Drywall installation when ceiling joists lower at the edge

ceilingcrackdrywalldrywall-mudjoists

I am trying to install ceiling drywall and everything is fine until I reach the edge.

You can see there are 3 2×8 joists at the edge and it's somehow positioned 1/2" to 1" lower than the rest. So my drywall basically flush to the bottom of the 2×8 lumbers.

My questions are:

  1. Is it OK to just putting drywall compound and paper and sand this 6" area? I think it will terribly crack later due to wood vs. drywall movement.

  2. If not, how best to cover this area and make it smooth with the rest of the ceiling without having to use any trim/moulding?

Thanks.

UPDATE 1

Here is another photo at the corner where the joist lumber is almost 1/2" lower:

enter image description here

  1. Could I use Floor Ram Board such as https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ram-Board-38-in-x-50-ft-Temporary-Floor-Protection-Roll-RB-38×50/202823781 to nail and create a smooth transition?

  2. Could I use 1/4" plywood with 3 feet width and mount as in the green area below? Then I can slowly mud the 1/4" thickness difference to spread for maybe 1-2 feet more.

  3. Would "Rock Hard Water Putty" (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rock-Hard-1-Water-Putty-1-lb-Cream-Powder/23217846) work to fill the gap and not use anything else? I have tried this before and it's as hard as wood once dried.

enter image description here

Best Answer

  1. No. That's in no way going to yield a satisfactory result for the reason you mentioned.

  2. By now you realize that you should've examined the framing before you began hanging drywall. You have two options:

    • Pull down part of the drywall and install shims on the joists approaching the beam to blend into it, creating a downslope in the ceiling. You could reduce the amount of the slope by using some 1/4" drywall under the beam itself and setting your other drywall flush with that.
    • Pull down all the drywall and shim the entire area down flush with the beam.
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