BY MIKE HEASER
Editor
Loren Shelton, Mike Walli and Ted Dallos have 83 years of painting and drywall experience between them. The three work for National Painting & Drywall, Inc., based in Duluth, Minnesota, but all are local to the Cromwell-McGregor area.
"Mike and I have been working together since 1992," Shelton said, "and we have worked with Ted off and on for the past 10 years."
The first thing you notice when watching the guys work is their seemingly natural ability to walk on stilts.
"You learn really fast," Loren said. "Once you fall down the first time, you will learn."
The three pride themselves in their reputation for quality work. "Our goal is to provide a quality job in a timely fashion at a reasonable price," Shelton said. "We are local with a good reputation for the quality work we do."
The three have a well-coordinated system and schedule for their work. For instance, Ted is the "bazooka" man. The bazooka is a device used for applying sheetrock tape and mud simultaneously. "Only Ted can run the bazooka," Mike said.
Mike and Loren share several other duties when it comes to a job.
The process when the three are hired to finish the drywall (once the sheetrock is hung) is explained by Loren. "On the first day on the job, we pre-fill any open gaps in the seams of the sheetrock," he said. "Once the gaps are filled, we apply the tape, or as we call it 'string the seams' or 'string it out.'" They use paper tape or Perf-A-Tape. The paper tape, according to Loren, is better than fiber mesh because it has more strength.
Once the taping is completed, they put on all corner beads (there is metal, plastic, or paper-faced corner bead - they use paper-faced corner bead, square or rounded) and let everything dry until the next day.
"The following day, once the taping mud has dried, we apply the first coat of taping mud over the corner beads, joints over the seams and the screws."
The third day the guys pre-sand any ridges or laps (areas where they stop and start with the taping mud) and proceed with the final 'skim' coat.
"We start this process with the butt joints (end-to-end seams/joints), then the flats (tapered joints) and the corner beads and the screws."
The owner's or contractor's preference for how the walls are to be finished, either textured or smooth, will determine the number of coats of taping mud on the screws.
Once everything is dried thoroughly (this amount of time depends on the time of the year and weather conditions), it is ready to sand. "Once sanding is completed, we are ready to prime and paint the finished wall."
Loren added that the quality of the taping job is only as good as the hanging of the sheetrock. "It is more difficult to fix areas with large gaps or broken edges."
All of the jobs have their unique challenges, according to Loren. "What I consider to be the biggest challenge is the coordination of our work with that of the other trades."
He explained that there is a process to working with the other trades. "The rockers have to hang the sheetrock in a timely manner in order for us to start taping. If the sheet rockers are too slow, or the conditions are such that the taping mud doesn't dry, it delays our taping job. We cannot complete our work in a timely fashion and get a quality result that the owners expect and deserve."
Loren, Mike and Ted have been all over the state of Minnesota with their work. From International Falls to the Winona/Rochester area, Loren explained. "The majority of our work is in the Twin Cities and Duluth area."
Anyone looking for this type of service can call National Painting & Drywall (NPD), Inc. at 218-720-3323 or Loren Shelton at 218-644-3759 or Michael Walli at 218-357-3803.
