Henry Frerk Sons Inc ~ Drywall Dictionary

The use of compressed air to break up (atomize) a spray texture at spray gun orifice/tip

A condition where flat joints become visible under critical lighting showing a narrow bead or ridge in the center of the joint.

First compound coat after taping. Syn: first finish coat.

1) How well material mixes into a lump free homogenous solution. 2) Loss of viscosity a few hours after mixing.

Joints formed by the mill cut ends or by job cuts without a tapered edge. Syn: end joint.

Hairline fracture or wider crack occurring in the apex of inside corners. Syn: shrinkage cracking, angle cracks.

Area usually measured in square footage a given material will cover, i.e. 10 gals. per 1000 sq. ft. of wallboard. Syn: mileage, distance.

Delayed Shrinkage

Shrinkage of preceding coats of particularly wet joint or topping compound after joints are completed or painted.

Depressions in the joint or topping compound directly over the head of a nail. Syn: dimpled nail heads, recessed nail heads. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as shrinkage.

A condition where dirt collects on the decorative coating directly over a nail head. Syn: nail spots

The ability of a coating or texture to completely hide substrate when dry.

Straight hairline cracks at one or both edges of the joint tape. Shows through finishing coats and/or painting. Syn: hairlines.

End Ply Separation

Loss of a bond between gypsum and wallboard face paper resulting in butt joints showing as high joints or starved joints. Joints will have a hollow sound. Syn: end joint separation. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as ridging or high joint.

Blending of finishing coats along the edges to minimize ridges and sanding. Syn: cutting, wiping.

First Finishing Coat

Application of the first coat of joint or topping compound over tape, bead, and nails. Syn: second coat, filling, bedding, floating, bed-coat, pre-bedding, first-bed.

Areas on textured surfaces that have little or no aggregate. Syn: holidays.

Spraying a ceiling with a fog coat or light overspray of spray texture

Overspray from wall texture or wall paint on ceiling texture which leaves a different color around the perimeter of the room.

The ability of paints and textures to conceal minor imperfections, allowing a surface to appear uniform in color and texture.

Butt or tapered edge joint protruding above the plane of the board. Syn: crowned joint, crowning fat joint.

Horizontal Application

Application of gypsum wallboard with the length perpendicular to the nailing members. Syn: around the room, across the joists or studs.

Looseness of paper appearing after the first finishing coat. Syn: bubbles.

Joint and nail spots that appear darker than the surrounding areas. Syn: burning, flashing, photographing, shadowing.

Joints that appear darker when viewed from an oblique angle yet show no color differentiation when seen from a right angle. Usually caused by texture variation, low or high joints. Syn: Incorrectly referred to as burning, flashing, photographing and joint darkening.

Joint and nail spots that appear yellowish. Severity of discoloration may vary depending on paint color. Syn: flashing, bleeding, yellowing.

Drop in viscosity of the joint or topping compound after mixing. Syn: thinning, watering down, drop off, slack off, milking.

Depression in the wallboard surface resulting from setting nails with a wallboard hammer. Syn: dimple, depression.

Protrusions or bumps directly over a nail head. This condition normally occurs when a wallboard is not in close contact with the nailing members. Syn: pops.

Length of time after applying joint or topping compound in which joint can be crossed without roughing the surface of the compound. Syn: tearing, scuffing, roll up.

Photographing Joint and Nail Spots

Joints and nail spots that appear as a different color or sheen after painting. Syn: photographs, poor hide, flashing, picture framing.

Small openings in the surface of the joint or topping compound. Syn: air bubbles, cratering, pocking, bubbling, balloons.

Ease with which a spray material pumps through spray equipment.

Souring of joint or topping compound. Syn: souring, smelling, spoiling.

Second Finishing Coat

Application of the second coat of joint or topping compound over tape, bead and nails. Syn: third coat, finishing, finish bed, polishing, feather coat, skimming.

Joints or nail spots that appear with more or less sheen than the wallboard. Commonly seen with semi-gloss paints, but can also show with latex or oil flat paints without prime coating. Syn: high sheen, low sheen, highlighting.

Applying spray material at heavy consistency.

Applying spray material at a thin consistency.

Shrinkage Cracking

Cracking that occurs with joint or topping compound when applied too thick in one application. Cracks are irregular and common over metal corner bead and over wide joints. Syn: map checking, map cracking.

Application of a thin coat of joint or topping compound to the entire wall and ceiling after joint treatment. Provides a uniform smoothness of paper and joints. Syn: milk coat, wash coat, skim coat.

Time required after mixing joint or topping compound to obtain optimum working qualities. Syn: take up, let down.

Application of joint finishing compound to nail heads and dimples. Syn: spotting, nail coating.

Depression in the joint over tapered joints. Also seen as depressions on each side of the tape on a butt joint. Syn: low point, delayed shrinkage, concave joint.

Spray equipment problem which results in material not pumping at a steady stream.

Tape Photographing

Outline of tape is visible in corners and flat joints after joints are finished. Syn: railroading, tape floating, tape ghosting. Sometimes incorrectly called shrinkage.

Application of joint compound and joint tape on gypsum wallboard joints. Syn: embedding tape, first coat, hanging, laying tape, bedding, roughing, joint finishing

Application of texture by roller, spray, brush or other method. Syn: stippling

Surface porosity and its ability to promote bond with joint or topping compound, textures and paints. Syn: porosity, suction, grab.

Vertical Application

Application of gypsum wallboard with the length parallel to the nailing members. Syn: with the studs and joists.

Length of time joint or topping compound can be worked while maintaining a smooth feathered edge. Syn: fast drying, poor water retention, bodying, thickening, roll up, ragging.

The ability of a coating or texture to completely hide substrate when wet

Cleanup of overspray on walls after spraying ceilings using a long- handled wide steel blade.

Length of time joint or topping compound can be worked and re-used. Syn: water retention, plasticity.