Fixing 'bad' drywall tape? (BIG PICTURES)

[1940_dodge]

I'm getting ready to finally paint my garage but now I'm at the point where I'm sanding all the drywall mud to make it look good and ran into this problem:

I don't know if it's because they used ****** tape, or if it's something else but you can see how it split and is now hanging down. My question is, do I need to remove all the old tape and redo it myself or is there some way I can repair this without redoing everything?

 

[1940_dodge]

Also a couple progress pictures:

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/3qHm6/embed"></iframe>

 

[38 Dodge Coupe]

It's not unusual for that to happen. I would suggest you remove as much of the loose material that you can using your small drywall knife ( 6" blade should do nicely) Then take your drywall "mud" and spread it on the area to be refinished. Embed the drywall tape into the mud and draw your drywall knife across it to stick the tape into the mud and level the finishing compound. When that dries you can do a second coat and use your next larger drywall blade to feather the compound out to further blend it into the existing drywall. If you are careful you will need very little sanding before you paint. Make sure you prime the area before you paint as it will act as a sponge and could cause the finish to look different in that area.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

It looks to me that the tape is embedded fine. I'd knock the high spots down with a 6" knife and add more mud.

Richard

 

[RivennHewn]

No, you're not ready for any sanding yet.

Looks to me like you starved the joint of wet mud.

Knock it all down flat with a taping knife, then start over with the mud.

Leave a little more on, and remember to feather it out. You should end up at least 3x as wide as you show in the pic.

What level are you trying to finish to?

Looks like your at "Fire tape". or level 1

Level 5 is perfectly flat and smooth walls.

 

[mtmgtz]

It looks to me that the tape is embedded fine. I'd knock the high spots down with a 6" knife and add more mud.

Richard

If the tape is split (like he said), that isn't going to help much. It needs to be retaped.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If the tape is split (like he said), that isn't going to help much. It needs to be retaped.

True. I couldn't see any split in the tape in the pictures supplied.

 

[1940_dodge]

It's not unusual for that to happen. I would suggest you remove as much of the loose material that you can using your small drywall knife ( 6" blade should do nicely) Then take your drywall "mud" and spread it on the area to be refinished. Embed the drywall tape into the mud and draw your drywall knife across it to stick the tape into the mud and level the finishing compound. When that dries you can do a second coat and use your next larger drywall blade to feather the compound out to further blend it into the existing drywall. If you are careful you will need very little sanding before you paint. Make sure you prime the area before you paint as it will act as a sponge and could cause the finish to look different in that area.

I was worried this was going to be the answer, just means doing the whole thing all over again. One reason I was happy when I got the house was that the previous owner had already done all the overhead drywall..

Thanks for everyones input, looks like I have to redo it.

 

[1940_dodge]

No, you're not ready for any sanding yet.

Looks to me like you starved the joint of wet mud.

Knock it all down flat with a taping knife, then start over with the mud.

Leave a little more on, and remember to feather it out. You should end up at least 3x as wide as you show in the pic.

What level are you trying to finish to?

Looks like your at "Fire tape". or level 1

Level 5 is perfectly flat and smooth walls.

I want to get it to your level 5, ideally I'd like it to be like an indoor paintjob.

 

[JakeKohl]

whew...I see that the red is a photoshop job. I don't know if that was a prospective color or a way to highlight other things - but if you are going to paint red, be SURE to get a tinted primer to put under it. I learned this after the seventh coat on a red room trying to get it to cover. Red is a really difficult paint color because it covers so poorly.

 

[retfr8flyr]

When I painted the red stripe around my garage, it took 4 coats even with a tinted primer. I absolutely hate painting red.

 

[JakeKohl]

When I painted the red stripe around my garage, it took 4 coats even with a tinted primer. I absolutely hate painting red.

I'll never paint anything on a wall red every again either. It's really terrible.

 

[1940_dodge]

whew...I see that the red is a photoshop job. I don't know if that was a prospective color or a way to highlight other things - but if you are going to paint red, be SURE to get a tinted primer to put under it. I learned this after the seventh coat on a red room trying to get it to cover. Red is a really difficult paint color because it covers so poorly.

