Drywall ceiling seams

3/17/2012 at 10:02:30 AM

Debby can you make a picture of your ceiling and seams?

3/17/2012 at 10:15:04 AM

Hi Debby, Nick is right - you should post a couple of pictures to give us an idea of your problems. We can't see what you are seeing.

Jim Kuzma

Kettleby Handyman Service

3/17/2012 at 10:22:18 AM

Hi Debby,

If the problem is a hump on the ceiling the length of the joint it is likely one of two reasons.

The first is simply more sanding is required to get it flat.

If however, the wallboard was put together with a butt joint (not the factory tapered edge), you will never get a perfectly flat joint, but you can make it virtually invisible. The trick is to sand it as flat as you possibly can without shredding the tape (either paper or fibreglass) then apply more drywall compound in progressively wider stripes as thin as possible and sand lightly between coats. You may find that you have to "feather" it out to 1' on either side of the joint but the end result is to achieve a hump that is so gradual that it is not noticeable to the naked eye (without a straight edge).

Finally if you are seeing a crack appearing along the joint, it is likely that 1) the installer did not tape the seam or 2) the joint of the wallboard does not land on a joist or is not adequately attached to the house structure. This unfortunately is not an easy fix and will require opening up the drywall to install backing. If this is the issue and you hired an installer, it is time to call them back. If you did it yourself, it's just a little more drywall work.

Good luck.

3/17/2012 at 10:32:31 AM

Getting a smooth finish that is not visiable on ceilings is very difficult. That's why builders love stucco, it covers up all the faults. You can get a smooth finish, but you will have to work at it. Any stucco or texture finish will cover it up. You can also use mouldings to cover the seams, if they land in a symetrical grid. Fake beams and cauffered ceilings will cover it also.