Calling All Drywall Finishers - HELP!

rossross1

I have been a drywall finisher for 25 years, almost exclusively new construction. I have a problem that has recently started showing up that I have never had before.

Moments after taping a seam, the mud starts to bulge out the tape down the middle , right on the seam. It is happening on ceilings and walls, more with bazooka seams than hand-taped, but on the hand-taped too. Sometimes it bulges out moments after I've wiped down, but sometimes I come back in the morning to find it has dried with a bulge. I live in Alaska, so was trying to figure in a scientific explanation - perhaps the job's too cold and then when it heats up, any air behind or in the mud expands, but it's happening even when the job has been well heated before I start, and it's been the same way for 25 years! I have always used Beadex All-Purpose Light and Beadex tape with great results until the past 7 or so months. I work on high end houses, so the finishing has to be flawless.
Anyone else experienced this? Or do you know if Beadex has changed their tape or compound?

I'd really appreciate any feedback, as this is just too time-consuming and frustrating.

Thanks in advance!

Frankawitz

sounds like water content is high in the mud, maybe add some Durabond to thicken it up. use 90. could be high humidity

Brockster

The first thing that came to my mind is the rocks tapered edge. The manufacturers seem to be using less heat and we are getting crappy shoulders and more rounded edges on the seams.
Next house try and prefill (with durabond) the seams in one room before you tape and see if that cures it. I know we have a company around here that exclusively uses "prefill board" that you must prefill all the seams before you tape or you will get exactly what you are describing.
I'm thinking you just got some crappy rock but without actually seeing it it is hard to say for sure what it is. Hope you get a fix and please let us know when you find out.

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dryrocker27

we have the same problem when we get a new man on the wipe down after the bazooka.
I find that a new man will apply to much force to the blade and stretch the tape in an effort to get the mud out from behind the tape. The tape them pulls back, but the tape now has that ridge down the middle.
We also get that ridge if there is too much gap between the seams or butt joints. We will pre-fill these gaps as Brockster suggests.
These two things have eliminated this problem for us for a very long time now.

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Robert

Tim0282

I've gone to a bit softer knife and don't wipe as much mud from behind the tape and also fill the recession completely with the taping mud. Seems to be less of the problem. Pre-filling definitely helps solve the problem.

oldrivers

sometimes the wallboard handlers will drag the sheets edges accross ledges etc while stocking a house this can loosen smash the paper from the drywall causing the bubble to come from the sheet itself its not always easy to see until after youve mud it then it losens up more. next time inspect the edge after its hung ive had to cut out miles of ruined drywall and then prefill it with durabond before taping. That might not be the problem your having though but just throwing it out there.

Capt-Sheetrock

I've been haveing the same problem, Haven't changed anythnig from the way I been doing it for years. I was wondering if I'm going crazy,,,err,,, crazier! I'm in NC, so it can't be cold weather thats causing the problem. I notice it regardless of what type of mud or temp, so its not the brand of mud your using. All I have come up with is it must be Al-kida and some sort of terrorist plot. I agree that it does seem to help, to back off a little and not pull the tape as hard when wiping down, that seems to help, but its not really the answer to this delimea, look forward to someone with more expertise(sense) to figure this out. I think that prefilling probbly would solve the prob, but I really don't want to add an extra step to correct a problem that should not occur, must be another way

Brockster

Can you look and just see if you guys are getting board that has a more round than square edge in the seam? We've been getting drywall that's hard to tell if it's prefill board or not. Prefill board has a rounded edge with a little more recess.
Good drywall will have a nice squared edge with no need to prefill but the crap I've gotten lately I'm doing more prefill than ever.

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Master of some

IT might be the chinese crap that was around here in FL for a while. We told all our suppliers NO CHINESE ****!

rossross1

Have you changed tape brand at all ? I was wondering if the tape I'm getting, which has no brand name on it, might be inferior and stretching into a big fat wrinkle with the moisture in the mud. Might mean I have to drive 2 hours to the next supplier to get better tape...

