butt taper

[joseph]

i have done a few joints successfully over the couple of years i have had this .maybe there was less pressure since they were my properties . So here i am doing a clients office . Before i left i took a shot at preping my joints .Wish there were a few more videos on the butt taper sight . Had trouble getting the ends softened ,or so it seemed .I maybe trying to go to deep . the paper ends were not getting very soft .Rock seems to be cracking more then i expected and paper is splitting .
Tomorrow i go back at it ,starting fresh .I could use a little more info though . How much wetting down is needed . How deep should that roller go . Thanks

[Kgphoto]

Re: butt taper

Spray, roll, spray and roll again. That should be all it takes. Best to land between studs and use a backer.

[joseph]

Re: butt taper

thanks for the response .
i went at it today . i did not always leave space between sheets ,this was a mistake .I am wondering if some rock works better then others . it seemed the paper tore easy and the rock crushed rather then mushed under the roller . pushing that roller is a good workout .

[d-rock]

Re: butt taper

i prefer the old fashioned way. make'em wide.

[Kgphoto]

Re: butt taper

If you don't leave the space, you need to cut it back with a knife. It should be less than a minute for each joint. You only need about 1/8 inch gap.

Those small pump sprayers for gardens work the best. You can set the spray to a narrow stream and just wet the seam.

[Mike from NH]

Re: butt taper

Oh here we go again with this topic....what ever happened with reading the achives?

Are butt joints really the big of an issue? Seems like we talk about them a lot. For a product that has so many steps for making a flat butt joint, I'm not surprised it has not caught on that well. Too may variables, like certain thickness and type drywall, amount of water used to soften the drywall, type and thickness of back block, amount and location of screws and the list goes on. Then the almost $200 cost! I totally agree with back-blocking but all the other steps the the BT requires seems like a waste of time when butt joints for the most part can be avoided by buying bigger drywall or using a product that tuns the butt ends in.

Kirk as we all know you are an unpaid spokes person for the BT. I challenge you to post a youtube video of you using the BT and the steps you take to make a truly flat butt joint.

[McFish]

Re: butt taper

I made my own Bt's for a job recently. Normally I dont worry so much about butts but it was a low ceiling for an especially particular client. I had to do a lot of fill so they werent very succesfull in that respect.

I too am waiting for Kirks video

Tom

[Kgphoto]

Re: butt taper

Send me a camera and I will.

[Kgphoto]

Re: butt taper

Mike,

Why does it bother you so much that this thing exists and works well for others? Just let it go. If you don't like it, don't read or post on it.

Someone asked a question and some of us answered. End of story.

Your problem with the unit is your problem, not anyone else's, If the directions and specifications are too much for you, then don't use it. Do what you can do and let others do what they can do. Relax, life it too short to get so perturbed by a tool.

[Bill from Indy]

Re: butt taper

Kirk, I commend you for helping a fellow finisher with your personal experience on a particular tool that you use and like. but, I am on mike's side of the fence on this but I can honestly say I haven't used one

if you are in production as I am, I just can't see how it is faster than a butt block (trim-tex) or the same sort...you back all your butts with wood in the field anyways, chalk the cost of the butt blocks up as material..you spend time ripping osb or whatever...then go through and wet them down and tape them..I run a bazooka 75% of the time so it would be much faster for me to have hangers install the blocks and it is ready for me when I go to tape....no garden sprayer..whatever..just tape and go...run them with a 7/10 with the flats and your done

but, as i said, I haven't used one but I just can't see where it is productive in production type finishing

[Kgphoto]

Re: butt taper

Bill,

It very will may not be. By using some type of butt-backer/splicer/taper system, you minimize the amount and depth of mud you apply which translates into SOME savings in time and material. With production tools, that may not amount to much.

Where it really shines is getting a wall dead flat, for those situations that call for it and for doing patches that finish flush with a wall.

We all try to minimize butt joints on the jobs, but when they occur, I have just a small tool in my bag/bucket and can grab a scrap of OSB, Plywood, steel track or even drywall and use it as a backer. A second with a sprayer or a few seconds with a sponge, or several seconds with some damp mud, and then you roll. Fill with hot mud, no tape required, very flat and flush seam. No humping and bumping on irregular wood studs.

Installing a rock splicer will lower a larger section of drywall to fill with mud than a BT will. Since you aren't coming back until tomorrow for the next coat, then there won't be much benefit for you. So for that application the cost and speed of a Rock Splicer may be the better choice.

[NJjarhead]

Re: butt taper

I think the biggest benefit of the BT is repair work, ie patching. Butt joints on new installs are easy to handle in a bunch of different ways, BT included. But when I have to patch a couple 12"x12" holes after fishing some new wire those other solutions don't help me at all. I love that I can have that patch installed, 2 coated, primed and painted in one day, and perfectly flat.

As always YMMV,

Barry

[Mike from NH]

Re: butt taper

Mike,

Why does it bother you so much that this thing exists and works well for others? Just let it go. If you don't like it, don't read or post on it.

Someone asked a question and some of us answered. End of story.

Your problem with the unit is your problem, not anyone else's, If the directions and specifications are too much for you, then don't use it. Do what you can do and let others do what they can do. Relax, life it too short to get so perturbed by a tool.

Kirk-

You are not getting my point so I'll break it down "Barney Style" (as in purple dinosour)

You have been blowing smoke (and maybe other things) up SteveH's ass and the BT for years now. The BT caused me 2 expensive call backs. And I will tell and have told everyone I know that its a waste of time and money. You and a very few say its the best thing since the invention of the wheel. All I'm saying is the idea is good, rolling in the butt edges like in traditional rock lath plaster. HOWEVER the steps to get there is nuts!

The same results can be found in easier, faster, and cheaper methods. And the results are not worth to cost to get there. I can just see a client paying more for a 'perfectly flat' butt joint. That's BS and we all know it.

You just get a stiffy over overpriced, figgle frig tools like the BR and NC that don't make sense to 80% of the industry. Go bid drywall jobs by the sq.ft. if you know how, find clients who will pay you for these methods....I'd like to see that.

I'm not going to stop posting my feelings in regards to the BT as long as you keep blowing smoke about it.

As far as the camera comment...WTF ? I'm sure you can find a camera to shoot a 5-10 min video...So do you accept my challenge or all you all talk.....

[DSJOHN NH]

Re: butt taper

He won,t tape himself,he is a Don Knotts look alike! JOHN

[DSJOHN NH]

Re: butt taper

Sorry ,I meant David Spade, JOHN