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And by “out there” I mean in the Jackson-Barrow Co. area of GA. We can’t seem to find anyone who knows how to get a nice straight line on sloped ceilings(at the wall to ceiling transition). The drywallers always blame the wavey line on the framing.
On a related topic, any suggestions on handling the drywall to fiberglass tub junction. We get more call backs on that one item than just about anything else.
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I think that sloped ceiling to wall joint is the toughest one to get straight. Next time I plan to block between the rafters before hanging. I think the problem is that any variation in rafter height will show in the rock. That's a tough one.
Around the tub/shower I use green board with a factory edge over the lip. Then I flat tape the bevel and use polyseamseal in the hairline crack that always aprears between the mud and tub. - jb
*Paul, I'm not a GA 'rocker but... it's the need for strapping at the ceiling/wall junction. You'll get waves without it, as the framing, firring, and rock hanging make for a straight edge to start. Tape and mud are secondary.For your FG Tub and 'rock problem, are you talking at the exposed tub side, below the FG surround? If so, yup... that sucks, even with MR sheetrock... perhaps a skimcoat of plaster, with a vinyl caulk up against the tub? The big issue I see is the tub flexes... up and down with loading and a slight expansion in width as well.
*There is a relatively new product on the market for the mudless taping of vaults and odd angles. Cant remember what its called but I specified it in my house last year after seeing it used up in JimB's part of the country. Its a rigid plastic kinda stuff that extends about 6" to both sides of the vault. The edges still have to be feathered in but there's no mud in the joint. Gives a great result and eliminates a perpetual problem in drywall taping.JonC
*First, we fur out the studs and plates with 3/8" plywood ripped into 1 1/2" strips. This brings the dry wall out over the lip on the tup/shower unit. When the dry wall is hung hold it back from the tub 1/4". Do not fill this with mud. After the dry wall is finished clean out any mud that may have gotten in the gap and then fill it with a good grade of caulk. I like Big Stretch.
*I haven't used the mudless tape but I have used the flexible plastic inside corner bead used for off angles. The stuff I've used is by Trim-Tex, distributed through GP. It installs easily with spray on adhesive (I've always used screws instead) and makes a really sharp corner.
*The stuff Ryan is talking about is called Magic Corner and is made by Trim-Tex. We started using it last year and it is definitely the ticket for getting straight corners on chamfered ceilings. It is easy to use once you get the hang of it, and it has a neat feature which is that the portion of it that bends in the corner also flexes somewhat to reduce cracking. After a year, still no cracks in 3 different ceilings we used it in.
*That stuff sounds great. Does it come in a roll, or sticks, or what? Do you still hang the rock tight, or leave a small gap at the joint? - jb
*Jim - It comes in 10' sticks or 250' rolls. We made our joints tight or filled them in with Durabond but I'm not sure thats absolutely necessary. I hate to admit it but I used spray adhesive to put it up. I was a little nervous about whether spray adhesive would be strong enough, but it worked real well. Also I used Durabond as a first coat to get a stronger bond with the drywall. The only tricky thing with this stuff is that you're supposed to keep the center part clear of joint compound. I let it dry and then came back with a metal spoon and scraped it out.
*The same co. makes a couple of other types. I saw one being used on a large vaulted ceiling over a dining room of a nursing home.The center section of this corner bead was a flexible rubber strip about 3/8 in. wide. There were two tear off plastic strips on either side of this rubber. You mud right up to the plastic strips using them as a guide for your knife and then, after everything has dried, tear the strips off.
*Paul,
Joseph FuscoView Image"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." -- Plato
*Thanks you guys, I'm addin' this to my "got to check out list". - jb
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Paul;
There aint many good finishers out there, but there are a few, the quality of lumber and labor being what it is today a good finisher is worth his weight in gold.
There is a vinyl corner tape that comes in rolls, that if used with care is stiff enough to bridge some uneven framing
on the off angle stuff.
