drywall repair - tapered vs non-tapered

[james]

I am replacing a some large portions of drywall. At the seam where the new meets the old, there is a new tapered edge meeting the old square edge.

Should I ...

1. sand the old piece so that there is a groove to fit the joint compound and tape?

1. build up the joint compound so that they meet level, sand and skip taping so that it's even with the rest of the surface?

2. Build up the joint compound so that they meet level, then tape and add more joint compound, leaving a bump?

1. Tear down the new stuff and reinstall with the tapered parts removed, so that the pieces meet square edge to square edge, then do a

2 or 3?

Thanks.

JK

[JohnnyC]

I just ran into this same situation. #4 and use paper tape.

[benick]

Finishing a joint like that ESPECIALLY on a ceiling is ALOT of work even for a pro. You almost always will see it. Your best bet is to remove the rest of the old drywall to the corners or an inconspious spot. Sheetrock is pretty cheap and hanging is alot easier DIY project than finishing...Good luck with your project...

>

[RickH]

I usually run my knife at an angle down the old untapered edge to put a bevel on it. This will expose some of the plaster forward so the compound grabs better. Then I just put tape over it with only about

1/2 inch overlapping the old edge and most of the tape in the tapered valley. Then I mud it to fill the taper, then mud again to give the old edge a longer feather and hide the tape. You never want to skip the taping, if you dont use any tape you'll get a crack for sure. Then I sand it smooth because to hide the tape on the old edge I needed to cover 1/8 inch and feather down across to zero, thats why I dont lay the tape too far onto the old sheet side.

[Harry K]

Dunno what a pro would do. Me, I just tape it as if it were a standard joint. Yes there will be a very slight bulge but it shouldn't be much more than the thickness of the tap. DO NOT use the mesh tape, you can't do a thin finish over that stuff. Paper tape only for me on any flat seam.

Harry K

[james]

Actually, it's not on a ceiling. It's three horizontal sections that run waist-high to the floor, with an inside corner between 2. Had a leaky basement.

I was initially thinking that I should strip the two walls, but decided that I'd rather avoid doing the extra two corners, as well as the ceiling/wall seams.

I think, with the lack of consensus, I'll follow my nose and try RickH's suggestion, as well as following Harry's advice to use paper rather than mesh tape.

Thanks, all.

[The Reverend Natural Light]

My $.02:

Mud and tape the joint as usual. It won't be even, of course. Let it dry. Then fill in the taper of the new piece and draw a wide knife over it to level it off. Let it dry. Then mud and sand as if it were a butt joint.

If possible, replace whole sheets and dig the tape and mud out of the original tapers. It's more work up front but the end result is cleaner.

[RicodJour]

These sort of repairs are the most common. It's rather rare that it's worth the effort to rip out whole sections of board to expose tapered edges - besides, the old tapered edge is currently filled with joint compound and not a tapered edge anymore.

Cut back the damaged area as needed. Use a utility knife to cut off just the very edge of the old work's cut paper face so there is a smooth edge. Install new board, tape as usual. The mesh tape does add a minuscule amount of depth, but that's usually due to people either starving a paper-taped joint to get it as flat as possible, or putting compound on too thickly to cover the mesh tape and avoid burning through to the ends of the mesh fibers when sanding. The difference in thickness is on the order of 1/16" and is rarely noticeable unless the light rakes across the surface at a shallow angle. If you want the thinnest, best tape and you like mesh, there is a mesh tape designed to be used with Krack-Kote called Tuffglass Fabric. It's as thin as a sheet of copier paper - about a half to a third as thick as the regular joint paper tape.

R

[benick]

I don't get your reasoning...You would rather have a big ugly butt joint in the middle of a wall that will stick out like a sore thumb than do a couple of extra corners???? Corners are simple compared to butt joints and sheetrock is cheap. Whatever , you're the one that has to look at it..........