Author Topic: mismatched thickness dry wall  (Read 2607 times)

Case

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mismatched thickness dry wall
« on: March 14, 2020, 04:44:35 PM »
My wife and I trying our first major drywalling project in our basement.  We had to rip out old drywall and now are replacing it.
The old drywall is standard 1/2" thick.  We went and picked up what we thought was 1/2", but it turns out some of it is 3/8", and is mislabeled.  This is a major pain in the ass, because we have already cut out all of our sheets to fit, cut all electrical holes, and have a number of the panels screwed to the wall (which is where i noticed the thickness difference).  Additionally, we don't own a truck; I rented a truck to get these to my house, so returning them is not a piece of cake.

I'm trying to think of how to salvage this.  Is the only option to remove it all, and replace with proper 3/8 in?
Can mudding make the 3/8in to 1/2 in transition or is it going to be way too much work (or impossible) to hide?
I've also though about going to buy 1/8 in shims to put behind the panels, to raise them to the proper thickness.  However, I haven't found a good place to get them.  The best I can find are those paint stirrers you can get for free at the big box stores, which I have read are 1/8 in thick.

Help!

BudgetSlasher

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2020, 06:23:59 PM »
Before getting through your post, my first thought was to return the drywall. If it by mislabeled you mean the product say on it self that it is 1/2, you could try and get your money back from the store, but processing it all might have made it difficult to do so. If you mean it might have been in front of the wrong sign at the hardware store ...

My second though was what was does your basement look like? Perhaps there is a corner you could switch from 1/2 to 3/8, even if it meant buying a couple sheets of 1/2. Or failing that some other transition point where it would be less noticable (or easier to mud/conceal), say behind a floor-ceiling cabinet or a stack laundry unit.

My third thought was shimming. I would suggest something other than paint stirrers. This is a bit of a kludge, but if it is acceptable to you ... there are worse things lurking behind drywall. If you have a table saw, I would rip 2-by material down to 1/8 thick and do full furring.

My fourth thought was a mud transition, but that would have to be a long tapered transition. I know that it would be beyond my skill to do so in a manner that, once painted, would be acceptable to look at.

My fifth thought was, how much drywall are we talking about here; 2 sheets or 34 sheets? You still might be better off in terms of your time and cost to repurchase the correct drywall and mark this up as a lesson that stuff at the hardware store is often put in (or dumped by other customers) in the wrong place. Or maybe, if cheaper/easier rip of the remaining 1/2 and replace it with 3/8?

YttriumNitrate

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2020, 06:45:12 PM »
I'd probably hang a few pieces of wall trim over the mismatched junctions (along with enough in the rest of the rooms to make thinks look symmetrical) and call it a day.

Dicey

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2020, 07:00:43 PM »
Shims are the easiest way to go. They sell 1/8" cardboard strips for exactly this purpose. Easy and cheap. Staple it to the studs and you're good to go. We even found a bunch of it at Restore, priced so low we bought it just in case. We ended up not needing it, so we recycled it. I kid you not, a huge handful was $1.00, mostly because they didn't know what to do with it.

Five seconds of google-fu produced this: https://www.thespruce.com/drywall-shims-4125931
« Last Edit: March 15, 2020, 01:36:28 AM by Dicey »

Case

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2020, 07:36:16 PM »
Before getting through your post, my first thought was to return the drywall. If it by mislabeled you mean the product say on it self that it is 1/2, you could try and get your money back from the store, but processing it all might have made it difficult to do so. If you mean it might have been in front of the wrong sign at the hardware store ...

My second though was what was does your basement look like? Perhaps there is a corner you could switch from 1/2 to 3/8, even if it meant buying a couple sheets of 1/2. Or failing that some other transition point where it would be less noticable (or easier to mud/conceal), say behind a floor-ceiling cabinet or a stack laundry unit.

My third thought was shimming. I would suggest something other than paint stirrers. This is a bit of a kludge, but if it is acceptable to you ... there are worse things lurking behind drywall. If you have a table saw, I would rip 2-by material down to 1/8 thick and do full furring.

My fourth thought was a mud transition, but that would have to be a long tapered transition. I know that it would be beyond my skill to do so in a manner that, once painted, would be acceptable to look at.

My fifth thought was, how much drywall are we talking about here; 2 sheets or 34 sheets? You still might be better off in terms of your time and cost to repurchase the correct drywall and mark this up as a lesson that stuff at the hardware store is often put in (or dumped by other customers) in the wrong place. Or maybe, if cheaper/easier rip of the remaining 1/2 and replace it with 3/8?

It was mislabeled.  I still have labels for 2 of the six 4x8s (6 x 4x8s total).  I also have a receipt that shows all 6 boards as 1/2 in thick.  I could take it back to them chopped up into smaller pieces, but cannot fit 4x8s in my car.  I want them to replace the mislabeled items, and even deliver to me, or let me borrow their truck for free.  But we'll see what the manager says.  They may try the "you have to talk to the manufacturer" line.

