Repairing Drywall Seams

[Paul]

I recently removed wall paper and after a few hot water baths and
washing the glue off. I painted the wall. After the paint had dried,
it revealed two bad horizontal seams in one of the stairwell walls.
The seams are slightly rounded to the point that it is visible in any
light. What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

[longshot]

Post by Paul
I recently removed wall paper and after a few hot water baths and
washing the glue off. I painted the wall. After the paint had dried,
it revealed two bad horizontal seams in one of the stairwell walls.
The seams are slightly rounded to the point that it is visible in any
light. What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

sand it down a bit, go over it with joint compound top coating with a 16
trowel & "float" out the bump. other options include adding wainscot, chair
rails, stucco, ect

[DAC]

Post by Paul
What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

That's what I had to do. I tried the floating out with a large knife
and trowel...but in the stairwell, and the way the light hit the
wall...it really stood out. After the steps you mentioned, it know
looks acceptable. I really don't know how the drywall crew could of
YUCKED a simple seam like that up so bad but the did. Rather than mine
out the whole seam, you could take a hand rasp, knock off the
protruding mud, and a bit more, then re-tape and mud.

On one seam, I was successful in getting to the level of the mud, and
with a small spray bottle of water wetting down the tape and removing
the tap from the seam....level it off re-tape and move on.

Good luck,

DAC

[Paul]

Post by DAC

Post by Paul
What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

That's what I had to do. I tried the floating out with a large knife
and trowel...but in the stairwell, and the way the light hit the
wall...it really stood out. After the steps you mentioned, it know
looks acceptable. I really don't know how the drywall crew could of
YUCKED a simple seam like that up so bad but the did. Rather than mine
out the whole seam, you could take a hand rasp, knock off the
protruding mud, and a bit more, then re-tape and mud.
On one seam, I was successful in getting to the level of the mud, and
with a small spray bottle of water wetting down the tape and removing
the tap from the seam....level it off re-tape and move on.
Good luck,
DAC

Thanks!

[Mike Paulsen]

Post by Paul
I recently removed wall paper and after a few hot water baths and
washing the glue off. I painted the wall. After the paint had dried,
it revealed two bad horizontal seams in one of the stairwell walls.
The seams are slightly rounded to the point that it is visible in any
light. What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

Horizontal seams in the stairway can be a problem since the drywall
often crosses the rim joist between floors. When the joists dry out (or
if there is significant seasonal moisture change) the wood
shrinkage/movement is enough to cause the drywall to crack or bulge. Or
both.

You can try repairing the seam and see how it holds up through a few
seasons. If it buckles or cracks again, you'll either have to live with
it or install an expansion joint.

If you want to try to fix the seam, carefully scrape off the paint and
mud as you can, being careful not to damage the wallboard itself. You
can loosen up the mud (assuming it wasn't a setting type mud) by wetting
with a sponge. Keep wetting and scraping until you're able to remove the
paper tape. You can then re-tape and mud it even with the existing wall.
(It's a lot of work, but adding another layer of tape and mud over the
existing joint would likely create a noticeable hump in the wall.)

Chair rail moulding is also worth considering.

[Rugburn]

Post by Mike Paulsen

Post by Paul
I recently removed wall paper and after a few hot water baths and
washing the glue off. I painted the wall. After the paint had dried,
it revealed two bad horizontal seams in one of the stairwell walls.
The seams are slightly rounded to the point that it is visible in any
light. What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

Horizontal seams in the stairway can be a problem since the drywall
often crosses the rim joist between floors. When the joists dry out (or
if there is significant seasonal moisture change) the wood
shrinkage/movement is enough to cause the drywall to crack or bulge. Or
both.
You can try repairing the seam and see how it holds up through a few
seasons. If it buckles or cracks again, you'll either have to live with
it or install an expansion joint.
If you want to try to fix the seam, carefully scrape off the paint and
mud as you can, being careful not to damage the wallboard itself. You
can loosen up the mud (assuming it wasn't a setting type mud) by wetting
with a sponge. Keep wetting and scraping until you're able to remove the
paper tape. You can then re-tape and mud it even with the existing wall.
(It's a lot of work, but adding another layer of tape and mud over the
existing joint would likely create a noticeable hump in the wall.)
Chair rail moulding is also worth considering.

Just a thought/question, as I am in the process of looking at floor
tiles and saw something about flexible grout, and we used touse a
paintable caulk in a shop where I worked. Is there something like a
paintable/flexible caulking compound or anything that might help here?
I realize that if the caulk stretches, then even paint that is well
adhered to it is going to chip/flake/peelor something...But thought I
would ask.
Thanks

[DAC]

You ask a good question. I have used paintable caulk in my drywall
repair when I removed the texturing from the ceiling and in the process
nicked or poked through the paper corner tape. a good flexible caulk
over the slit seemed much better than re-taping the whole seam.

My thought would be to save the caulking for small cracks and where
there's a definate bulging of the seam tape...I would suggest redoing
the seam.

DAC

Post by Rugburn

Post by Mike Paulsen

Post by Paul
I recently removed wall paper and after a few hot water baths and
washing the glue off. I painted the wall. After the paint had dried,
it revealed two bad horizontal seams in one of the stairwell walls.
The seams are slightly rounded to the point that it is visible in any
light. What is the best way to repair this? Mine out the seam, sand
down the edges and repair it with tape and mud??

Horizontal seams in the stairway can be a problem since the drywall
often crosses the rim joist between floors. When the joists dry out (or
if there is significant seasonal moisture change) the wood
shrinkage/movement is enough to cause the drywall to crack or bulge. Or
both.
You can try repairing the seam and see how it holds up through a few
seasons. If it buckles or cracks again, you'll either have to live with
it or install an expansion joint.
If you want to try to fix the seam, carefully scrape off the paint and
mud as you can, being careful not to damage the wallboard itself. You
can loosen up the mud (assuming it wasn't a setting type mud) by wetting
with a sponge. Keep wetting and scraping until you're able to remove the
paper tape. You can then re-tape and mud it even with the existing wall.
(It's a lot of work, but adding another layer of tape and mud over the
existing joint would likely create a noticeable hump in the wall.)
Chair rail moulding is also worth considering.

Just a thought/question, as I am in the process of looking at floor
tiles and saw something about flexible grout, and we used touse a
paintable caulk in a shop where I worked. Is there something like a
paintable/flexible caulking compound or anything that might help here?
I realize that if the caulk stretches, then even paint that is well
adhered to it is going to chip/flake/peelor something...But thought I
would ask.
Thanks