Yeah, I'm trying to compare other colors but I'm leaning towards red right now with a white ceiling and white crown molding on the top and the bottom of the walls. I have a red wall in my house and it looks great, I just hope I don't run into any problems.

 

[Morrison]

I want to get it to your level 5, ideally I'd like it to be like an indoor paintjob.

If you want a "level 5" job you should probably hire someone to do it. I assume you haven't done much drywall work since you were trying to sand and paint with pretty much no mudding done.

A garage is a good place to learn how to mud. Watch some videos and read up.

 

[1940_dodge]

If you want a "level 5" job you should probably hire someone to do it. I assume you haven't done much drywall work since you were trying to sand and paint with pretty much no mudding done.

A garage is a good place to learn how to mud. Watch some videos and read up.

No, I was asking if there was an easy way to fix the previous owners work.

 

[Kevin54]

Rip the tape off and start back from square one. Put up new tape, and re-mud the joints properly.

 

[Trey T]

I started using mesh tape whenever possible except for inside corner, then I use paper tape. In my old home, I had a room with mostly mesh tape. It has been doing well, no crack, for over ten years now. This room has no climate control.

Therefore, I suggest ditching the paper tape and use mesh tape if you have to do it over again.

Floating compound is a develop skill and if you can't float it to 99% smooth, I highly suggest you don't try. The other 1% requires sanding and that's what you want to do, very minimal sanding.

 

[Pointbock]

I think this is a pretty typical situation, and I'm in the same boat. When we bought the house, the garage had been drywalled and "fire-taped." The previous owner just parked in the garage, put up some rudimentary shelves and threw his lawn-care stuff in the corner.

Then a Garage Journal subscriber moved in and wanted to improve the form and function of the place. I/We hope that we can start with what we have and achieve a decent result but to get the look/finish we want, it means scraping back and starting over. It would have been easier if the fire-taping had never happened.

In my case I don't know why they did it. There are no codes to worry about, and they did so many other things half-assed that I'm surprised that fire-taping the garage was even done. If you ever meet a guy named Ben Lee that built a house and garage in Chugiak, Alaska, bang his wife for me.

 

[mtmgtz]

In my case I don't know why they did it. There are no codes to worry about, and they did so many other things half-assed that I'm surprised that fire-taping the garage was even done. If you ever meet a guy named Ben Lee that built a house and garage in Chugiak, Alaska, bang his wife for me.

*makes notes* Bang Ben Lee's wife. Got it.

 

[wnstwolf]

10X on TreyT suggestion. The mesh is a little more money but will not split like that. I find is a lot easier to work with and usually has you ready to sand/paint after that second coat. The paper seems to force me to go o a third final coat. UMMV

 

[atty5420]

You may also like to develop a little skill with a spray bottle of water. Bone dry joints don't get along very well with mud. Keep things wet and damp. The smoothing goes a whole lot easier.

 

[FrankieD]

Am I the only one not seeing nearly enough screws holding that drywall up? The reason your tape split like that is the drywall is moving probably every time you open and close the door to the house. You have got some work to do there!

 

[Bigplum]

The red reminds me of this

 

[The Cobbler]

Am I the only one not seeing nearly enough screws holding that drywall up? The reason your tape split like that is the drywall is moving probably every time you open and close the door to the house. You have got some work to do there!

there's definitely movement in that joint . needs to be secured or anything will let go there

 

[1940_dodge]

Went ahead and just redid all the ceiling tape and some wall joints. Not close to being perfect but not bad for my first attempt. I can post pictures later today.

 

[The Cobbler]

Great! How do you like taping so far? LOL

 

[Fcvapor05]

Am I the only one not seeing nearly enough screws holding that drywall up? The reason your tape split like that is the drywall is moving probably every time you open and close the door to the house. You have got some work to do there!

If you look at the other pics in his album, he's got what looks to me like screws at 12" in the field, which is what I've always done with good results. Can't tell on the edges, but OP it should be 8".