Drywall – Is it acceptable to use a cut edge against a tapered edge at a drywall joint

drywall

I have one 26" wide by 39" long panel left to put up and I stupidly miscalculated my drywall amounts, and I don't have any one piece big enough to cover the whole area. This piece would hit a tapered seam at the top, a wall of the left, and a door jamb on the right, and the floor sill at bottom. Rather than buying a whole new sheet of drywall, Im thinking about just putting in the longest 26" wide piece I have with a tapered edge on top (about 26 x 25) and then putting in one more scrap piece to take it to the bottom. The scrap piece would be butt jointed horizontally to the piece above.

Question, how hard would it be to hide the butt seam? Could I file down the vertical studs a bit to try and create a recess between my 26×25 and my scrap piece? I wouldn't have a ton of room to feather out the mud to the bottom, not sure if the baseboard will help hide the hump.

Best Answer

Almost any larger drywall job will have a few odd cases like that. Good tapers run their butt joints 18" wide or more as a rule. Hiding a tape overlay in that width is not difficult. Use a wide knife or trowel, but keep things thin. Remember that sanding is really only intended to knock down tiny imperfections, not shape the wall.