I need to repair about 130 LF of a 12″ strip of drywall that was removed for drainage installation at floor level.
The finish texture will be brushed stipple.
I am concerned about the excessive feathering layers of joint compound that will be needed to conceal the non tapered butt joint.
Anyone have any unique ideas here?
Thanks.
Replies
Wear knee pads.
Install the board, tape the joint. Then embed the tape in mud.
2nd coat: fill the hollow on one side
3rd coat: mud over the joint to build it up a little so th tape doesn't come through
4th coat: fill the smaller hollow on the other side, and then feather in bothm sides. Use as wide of a kinfe (I use a trowel) for this
Sand & spot touch up as needed
Pete Duffy, Handyman
How handy are you?
I do a lot of DW repair as a handyman as I’m sure Pete does also. I while back in an issue of JLC a guy did an article on butt joints using a tool I think was called a Butt Taper(?).
Anyway the jist of the article was to make sure all the seams were sufficiently rigid so as to not need the tape. It involved using a lot of battens and a S-Pot full of screws. (screws are cheap) After all the DW repair pcs. are in place, you then moisten the edges of the joint with one of those $5 pump sprayers. After 10 or 15 minutes you roll over the moistened edges effectively making a “V†in the groove. Fill this groove with durabond or some similar setting type compound and then 2nd and 3rd coat it as normal. Violla, no tape and no awkward butt seam.
The only problem is the butt taper is expensive.
Sooo, not having a lot of money but plenty of time, I made my own.
This thing really works! Just like in the article.
If you want info on the process of making it let me know.
Dan
"as I’m sure Pete does also" "making a “V†in the groove"
Be careful Shiela. It appears that they're both aliens.
Edited 9/11/2008 7:27 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
"Be careful Shiela. It appears that they're both aliens."
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LOL. Perfect.
At first I thought WTF. I don't get it.Then after reading all the msgs., including mine, I got it.I type all my replies in Word, then cut & paste into this forum just in case something happens, like this site locking up and forcing you to re-type everything. (which has happened b/f)I guess the font I used doesn't play well with others.Dan
I type all my replies in Word, then cut & paste into this forum...
Sometimes, I do that too, but I use Notepad since it doesn't have any formatting features and the text is more "pure".
I guess the font I used doesn't play well with others.
A likely story, you alien infiltrator!
(try saying that out loud as Daffy Duck)
I have a Butt Taper (which I haven't used yet) so I don't need to make one, but I'd love to see a picture of your home grown version.
Here you go.Sorry for the pic quality on the one. If I had to make it over I'd make the handle longer for more leverage. (I made it short so it would fit in DW toolbox.)How long is the handle on the real version?
Dan
Very interesting idea. I see that the approach here is to create some kind of taper in both edges of the drywall. I will look into this idea. Thank you for your thoughts and photos. If I can ever be of help to you, please let me know. I am a GC in the Colorado region.
Very clever. The maker of the Butt Taper (which is about 30" long) said he experimented with a lot of different shapes before settling on the "dual concave" wheel (my nomenclature), but you got there with fender washers.
Ouch..your tool butchered up the sheetrock facepaper. You want the facepaper to remain on the tapered edge created by the ButtTaper. At $189.oo not expensive at all if you regularly do drywall repairs or butt joints.
Geez, waddawant for $20 and 2 hours of your life?Besides that the beauty of DW (as opposed to plaster) isn't it?Also, I don't do it everyday so I can't justify the cost of a real one.Dan
There is a product out on the market called a butt taper.
(something like that)
Essentially, you let the butt joint float between the studs and
run the screws in and it pulls the ends of the boards in,
crating a taper which can then be taped and finished.
Neat idea but I like the earlier suggestions.
Mclaren
Go to http://www.butttaper.com and read all about it.The way to do this with the ButtTaper is as follows:Use the tapered edge of new 12" drywall against the old drywall. Don't use any backer board in between the studs. Spray the old drywall with water bottle, let it soak for about one minute, spray again and then roll the ButtTaper over the old drywall creating a tapered edge on the old drywall.Then use paper tape, wet the tape in a bucket of water and use Durabond to apply the tape over the tapered edge created by the ButtTaper. The Tape will imbed itself over the old drywall tapered edge and the tapered edge on the new drywall.Use Durabond on the 2nd coat and joint compound on the last coat resulting in a flat butt joint.I have used it with this method on flooded basements...it's the best drywall repair tool.It's made of aircraft grade aluminum and will last forever...on two jobs you get your money back and then it makes money for you.
I think Santa Clauss needs to get us all a Butt Taper for Xmas this year :^)
Either that or a Butt wacking!
You have what you have and have to go for it .
You decided to only replace a foot up now dont get picky about how its gonna look. Cheap doesnt go with quality no matter how you want to slice it . UNless you have a magician that works drywall part time .
I can hide from the common eye but its only dilusional.
Basically you have a l o n g butt joint that a butt taper will not work at all becasue one side is already attached. You only have one foot on the bottom and thats not gonna bend any butt taper tatics.
That means you will have to produce a belly instead of a point that you will have and its at an angle to visually pick it up. Most of the built should be on the upper side spanning about 2 feet above at least . When its done is should look like a slight wedge starting three feet from the floor down bypassing the high mark of the joint . If thats done no one will know it but its professional work to say the least .
Tim
Basically you have a l o n g butt joint that a butt taper will not work at all becasue one side is already attached.
I think you're thinking of the technique of hiding a butt joint by recessing the edges of the DW with shims that set back several inches from the edge (such as this one: http://www.ezbacker.com/butthanger/butthanger.html).
Whereas the Butt Taper (http://www.butttaper.com/home.htm) doesn't require shims. It recesses just the very edge of the DW. I have one, but I haven't used it yet so I can't attest to how well it works, but I don't see why it wouldn't work in this particular situation.
http://www.butttaper.com/tooloperation.htmI dont really understand what the tool does .
Describes provindg a backer board inbetween studs which is a good idea.
I screw off every 6 inches on normal but joints to compress as much as I can.
Putting a backer behind the rock to screw to in between the studs make the drywall line up but doesnt make an indention becasue its loose backing .
What does the wheel do?
Tim
The wheel creates an indentation at the edge of the boards which allows for a fillet of compound much like a typical taper joint, but on a much smaller scale.
Overall, the website itself provides a reasonable description of the tool and how to use it, but it's so unlike the way we've always done things that it may take a few reads to get it.
Edit: I recently lent my Butt Taper to Shep who said he was going to post his experience with it. I'm hoping he happens along this thread add adds his comments.
Edited 9/12/2008 2:26 pm ET by DonCanDo
good enough then.