I would like to build panels to put up on my apartment wall, with a backing (probably wooden) strong enough to attach faux bricks onto my 8' high walls. The panel-making process is as follows:
- Lay out 1/8"-1/4" foam tape in a brick edge pattern on panel
- Mix all purpose joint compound and cement colorant mixture
- Fill inside of pattern with compound and texture with rough brush
- Allow to firm and remove foam tape
- Allow to dry and texture with sanding block
- Fill gaps between bricks with accent joint compound and cement colorant mixture
One source lists 1/8 in. plywood as 0.56 lbs/sqft and Sheetrock brand of compound by itself is about 0.6 lbs/sqft. If these are reasonable one of my walls, 17 ft long, would have to support 157.8 lbs. It would ideally cover the entire wall. How many screws into studs will this require per square foot?
Best Answer
If you do opt to go with 1/8" ply, I'd suggest you use "washer head pocket screws" (1-1/4" if you have 1/2" drywall). If you're putting the sheets of ply sideways, I'd use a screw every foot or so on each stud. That might be slight overkill, but my thinking is to mimic the fastening of a sheet of normal drywall, which (a) needs to support the weight, and (b) doesn't flap loosely.
Personally, I'd opt for a slightly more substantial ply (1/4") for better fastener holding. Whatever you use for mud, go for something that advertises "low shrinkage" on the label. Pre-mix is probably not a good choice; setting type compounds are apt to be better.