Author Topic: air bubbles under tape in drywall  (Read 4254 times)

CptCool

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air bubbles under tape in drywall
« on: November 05, 2018, 09:45:36 AM »
So I hate hanging/taping/mudding drywall and had a garage that needed a finished ceiling for insulation purposes (living room directly above the garage). I paid someone to come out to do it, but it seems like they did an absolutely terrible job and I'm not sure if it's possible to fix it, or if it needs to be redone.

I can post actual pics later tonight, but there are bubbles where the tape isn't adhered properly to the mud underneath. It isn't just a few places, it happened in A LOT of the joints. The mud was applied in approx 45-55 degree weather and I believe 45 min easy sand drywall mix was used (not 100% certain though).

Can I simply cut out the bubbles and apply some new mud to flatten? Or will this cause cracks later since there would be sections without tape? Here's a couple images similar to what I'm talking about courtesy of google image search:


Jon Bon

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2018, 10:17:07 AM »
So I hate hanging/taping/mudding drywall and had a garage that needed a finished ceiling for insulation purposes (living room directly above the garage). I paid someone to come out to do it, but it seems like they did an absolutely terrible job and I'm not sure if it's possible to fix it, or if it needs to be redone.

I can post actual pics later tonight, but there are bubbles where the tape isn't adhered properly to the mud underneath. It isn't just a few places, it happened in A LOT of the joints. The mud was applied in approx 45-55 degree weather and I believe 45 min easy sand drywall mix was used (not 100% certain though).

Can I simply cut out the bubbles and apply some new mud to flatten? Or will this cause cracks later since there would be sections without tape? Here's a couple images similar to what I'm talking about courtesy of google image search:



Well that sucks.... Hopefully you did not pay the guy yet? One or two bubbles I would let him fix but if there are lots of them I would not have him back. Find another guy. They are all over CL just have to call a few.

Based on the pictures that just does not look like a very professional muddling job. Pro's tend to use a surprisingly small amount of mud because any excess they are going to have to laboriously sand back off.  So not only do the bubbles look bad it looks like too much mud.


sisto

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2018, 11:10:44 AM »
It's possible to fix. You can use a box knife to cut out the tape where the bubble is. Then just feather it over, but I would sand down all of the extra first.

GuitarStv

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2018, 11:26:23 AM »
It's possible to fix. You can use a box knife to cut out the tape where the bubble is. Then just feather it over, but I would sand down all of the extra first.

+1

However, I would expect to have to do that if I half-assed the fix.  If you hired a guy, it shouldn't be necessary.

CptCool

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2018, 11:31:40 AM »
Well that sucks.... Hopefully you did not pay the guy yet? One or two bubbles I would let him fix but if there are lots of them I would not have him back. Find another guy. They are all over CL just have to call a few.

Based on the pictures that just does not look like a very professional muddling job. Pro's tend to use a surprisingly small amount of mud because any excess they are going to have to laboriously sand back off.  So not only do the bubbles look bad it looks like too much mud.

Sorry those pictures are just ones i found on google images to show what i meant by tape bubbles - I'll add my own pictures later tonight after work.

I did pay the guy 50% after he hung, but will not be paying him the last 50% and will not be having him re-finish as it was such a terrible job. Unfortunately it is too cold now to actually complete until spring as I'm in MN and I was cutting it close as-is temperature-wise.


It's possible to fix. You can use a box knife to cut out the tape where the bubble is. Then just feather it over, but I would sand down all of the extra first.

If I have to cut out an entire width of tape in various sections, do you still simply put on more mud, or do you have to re-apply tape to the sections removed?

Car Jack

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2018, 12:35:48 PM »
There are a number of ways to fix it.  I've done my own drywall work but am no pro.  I tend to use the mesh instead of tape.  Takes more steps but also gives me more chances to catch and fix any problems along the way.

If a pro did that, I'd be pretty unhappy.  My response would be "you screwed this up.  When it's fixed, I'll pay you the rest".

BlueMR2

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2018, 06:29:18 PM »
There are a number of ways to fix it.  I've done my own drywall work but am no pro.  I tend to use the mesh instead of tape.  Takes more steps but also gives me more chances to catch and fix any problems along the way.

Once I used mesh for the first time I never went back to tape!

lthenderson

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2018, 07:18:42 AM »
If I have to cut out an entire width of tape in various sections, do you still simply put on more mud, or do you have to re-apply tape to the sections removed?

Not a pro either but when I get a bubble, I always cut away the section of tape, apply more tape and mud. The problem is if you just cut the air bubble to let the air out and apply mud on top, there is still nothing adhering the tape to drywall. Even if you can somehow get mud in-between the tape and drywall, the tape has hardened up from the previous attempt and will never look right without lots of mudding and feathering.

Fishindude

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2018, 10:30:19 AM »
Just cut out the bad spot with a razor knife, remud and retape.  No big deal, this stuff happens and once repaired it will be fine.   Drywall isn’t rocket science. 

jpdx

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2018, 02:15:37 AM »
Sorry to hijack but I have the same problem in my house! Problem is I can't cut out the tape because the old joint compound has asbestos. Is it possible to mud over the bubbles or any other solutions that don't involve disturbing the old mud?

lthenderson

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Re: air bubbles under tape in drywall
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2018, 09:29:17 AM »
Sorry to hijack but I have the same problem in my house! Problem is I can't cut out the tape because the old joint compound has asbestos. Is it possible to mud over the bubbles or any other solutions that don't involve disturbing the old mud?

Wear a mask and wet the area with the bubble. Gently scrape it off and put it into a sealed bag and dispose. Remud the area. Asbestos danger is breathing in the fibers. Wetting the area and not generating dust are the keys to keeping yourself safe.

You can mud over bubbles but essentially you are applying mud to a point deeper than the bubble is tall and then feathering it into the rest of the wall. If the original mud has asbestos, feathering the mud to look decent will have the same issues with asbestos so it is much easier to remove the bubble and work a smaller area.

 

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