# Taping & finishing an offset joint



## Ace (Apr 14, 2009)

Greetings. Excellent forum. First post, but have been reading for a while 

I'm doing a small bathroom remodel and have an offset drywall joint to finish, where the original plaster over mortar walls are quite a bit thicker than the edge of new drywall. The offset ranges from nearly flush/even up to about 3/8" (due to the uneveness of the plaster/mortar wall). I'm not quite sure the best method to tape & finish these joints.

Should I fill in the low side first with quick set to get the joint even with the high side, let dry, then tape as normal? If I do fill-in first, should I fill-in in stages, to avoid having a very thick coat to dry (and possibly crack)?

Or, would I apply tape to the offset joint, then mud until flush? 

I have attached a photo, which hopefully shows the old wall thicker than the new drywall. 

Thank you!


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## harris drywall (Feb 19, 2009)

i see that it offset quite a bit ,i would durabond the seam with mesh tape your going to need at least 4 coats off mud on it and youll have to coat the joint at least 4 ft on each side off joint u can use e-z sand 90 for fast dryin,coat it till its flush so u cant see daylight when u put your 14 inch knife up aganst it


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## drywallnflorida (Sep 19, 2008)

put cardboard shims behind the drywall were needed to make it flush with the exisiting plaster then finish like normal


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## brdn_drywall (Apr 25, 2008)

agree with with drywallnflorida, shimming with cardboard to at least make it close will pay off in time spent applying multiple coats to misleadingly somewhat flatten out the wall.
most cardboard I've used is approximately 1/8" in thickness so it should be easy getting it close, then pre-filling with a quick setting compound to fill any gaps between plaster/drywall would be wise, then go ahead as usual.


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

I deal with this in doublewides a lot. Mesh tape, 1st coat with 5 or 20 min. Then take a 12" with a graceful arc in it, and float it out with 20 or 45 min. If you do it right you can do it with 2 coats and a little touch up. Or shim as noted earlier.


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## Ace (Apr 14, 2009)

Thank you gentlemen for the excellent suggestions. This project has been a challenge, as the old mortar/plastered walls are very wavy.


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

Ace said:


> Thank you gentlemen for the excellent suggestions. This project has been a challenge, as the old mortar/plastered walls are very wavy.


So how did you handle it? How'd it come out?


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## tapingfool (Mar 11, 2009)

please post a picture of the after look!!


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## Bevelation (Dec 20, 2008)

Pre-fill with an 8" knife.

Standard tape with 2, MAYBE 3 coats on top. Flare the butt out wide on your first fill coat.


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

Ace said:


> Thank you gentlemen for the excellent suggestions. This project has been a challenge, as the old mortar/plastered walls are very wavy.


Well expections shouldn't be too high than right bud?:yes:


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