Capt-Sheetrock

I still am just as clueless as ever about this, I have used usg tape and proform tape.. at this point my solution is to go around the day after I bed, and bust out (double) all the proud tape spots. I just feel that its coming from the mud and not from the board, they have changed the mud formulas so much over the lase few years, but then again it doesn't seem to matter what brand of mud you use, so did all the brands change? don't seem right either. Again I'm clueless and frustrated about this. One real good waste of time is to ask the manufactures. They will only spend 30 minutes explaining that whatever problem your haveing (fill in the blank) is your fault, and that NO problem you ever have is their fault, kinda like agrueing with your wife

Brockster

The mudds have changed over the years and you may be onto something there but my bet is on inferior drywall. They went from something like nine layers of paper to four or five plus I would guess since natural gas prices are so high that they are cutting cost by not drying the board enough and therefor we are getting boards with a higher recess edge (shoulder) and a rounder edge to the seam and the hangers can't get the boards tight together.
If you call the drywall manufacturer they might send a guy out to have a good look at the problem but they will tell you it's you, you're hangers or the mudd but never that it is their drywall that is bad. They might even give you a free teeshirt out of the deal.

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taper71

I ran into this problem again yesterday. I followed another persons advise and eased up on the wiping and that helped alot. It was wierd at first because I have been wiping with the same amount of pressure for a long time to suddenly change. My big fear is that the tape will not be resessed enough in the bevel, but that I will find out when I get to work.
I' am almost starting to think that it is something in the tape itself now.

hazydays

we been taping for years and ran into a problem that seems a lot like yours . the tape was not lying flat no matter what we did . we tried drier mud and other things , then we noticed that the tape we had been using for years had changed , the paper tape used to be perferated ( tiny pinholes) and now it was solid . we found another tape that is perferated and the problem has now gone away . I think that maybe the holes in the tape let out the moisture better and the tape lays flat ...

BUTCHERMAN

Any time you use lightweight compound to tape this problem happens. I'm Suprized It has'nt happen earlier. When you water down lightweight it makes it worse. For some reason it seams like lightweight expands when it dries.Thats why we use it for 2nd coat. We use all purpose joint compound (green bucket) for taping. The key is it shrinks a lot which sucks the tape tighter to the wall which makes it ideal for taping. It also waters down better for your bazzoka. I think that will solve your problem. The other thing and this may be a stretch is check your rock delivery. If the deliveries are being dropped on the floor lightly they may dammage the board minor enough that you don't pick it up on cut out. But it shows up on tape coat. I'm assuming that the swells are solid so i think changing compound is the solution. good luck.

f. Stephenson

In the nashville, tennesse market we are experiencing hairline cracks in the tape joints weeks after the jobs are sanded. Maybe 20 plus drywall subs all buying usg products. This first appeared 2 years ago and has gotten progressively worse. The tear outs and repairs often crack and require a repeat repair. The cost of repair and repaint is out of control and completely unpredictable ---- all temperatures--- not season specific---- over standard framing lumber as well as manufactured, structural lumber substitutes.
Related to the current discussion??? or another manifestation from formula changes??

BUTCHERMAN

I've Used Usg Products For 20 Years And Don't Have That Problem.The Only Thing I Can Think Of Is The Lumber Company Storing Their Stuff Outside.Sometime If The Lumber Has Moisture In It When It's Rocked As It Drys It Shrinks And Takes The Board With It.Are You Also Getting Screw Pops? Thats Usally A Tell Tale Sign.

oldrivers

Im wondering if theres enough heat for the tape to dry sufficiently. Ive heard other subs making comments about tapers crying about heat cause they work outside in the cold and think tapers should be able to deal with it also . I cant tell you how many idiots i have to make a point about the drywall needing the heat and not me neccesarily.

The transition from summer to winter often happens slow enough where as heat isnt brought in soon enough. Heat related taping problems are probably the most common . ive gone from wallboard to wallboard brand , mud brand i usually use pro form or USG never have had problems in the summer only winter. Also the insualtion scedule for "attics" isnt adjusted for winter until the last minuete sometimes , also no siding can cause some problems in areas. Subs often dont adjust fast enough to keep up with the cold. Attics should be blown in as soon as possble when lids are screwed off or soon after wards.

rossross1

I just ran and grabbed some tape thinking you may be on to something, but no, it still has the little perforations.

dryrocker27

I have enjoyed all the posts and we have been using pro-form tape and pro-form machine grade mud for years now. I agree that alot people are using lite-weight compounds now and that may be the problem.

We use bazookas to tape with, so the mud is thin, 2 quarts of water to a bucket. we only have this problem when a new man applies to much pressure to the knife when wiping the tape down. we prefill any gaps that concern us.

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Robert