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SPECIAL STEPS FOR TAPING A DRYWALL BUTT JOINT

A butt joint is a joint where two non-recessed edges meet as shown below. What makes a butt joint more challenging to finish is the fact that the tape will not sit below the surrounding surface. I have a special procedure however that will make this finishing and taping job a lot easier.

NEW! Watch a Video Series Showing Butt Joint Taping, Beginning to End - Click Here

Step A - Follow Steps 1 thru 7 of Taping and Finishing Joints at this link. Here, it is especially important that the tape be imbedded very tightly so a minimum of tape is sticking up! Also, take care that your overcoat does not snag or rip the tape - use a wet down knife.

Step B - After scraping down the surface with a taping knife to eliminate any bumps or ridges, apply two coats, one on each side of the tape as shown below. You leave a bare region in the middle about the width of the tape.

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Step C - After scraping down the surface with a taping knife to eliminate any bumps or ridges, apply a coat over the bare region in the middle as shown below. It should overlap the two previous coats slightly.

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Step D - After scraping down the surface with a taping knife to eliminate any bumps or ridges, place two more coats on the edges overlapping the previous coat slightly as shown below. At this point, the joint is about 16-18" wide and the tape should no longer be visible at the surface.

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Step E - After scraping down the surface with a taping knife to eliminate any bumps or ridges, apply a coat in the middle that overlaps the previous two coats as shown below.

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Step F - Knock off any surface imperfections, dust or vacuum the surface, then get a lamp or trouble light and shine it at a low angle to spot any imperfections.

Fill in all drag marks, air pockets, scratches, or other imperfections with small amounts of thinned mud applied and drawn down tightly with either taping knife. I like to use the 4 1/2" knife since I can exert more pressure (and leave as little mud on the wall as possible). At this point the smaller amounts of mud will dry very quickly (within minutes). If you see faint washboard-like waves even after knocking down the surface, you can remedy this nicely by applying a very thin coat of thinned mud drawn off perpendicular to the waves as shown here (this was an outside corner) - this is a much better move than trying to sand the surface level! (sanding will actually make it worse!) When dry, knock down the surface again with the edge of the knife.

Step G- Now, finally, sand very lightly as needed with a sheet of fine 220 grit sandpaper on a 3in x 8in sanding block (also an 8" piece of 2-by-4 works well). Dust or vacuum the surface, shine a light again, and fill in any remaining imperfections with thinned out mud firmly drawn off with the knife. You should not have to sand after this again. Avoid sanding the tape or the paper surface of the drywall!

Step H- Prime and paint.

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