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Ask the Experts

Flattening a Wall

Avoid removing drywall and shimming studs to remedy a recess in a wall by filling the low spot with setting compound.

By Myron R. Ferguson Issue 301 - Aug/Sept 2021
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Fill and feather. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of removing drywall and shimming studs to remedy a recess in a wall, you may be able to fill the low spot with setting compound. If the bow is only obvious because of its proximity to trim, filling the area adjacent to the trim and blending in the compound a few feet up the wall may do the trick.

I’m remodeling an older house. The plaster was removed in a previous renovation and all the walls and ceilings are dry-walled. They’re wavy in spots, but I can live with this in most places. However, it’s very obvious where the stair stringer runs straight along a wall that bows in about 3/4 in. over about 5 ft. Is there a way to correct this without tearing out the drywall?

—Jane Harvey via email

Drywall expert Myron Ferguson replies: Although you don’t want to remove the drywall, tearing it off, ripping shims to bring the studs into plane, and re-drywalling that section may be the easiest option. Still, a 3/4-in. recess can be filled with a setting compound such as USG’s Durabond. You may need a few layers for best results.

For smaller areas you can sometimes get away with just filling along the stair stringer and blending the compound a couple of feet up the wall. In other cases you may fill in the entire recessed area. Fill most of the area with setting compound using a darby (a long, two-handed float) or wide taping knives. Use a regular (air-drying) lightweight compound for finish coats, which is easier to smooth and blend to the wall.

One last thing: It sounds like you might be working over a painted surface. A common problem here is air bubbles rising up through the compound. This can require an extra finish coat or two to fully eliminate. A trick if you are having trouble with air bubbles is to apply a finish coat of slightly thinned compound over the entire area, and then let it set for 20 minutes or so before starting to smooth it or remove excess compound. I find that USG Plus 3 is the best compound for this.

 


RELATED LINKS

  • Drywall Repairs
  • Cut Shims from Scrap Wood
  • Finishing Drywall Seams

Photo: Chris Ermides

From Fine Homebuilding #301

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