Any Drywall Experts Here ?

[K-Dog]

I am redoing my half bath and have had some significant patching to do in the drywall. One area there was a recessed medicine cabinet. I backed it with some wood and cut some fresh drywall and taped and filled with compound.
My problem is its all wavy and I can see the tape. The directions said on the tape I should fill the void on the drywall and then tape over top and then coat again, but I think that is where I got my self in trouble.
Should I just sand it all back down and retape ? What should I do to make the walls look really good ?

Also I will be applying a few coats of Kilz due to the fact the current paint is a faux-finish to hide the colors and textures, so that should help with my patch areas just a slight amount right ?

[1/28/01]

[quote name='K-Dog' timestamp='1317500777' post='810189']
I am redoing my half bath and have had some significant patching to do in the drywall. One area there was a recessed medicine cabinet. I backed it with some wood and cut some fresh drywall and taped and filled with compound.
My problem is its all wavy and I can see the tape. The directions said on the tape I should fill the void on the drywall and then tape over top and then coat again, but I think that is where I got my self in trouble.
Should I just sand it all back down and retape ? What should I do to make the walls look really good ?

Also I will be applying a few coats of Kilz due to the fact the current paint is a faux-finish to hide the colors and textures, so that should help with my patch areas just a slight amount right ?
[/quote]
Not a pro by any means, but I can hold my own. I would recomment to replace the entire sheet where the med cabinet used to be. Not huge advice here, but that's what I would suggest. Just like with a car, unless you're a pro, you see ripples or waves in a cars body just as you will with dry wall. Body work and dry wall is an art!

Again, not saying it can't be done, just my $.02.

Worst case, hang a picture

Edit - Also sounds like your surface area wasn't clean and level for the tape to adhere properly, resulting in the wave look.

[robbcs3]

Not an expert but sounds like you only have one coat of mud over the tape. You will need 2 more coats. You certainly should not see the tape. Butt joints are hard to look good, this is why drywall comes with tapered ends. You have to fan the mud out to not see the waves you have created. Most guys I know fan it out a foot on both sides.

[Gtown Purple]

There are alot of reasons your drywall is wavy.

1. bowed\twisted wood
2. not sanding prior to applying tape
3. using wrong type of drywall


Are you using standard white drywall or greenboard? Code for bathrooms and kitchens is green board since it is water proof.

I generally don't advise using tape because over time it loses grip and\or peels. When i do drywall I set using the straightest 2x4's a can find. Get them at a true lumber yard and not Home Desperate. I tack the drywall to the studs with 2 inch drywall screws, apply joint compound, sand, and apply at least one more coat before painting or hanging whatever wall covering. If you do use tape make sure you apply at least one coat of compound over it and sand. it will hide it alot better along with paint.

[plesiosaur]

Not a pro but have worked a lot with drywall. I'd square off the hole, screw in scabs on the corners (and maybe the sides if it's that big) then tape it as you would a normal seam. You'll probably need a couple of skim coats to smooth everything out, but if you use the mix-it-yourself plaster, you can cure the stuff with a heat gun and finish the plastering and priming all in one day.