Drywall Installation
Board hung plumb and square, prepped for a flawless tape finish.
Learn More about Drywall Installation →Taping & Mudding · Scarborough, ON
Drywall Taping & Mudding Contractor in Scarborough
Taping and mudding is the step that makes or breaks a finished wall. It's the core of what MLH Drywall Taping Painting Inc is known for across Scarborough and the GTA.
We apply a tape coat, fill coat, and finish coat on every joint, then sand smooth and inspect under raking light so seams and corners disappear completely, whether it's a straightforward flat ceiling or a vaulted space with skylights and multiple roof planes meeting at odd angles.
High ceilings and large open rooms get proper access equipment, like rolling scaffolds and ladders, not shortcuts, so the finish quality doesn't drop off as the room gets bigger. Corner bead work around windows, doors, and bulkheads gets the same multi-coat standard as flat wall seams.
Taping is also the stage that follows drywall installation and precedes painting, and we run all three in-house, so nobody is waiting on another trade or arguing about whose finish caused a visible seam. Sanding is dust-controlled with floor protection on every job, and every taping and mudding quote is free before we start.
Finish level matters most where light rakes along a long unbroken wall, which is why a full Level 5 skim comes up so often in Markham’s newer, larger homes.
What’s Included in Our Taping & Mudding Service
- Tape coatJoint tape bedded into compound on every seam, flat joint and inside corner alike.
- Fill and finish coatsSuccessive coats feathered wider each pass, so the joint flattens out instead of standing proud.
- Corner beadOutside corners beaded and coated straight and true, at windows, doors, and bulkheads.
- Inside cornersCorners run sharp and consistent, which is where a rushed taping job usually shows first.
- Butt joint treatmentButt joints, the hardest ones to hide, feathered wide enough to disappear under paint.
- Final sand and inspectionSanded smooth, then checked under raking light before we call it ready for primer.
How We Tape and Mud Drywall
- Tape coatTape is bedded into fresh compound on every seam and corner, with the excess pulled off tight so there's nothing to sand off later.
- Fill coatOnce the tape coat is dry, a wider fill coat goes over each joint, building the joint out gradually rather than trying to bury it in one pass.
- Finish coatA final, wider skim feathers each joint into the surrounding board. This is the coat that decides whether you'll see the seam under a lamp.
- Sand and inspectDust-controlled sanding, then a raking-light check across every wall and ceiling. Anything that shows gets another pass before we hand it over.
Finish Levels
What Drywall Finish Level Do You Need?
Drywall finishing is graded on a standard scale from Level 0 to Level 5, set out by the Gypsum Association. A quote that comes in surprisingly cheap is often quoting a lower level than the room actually needs, so it is worth knowing the difference before comparing prices.
- Level 1 and 2
- Tape bedded in compound with little or no finishing over it. Fine above a dropped ceiling, in a service space, or as the substrate under tile. Not appropriate anywhere you will see the wall.
- Level 3
- One coat over tape and fasteners. Used under heavy texture only. It is not a paintable finish for a flat wall.
- Level 4
- Tape coat, two separate coats over joints and fasteners, sanded smooth. This is the standard for most residential walls and ceilings, and what flat and matte paints are designed to sit on.
- Level 5
- A skim coat across the entire surface on top of Level 4. This is what you want under gloss, semi-gloss or enamel paint, on walls facing large windows, and anywhere raking light crosses the surface. Without it, every joint and fastener reads as a shadow once light hits at an angle.
The short version: Level 4 is right for most rooms, and Level 5 earns its cost in rooms with big windows, dark or glossy paint, or long uninterrupted walls. We will tell you which one your space needs when we quote it.
Recent Work
Taping & Mudding Photos
Ceiling Sanding
Garage Taping
Taping with Rolling Scaffold
Taping Around Fixtures
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Drywall Taping & Mudding FAQs
They are two halves of the same job. Taping is bedding joint tape into compound over every seam and corner so the joint cannot move. Mudding is the coats of compound applied over that tape, each feathered wider than the last, until the joint disappears into the surrounding board. When contractors say taping they normally mean the whole sequence through to the final sand.
Level 5 is a skim coat of compound over the entire surface on top of a standard Level 4 finish. You want it under gloss or semi-gloss paint, on walls facing large windows, and on long uninterrupted walls where light crosses at an angle. For most bedrooms and hallways painted in flat or eggshell, Level 4 is the correct spec and Level 5 is money you do not need to spend.
Three is standard: a tape coat, a fill coat, and a finish coat, each wider than the one before. Butt joints often take an extra pass because there is no tapered edge to work into. Anyone offering to do it in one or two coats is quoting a lower finish level than a visible wall needs.
It depends what the texture is and how well it is bonded. A sound, lightly textured surface can often be skimmed flat. Loose, flaking or heavily built-up texture has to come off first, because new compound will only bond as well as the layer underneath it.
Yes. Sanding is dust-controlled and floors are protected on every job, and we clear the work area before we leave. Drywall dust is fine enough to travel through a house, so containment during the work matters more than cleanup afterwards.