2

I was in a hurry and I did not realize that if I use an entire sheet the joint with the next piece will fall between the furring strips. This is on the ceiling.

Since the two tapered edges (the 8' edges) are not screwed to anything obviously they are not completely level. From what I am reading a solution would be to add a backer board and screw the edges to it. Is that ok?

enter image description here

Update: The biggest challenge with adding this backer board after the fact is that you need to keep the backer board centered on the joing so I ended up drilling two holes at each end, all of them on the median longitudinal axis and I pulled a piece of wire through them to keep the board centered and at the end to pull the board downward while putting in the screws . At the end I removed the wires

enter image description here

Final result
enter image description here

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    I'm not sure why the wire business was necessary. Couldn't you have just screwed the block to one sheet when you put it in place?
    – isherwood
    Aug 26 '21 at 19:49
  • 1
    No because I had very little access to the ends of the board to make sure it is simetrically placed along the joint. I pushed the board in position from a point well behind the camea where the ceilling was still open
    – MiniMe
    Aug 26 '21 at 21:13
3

Yep, just float a backer of some sort. Anything that will hold a screw will do. Between the various adjacent tape joints and the rigidity of the drywall it'll finish just fine. This should be the exception, not the rule, of course. You probably wouldn't want to float the edges of all sheets across an entire ceiling.

One caveat: If you're floating an entire long edge you're losing a substantial quantity of the fasteners which would normally carry the weight of the sheet. To compensate, add more to the nearby joists you cover with that sheet and the adjacent sheet.

This is actually a legitimate technique for creating very flat ceilings (and walls). It involves using floating backing along with thin furring strips set back a few inches, resulting in a depressed butt joint similar to the tapered edge joints.

It's also how many patch repairs are done after doing work in the framing, such as plumbing or electrical.

Improve this answer
0
0

your furring should be level enough that the edges do align perfectly, but even then you still need backing you can use wood or you can glue drywall strips to the back.

Improve this answer
-1

The only way I know to correct this problem is to remove some of the drywall and replace it correctly. Do it right the first time and you will not experience this problem. Furring strips are supposed to be set at 16" centers so this will not happen. I know of no other way to fix this problem.

After adding the link and picture that shows the backer board, that would be an OK fix

my 2 cents.

Improve this answer
2
  • Please see the link that I added to the initial post
    – MiniMe
    Aug 26 '21 at 12:36
  • 4
    Not true. Acres of drywall have been installed with floating backing in various forms.
    – isherwood
    Aug 26 '21 at 12:43

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.