PDA

View Full Version : Drywall question : Think I messed it up



Clarence Martin
11-04-2014, 8:32 PM
Recently had the bathroom sewer pipe replaced in the wall. 1st and 2nd floor bathrooms are one on top of the other. The new blueboard was put in the first floor bathroom behind the toilet where the pipe is in the wall. Got that new American Standard toilet in place and it works great. Now, the problem.....


I finally got around to painting the new Blueboard , and where they put it in, they put it in 2 pieces. Could not work with just one sheet. They taped and plastered the seam good. But, I noticed over the past few days a slight creeking sound every time I flushed the toilet. Yesterday. I took a good close look at the new drywall. I noticed a crack running down the wall where the 2 pieces are taped together.


Not having dealt with this before, I just painted the wall today. Well, the paint dried and I flushed the toilet. Yes, you guessed it!!! That crack showed up through the new paint.


Question:


1. Can I fix it by just running some fiberglass drywall tape over the new painted area where the crack is showing and then plaster over it again ? How long should I wait to do it since I just painted it today???


Thanks,

Tom M King
11-04-2014, 8:54 PM
I'm not sure if what you are talking about is the plaster backer blueboard, or the blue sheetrock. Below is assuming it's sheetrock. If it's plaster, disregard, and I'll provide a different answer.

The mesh tape is not worth anything. That may be the cause of the problem if that's what was used to start with. Plaster does not go on drywall. It's commonly called sheetrock mud or just "mud". Plaster is different altogether. Paint will never cover a crack for any length of time. Since it's been painted over, and you are asking this question, I'd say you need some outside help. I'd complain to the original drywall finishers.

If it hadn't been painted over, you could just get the mud and tape back off with a wet sponge. If you can sand the paint off without damaging the paper on the wallboard, that's the way to start the fix. Then you could sponge the crap off, and mud and tape it correctly.

The creaking sound would most likely be a plastic pipe rubbing somewhere. If you can get to the drain pipes underneath, and have someone flush the toilet, you may be able to isolate the problem.

Mike Lassiter
11-04-2014, 8:59 PM
should be a stud behind the seam which should keep the adjoining sheetrock from flexing separately. Second seems like the toilet is actually against the wall which it shouldn't be. You likely will need to remove the toilet to fix the seam, which would need to be redone again. But failing to fix the root cause you will continue having the problem.

Lee Schierer
11-05-2014, 8:05 AM
should be a stud behind the seam which should keep the adjoining sheetrock from flexing separately. Second seems like the toilet is actually against the wall which it shouldn't be. You likely will need to remove the toilet to fix the seam, which would need to be redone again. But failing to fix the root cause you will continue having the problem.

If the paint cracks when flushing, there is definitely something wrong and most likely it will only get worse not better. If drywall isn't supported behind the seams it will crack and separate. I would open up the wall and find out what is going on, even at the cost of replacing a few pieces of drywall.

Chris Padilla
11-05-2014, 11:43 AM
Can you snap a few pictures for us? I, too, am confused if you have PLASTER or DRYWALL MUD as the compound sealing the drywall joint. You did say BLUEBOARD which does imply plaster....

Kevin Bourque
11-05-2014, 4:17 PM
I'm assuming this is a spackle job and not plaster. Not many people do plaster anymore.

I've hung and finished thousands of sheets of drywall in my career.
Fiberglass tape is a great idea for fixing the crack but not with "bucket mud"( common premixed spackle in a bucket).
If you use bucket mud the tape will just fall off in a few years.
It only works with "hot mud".
That's the stuff that comes in bags and you mix it with water.

Good luck:)