I enjoyed the “Invisible Drywall Seams” article by Myron Ferguson in the June/July 2004 issue of Find Homebuilding. I’m a DIY and wonder if someone can give me some further advice on joining new and old drywall. I removed the rough sawn cedar paneling below a chair rail in my family room, and have replaced the bottom “row” of drywall whose paper was torn where the paneling was glued to the drywall. I made a cut 1″ above the lower edge of the upper sheets of drywall and removed the tape and compound, but the edges of the upper sheets are still 1/8″ proud of the new lower sheets. Should I trim the upper sheets with a knife to make the edges the same thickness before I tape this joint? Or should I just leave the upper sheet as is, in good paper condition, and simply build up the lower sheet with compound before adding the tape? Your advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Ron
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Perhaps when you cut off that one inch from the old drywall, you also cut of its built-in taper. Then the new drywall has this taper, so it seems thinner. I'm not a drywaller, but I think trying to restore the taper to the upper sheet would be a lost cause.