After having calmed down a bit, I agree that I really need to just to the correct install; go buy the proper thickness boards.  It's a waste of my time, and isn't really my fault (if you have to measure thickness on every board, even when they are labeled, I think it is unreasonable... but it may be the reality).  It's a better use of my time to spend a few hours with the right materials, a few extra hours processing it again, and then have a final looking result that is as nice looking as possible.
« Last Edit: March 14, 2020, 07:39:58 PM by Case »

Case

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2020, 07:38:14 PM »
I'd probably hang a few pieces of wall trim over the mismatched junctions (along with enough in the rest of the rooms to make thinks look symmetrical) and call it a day.

Unfortunately the junctions 2 ft off the ground along the entire perimeter of the basement which would look pretty weird.

Fishindude

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2020, 09:13:53 AM »
You could easily feather the joint where the 3/8" butts to the 1/2" and make it nearly un-noticeable.
My big concern would be using 3/8" material.   I'd be afraid it wouldn't hold up, bow between studs, goofy problems at door jambs, electric outlets, etc.   The only time we ever used 3/8" DW for anything was to overlay some existing drywall.

lthenderson

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2020, 03:06:56 PM »
Although I'm not as optimistic as FishinDude about the average person being able to feather the joint to make it disappear, I do agree that my concern would be the 3/8" thick holding up to everyday abuses without bowing and warping in the long run. To me, the only way to salvage what you have would be to remove it and shim it and at that point, I would just put the correct size in.

Having been in a similar situation as you once upon a time before we bought our minivan, I put a hitch on my car and bought a cheap trailer kit that I assembled and used for runs back and forth to the home center for 4 x 8 goods. Once I got a minivan that can hold 4 x 8 sheets, I sold the trailer for nearly what I paid for it ten years prior. It really pays for itself quite quickly when you eliminate those delivery fees.

Case

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2020, 04:49:37 PM »
My wife and I trying our first major drywalling project in our basement.  We had to rip out old drywall and now are replacing it.
The old drywall is standard 1/2" thick.  We went and picked up what we thought was 1/2", but it turns out some of it is 3/8", and is mislabeled.  This is a major pain in the ass, because we have already cut out all of our sheets to fit, cut all electrical holes, and have a number of the panels screwed to the wall (which is where i noticed the thickness difference).  Additionally, we don't own a truck; I rented a truck to get these to my house, so returning them is not a piece of cake.

I'm trying to think of how to salvage this.  Is the only option to remove it all, and replace with proper 3/8 in?
Can mudding make the 3/8in to 1/2 in transition or is it going to be way too much work (or impossible) to hide?
I've also though about going to buy 1/8 in shims to put behind the panels, to raise them to the proper thickness.  However, I haven't found a good place to get them.  The best I can find are those paint stirrers you can get for free at the big box stores, which I have read are 1/8 in thick.

Help!

Alright guys, i need to fess up to a major noob mistake.  They aren’t actually 3/8 in, they are 1/2 in.  I just was measuring the tapered portion of the board at the edges.

I still need to blend the 1/2 in edge to the 3/8 in tapered edge, but figure i first fill in with mud to make it flush, then proceed as normal.

BudgetSlasher

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2020, 05:06:29 PM »
My wife and I trying our first major drywalling project in our basement.  We had to rip out old drywall and now are replacing it.
The old drywall is standard 1/2" thick.  We went and picked up what we thought was 1/2", but it turns out some of it is 3/8", and is mislabeled.  This is a major pain in the ass, because we have already cut out all of our sheets to fit, cut all electrical holes, and have a number of the panels screwed to the wall (which is where i noticed the thickness difference).  Additionally, we don't own a truck; I rented a truck to get these to my house, so returning them is not a piece of cake.

I'm trying to think of how to salvage this.  Is the only option to remove it all, and replace with proper 3/8 in?
Can mudding make the 3/8in to 1/2 in transition or is it going to be way too much work (or impossible) to hide?
I've also though about going to buy 1/8 in shims to put behind the panels, to raise them to the proper thickness.  However, I haven't found a good place to get them.  The best I can find are those paint stirrers you can get for free at the big box stores, which I have read are 1/8 in thick.

Help!

Alright guys, i need to fess up to a major noob mistake.  They aren’t actually 3/8 in, they are 1/2 in.  I just was measuring the tapered portion of the board at the edges.

I still need to blend the 1/2 in edge to the 3/8 in tapered edge, but figure i first fill in with mud to make it flush, then proceed as normal.

I suggest watching some youtube videos. Generally the taper is there to recess the drywall tape into (so that there will not be a hump). a wide enough drywall knife will do all the leveling you need.

You will still have a hump the blend on the existing side of the drywall.


Gagnante

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #10 on: March 17, 2020, 01:05:30 AM »
Don't laugh but these kids do an awesome job of patching drywall when you don't have a tapered edge. Thanks to this video I patched a hole where a medicine cabinet was pulled out and I defy anyone to notice there was ever anything there.

http://www.drywallinfo.com/drywall-repair-videos.html
« Last Edit: March 17, 2020, 01:15:29 AM by Gagnante »

dougstash

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Re: mismatched thickness dry wall
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2020, 11:12:56 AM »
Hats off to you for owning the mistake!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!