I always hire a drywall contractor that does his own hanging, that eliminates one of his excuses for doing a lousy job, I also keep a carpenter handy to fix anything
for them as they hang the board. With the price of drywall now you also need to post a guard on the stack.
brisketbean
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Drywall in anything besides tract homes kind of disappeared around here in the early 80's. Almost everything here is skim-coat plaster on blue board and Durock around showers and baths.
But the principle is the same. You cant get straight lines if the framing isn't straight. All of our ceilings are furred, that takes half the error out without doing anything else. If you need straighter than that, you can shim the furring (is it furring or firring ?) to straight, also with skim-coat, the plasterer can change his thickness to help out with some of the variations.
On small repair jobs, if there is drywall there to begin with, we hang our own board and use Durabond instead of joint compound so we can get the job done in one day (Durabond 20 minute, 45 minute or 90 minute). Durabond also has more water resistance for bath repairs.
*Hey Mike, why the heck do you fur your ceilings? - jb
*I guess its cause thats how i learned to do it in the 70's when I got into this wonderful hobby. And then i sort of made up reasons over the years as to why we still furr ceilings. (I think the list of reasons is up to about 101 now).In the old horsehair plaster days, sometimes they furred and sometimes they just nailed the lath to the joists. Mostly we furr because we get a straighter ceiling, it holds the poly and insulation up, it makes it easier to wire, and hang fixtures, and build soffits, and install moldings and get neat lines in corners, I don't know , we just do it, and we like it that way.
*I remember doing that when I first started in the trade in New England around 1970 too. But I always figured it was to compensate for the differences in rough sawn or green lumber and that it was kind of a thing of the past. Then, in a conversation I had with another old timer the subject came up and neither of us could really explain why it is still done. Just one of those things that works, I guess. Nothin' wrong with that. - jb
*There was a loooooong thread a while back about these practices apparently unique to NE -- strapping the ceiling and using blueboard. Other people do them, but only in RI and such are they routine. Interesting.
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You can use flex bead. The proper application is to fill the off angle with joint compound. apply the bead to the off angle, and position it into place. If the corner being applied to is wavy, it becomes a matter of eying the bead and using one side of the off angle as a guide.
Alternativly, you can tape the joint, snap a chalk line along the center, and screw a steel stud to one side of the joint. Fill the opposite side of the joint tight to the steel stud. Clean the edge of the stud while the mud is wet, and let dry. Attach the steel stud on the opposite side, ( the side you previously filled, and fill to the line you have created. Sand the corner using a peice of sandpaper folded into an airplane configuration, applying pressure to the center. This will give you a sharp line down the middle.
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The easiest way we have found to handle the nail flange junction on fiber glass fixtures is to double 1/4" rock. Hold the first layer back to the edge of the nail flange. Put the second layer over the top all the way to the fixture. Dap after tape and bed is completed.
*Ever since they started taking the drywall work out of the carpenters hands and giving to "roofers on the ground" oooops I mean drywallers the quality has gone down.Maybe the unions had the right ideas when they were building our houses.
*Interesting cc that you hold roofers and drywallers in such low regaurd. I would imagine drywall is rarely done by carpenters for the same reason roofing is rarely done by carpenters.Besides the fact that it wouldn't be cost effective,the average carpenters outlook would be a liability.The kind of guys who relish climbing 12/12 roofs in all kinds of weather,get a buzz from working up high,laugh about close calls,and yes are physically able to hump 25 square up a two story ladder in one day are not likely to have the patience for trim carpentry.And vice-versa.Even among the framers,I am sure there are many who breathe a silent sigh of relief once they finish sheating the roof and can get back on the ground.I can only assume there are corresponding abilities with the drywallers.I do know that the drywallers I have observed do a lot of heavy lifting and work at a pace I have rarely seen carpenters maintain.To each his own.Stephen
*If you checked it out, only drywall hangers were in the carpenters union, finishers were in the painting union.
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And by "out there" I mean in the Jackson-Barrow Co. area of GA. We can't seem to find anyone who knows how to get a nice straight line on sloped ceilings(at the wall to ceiling transition). The drywallers always blame the wavey line on the framing.
On a related topic, any suggestions on handling the drywall to fiberglass tub junction. We get more call backs on that one item than just about anything else.