drywall problem - how to fix?

[nereo]

Previous owner left me all sorts of interesting "challenges" to fix/repair.  This latest one has me stumped.

There's a 4" piece of drywall between an inside and outside corner - both unfinished and done sloppily. Worse, they ran hot/cold copper pipes *outside* the drywall, and very near one edge.  Because of how the pipe is run there is only so much wiggle-room there.

Current idea is to extend the drywall almost to the door jamb, hiding the pipes inside. I could affix a 2x3 next to the door jamb then drywall the whole thing.    I'm just not certain about working with so little space.  Thoughts?

(see photo)

[MetalCap]

It sounds like your current idea could work.  You could also look to put in a small metal stud/channel to accomplish the fir out.

Just make sure you have screw guards.  Had a similar odd area and figured it out over a month just to put the last screw right thru the copper.

[nereo]

It sounds like your current idea could work.  You could also look to put in a small metal stud/channel to accomplish the fir out.

Just make sure you have screw guards.  Had a similar odd area and figured it out over a month just to put the last screw right thru the copper.

ouch!  That's definitely one thing I seek to avoid here.  Normally I'd just make sure the pipes were far enough from the edge that screws wouldn't reach (i.e. 1 1/4" from the edge), but because of how they go through the floor and ceiling I'm pretty much stuck with where they are.

[BudgetSlasher]

It sounds like your current idea could work.  You could also look to put in a small metal stud/channel to accomplish the fir out.

Just make sure you have screw guards.  Had a similar odd area and figured it out over a month just to put the last screw right thru the copper.

ouch!  That's definitely one thing I seek to avoid here.  Normally I'd just make sure the pipes were far enough from the edge that screws wouldn't reach (i.e. 1 1/4" from the edge), but because of how they go through the floor and ceiling I'm pretty much stuck with where they are.

It isn't just from the side, it is also from the face of the drywall. Imagine someone wants to drive a screw later (some folks hang pictures win drywall with a screw) or drills in for a drywall anchor and hit the pipe which is very close the the backside of the drywall.

I had one leak in my house that I finally tracked back to a copper pipe that was firmly pressed against the back side of the drywall, someone had done the old knock-to-find-a-stud trick and found the pipe . . . then drove several screws into the "stud"

But, yes, your idea of furring out the wall with some additional lumber and adding a new layer of drywall to enclose the pipes seems sound.

[PMG]

I'm suggesting the lazy way out that really depends on the aesthetic of the rest of the room/house.  Drywall work is just so messy and slow and if it's directly against the pipes could condensation be an issue?  My quick fix would be to build a corner out of 1x and cover the mess with it?  Just guessing on dimensions, but if the narrow side is a 1x4 and the wider side is a 1x6. I'd attach the pieces to each other first to make the corner, then the finished corner would overlap the drywall and you could be sure you had safe nailing room. My current house has 1x4 and wider trim everywhere.  It's a bit heavy, but a remnant from being DIYed in the 1910s.  Paint it to match the wall and it should almost disappear.   

[nereo]

Not a terrible thought with just using trim pieces, since this is a transitional space (mud room from garage into house. 
I’ve got some spare trim lying around so I might mock up some pieces and see how it looks.

But.... the **entire space** is unfinished and sloppily done, so I’m going to spend a weekend or two essentially redoing drywall, including a bulkhead.  So this is just one more challenge of many. 

Right now since the entire space will be mudded, taped, sanded and painted I want to just have this done as cleanly as possible.  Do it right now...