I’m demoing a kitchen and discovered that the top plate sticks into the room a half inch farther than the studs. The current drywall is attached to the studs and therefore is even with this top plate which leaves the problem of how to drywall the seam where the wall meets the ceiling properly.
Option one is to leave the current drywall and drywall over it including the top plate.
Option two is to remove the current drywall and reframe the wall so it is even with the top plate.
Which is better and why? Other options?
Best Answer
If it is not too large of wall I would recommend removing all the old drywall and its fasteners. Then I would shim out the studs with extension strips that even out the wall with the top plate. You may find that not all of these shims are uniform in dimension of any of the studs are bowed or out of plumb.
The shims are easily ripped from a 2x4 or 2x6 using a table saw. Then nail them in place with ring shank nails for good holding strength. (Some folks may even suggest running a bead of construction adhesive under each of these shim strips).
Removing all the old drywall allows easy access to any electrical boxes in the wall along this stretch so that they can be remounted to provide proper projection through the new drywall that you will install. If you go over the existing drywall you will have other work to extend the electrical boxes. I dislike most box extenders because they can make the inside dimension of the box face narrower and would probably not be compatible with the newer style of smart switches, dimmers and GFCI outlets.