corners before paint. There might be two three spots that need a schmooze of Fast & Final after paint which is no big deal. 

The heck with sanding anymore.  If you need to sand you didn't go around the room with the final imperfections pulled tight feather skim coat with the baby blue mud.  The job wasn't done yet.

And it's not too good of an idea to try to save $10 per gallon on cheap paint.  The more expensive quality paint self levels itself to the wall making the lower voidz go away.  Always remember what your Dad always told you, "You get what you pay for".

 

 

 

TF

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