In two rooms, there appears to be raised stripe between the sheets of
drywall on the ceiling. I am not aware of water damage or leaks that
may have caused this (ranch house, no rooms above). This looks to be
exactly the width of the drywall tape used.

I am not planning to re-drywall ceilings, but is there a nice way of
fixing this. Should I try to smooth it out by mudding around the
stripe?

C_kubie

wrote in message
oups.com...
In two rooms, there appears to be raised stripe between the sheets of
drywall on the ceiling. I am not aware of water damage or leaks that
may have caused this (ranch house, no rooms above). This looks to be
exactly the width of the drywall tape used.

I am not planning to re-drywall ceilings, but is there a nice way of
fixing this. Should I try to smooth it out by mudding around the
stripe?

C_kubie

Ceilings are tough, at least for me. The way I have seen tape installed is
to have a bed of mud then push the tape into it. So far so good. Then you
have to put several light layers of mud over that with gradually larger
blades finishing off with about 14-16". This is exactly where I have
problems. I just finished my patio ceiling. 8' X10'. Just 4 seams to do. I
finished off by using drywall mud like pancake batter with a 1 inch nap
roller. Literally took a bath in it. After sanding and one coat of paint it
looks pretty good.

Drywall taping is all in the wrist. Something like the jitter bug, something
that has just plum eluded me. Lots of good light is best for ceilings

is there a nice way of fixing this. Should I try to smooth it out by
mudding around the stripe?

Pull down the old tape and start over. It won't be all that hard to do.
Opinions differ, but I find fiberglass tape easier to use in situations like
this. With luck you may not have to add too much more mud, and the less you put
on, the easier the sanding. Look over the NG archives for many good tips on
techniques. Dood luck.

Joe

Peel off the tape. You might as well fix it now. First off how long is the
problem area? If it is 4 feet, you probably have a butt seam, and this is
going to be a little tricky. If it is a long seam the taper probably left
too thick a layer of mud under the tape. To fix this you need to get mud
sanded down so you can re-tape the seam and have enough room to set the tape
under the tapered edge of the sheetrock.

If this is a but seam you are going to have to cover over the tape without
the help of the taper. This means you need to make a inconspicuous pile of
mud about 16 inches wide and 1/16 thick in the center.

You also need to be sure the panel is secure to the joists. Push up and see
if the panel is floating. If it is screw it down securely before mudding.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.
wrote in message
oups.com...
In two rooms, there appears to be raised stripe between the sheets of
drywall on the ceiling. I am not aware of water damage or leaks that
may have caused this (ranch house, no rooms above). This looks to be
exactly the width of the drywall tape used.

I am not planning to re-drywall ceilings, but is there a nice way of
fixing this. Should I try to smooth it out by mudding around the
stripe?

C_kubie

Are you sure it is drywall tape? Sometimes the contact line between the
strapping or joists will show through drywall, unrelated to drywall tape. I
think it is something to do with different temperature/moisture of the
drywall in direct contact with the underlying wood, as opposed to contact
with overlying insulation elsewhere. Dust in the air deposits at a different
rate depending on the above factors, resulting in lines showing through
years later. You need to be sure before you start....

Dave

wrote in message
oups.com...
In two rooms, there appears to be raised stripe between the sheets of
drywall on the ceiling. I am not aware of water damage or leaks that
may have caused this (ranch house, no rooms above). This looks to be
exactly the width of the drywall tape used.

I am not planning to re-drywall ceilings, but is there a nice way of
fixing this. Should I try to smooth it out by mudding around the
stripe?

C_kubie

the areas are long since painted over and I wouldn't be able to locate
the tape within in order to pull it up.

I am trying to avoid doing serious ceiling work, and I am looking for
an easy solution so it doesn't look so bad. I was considering mudding
around the area to make it more gradual. But i would probably have
difficulty matching texture of a ceiling with 5 coats of pain vs fresh
primer and one coat of paint.

c_kubie

wrote in message
ups.com...
the areas are long since painted over and I wouldn't be able to locate
the tape within in order to pull it up.

I am trying to avoid doing serious ceiling work, and I am looking for
an easy solution so it doesn't look so bad. I was considering mudding
around the area to make it more gradual. But i would probably have
difficulty matching texture of a ceiling with 5 coats of pain vs fresh
primer and one coat of paint.

c_kubie


The first step is diagnosing the exact reason you have a flaw. All of want
to avoid serious work. If we did not, there would be no such thing as
progress.

Is the line you see as wide as tape? Does it run in a strait line? hey it
is probably were the tape is. If you do not want to do the work, look for a
drywall guy and have him fix it. That way all you have to do is write the
check and paint the ceiling.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.