Gap where bath meets drywall


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Old 08-12-16, 03:09 PM
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Gap where bath meets drywall

Preparing to paint and saw ugly area outside tube with goopy caulking that had been painted. Scraped out caulk to find mushy drywall and rusty metal corner. This narrow 4-5" strip of drywall up to stud and then another corner. What is best way to fix this so drywall stays dry and corner between tub and drywall looks nice? The remaining part of drywall is still under metal corner.

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Old 08-12-16, 03:46 PM
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Someone has not been taking the the time to pull the shower curtain all the way closed, or that rod is set to far out.
Need to remove that baseboard, that narrow piece of drywall that goes to the inside corner, and remove that rusted metal outside corner.
A hack saw will work to cut it out.
And start out with all new.
There's also issues with that tub spout and the trim ring.
Someone made the nipple to long for the spout and your going to end up with water behind the wall if left like that.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 03:53 PM
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Just bought house

Finding all kinds of DIY projects done poorly. Even water heater without pressure relief valve.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 04:37 PM
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What can I do about long nipple on spout and stems on faucet handles? Really don't want to replace entire surround right now.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 04:41 PM
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Do I just caulk between drywall and tub? Maybe use water resistant green board instead of drywall?
 
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Old 08-12-16, 04:47 PM
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Spout needs to be removed to see what was done to attach it, then post a picture.
No one here knows if they used a galv. nipple (which never should be used) or copper tubing and two adaptors and just made it to long.
May be as simple on trim ring around the control valve as sliding the trim ring flush with the surround.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 05:31 PM
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Follow joes advice on cutting out the corner bead and inserting a new complete piece of drywall to bridge the gap.

For the spout, determine if it is a compression fitting or a screw on. Look underneath for a set screw that you can loosen. If no set screw, you may turn it counter clockwise to remove. If a copper supply, you can get a slip on spout to replace what you have, Let us know what you find.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 05:46 PM
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Spout screwed off. Long copper nipple. I'm guessing prior DIYer didn't get correct length. The entire faucet and spout assembly is loose inside wall. Moves in and out as if not fixed to anything. Is this typical of new tub/surround installations or just done incorrectly?
 
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Old 08-12-16, 05:49 PM
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DIY websites say to take old spout when shopping to get correct fit. How do I measure to get one long enough?
 
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Old 08-12-16, 05:52 PM
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Just done incorrectly, it should be secured to a block of wood inside the wall. Can you see anythin to secure it through in the wall? Is there access from behind? Look to find a compression spout that you can cut the nipple shorter and slide it on and use a set screw to secure it.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 06:14 PM
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Love to replace all bathroom fixtures. So outdated. Faucet knobs may not be as easy as bath spout. The bathroom shares wall with laundry room. Washer on other side of wall. May even share some pipes. No obvious access to area behind surround. Makes me want to replace entire surround and have a pro do it. Existing is ugly and has paint stains inside. This house was a rental for a couple of years so everything done cheaply and sloppy.
 
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Old 08-12-16, 06:20 PM
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Another issue with bath fixures. The hot water faucet has to be turned about 10 revolutions before water comes out. Cold comes on with even small turn of faucet.
 
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Old 08-13-16, 02:53 AM
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Do I just caulk between drywall and tub? Maybe use water resistant green board instead of drywall?
Any drywall is fine as long as the thickness is the same as what you already have [probably 1/2"]
Once the drywall is finished [and sanding dust removed] primed and painted with latex enamel it will have protection from occasional water splashing. After priming the drywall you'd caulk the gap between the drywall and tub/surround.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 08:45 AM
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Question about cutting out rusty corner bead. The metal bead is screwed into stud on both sides of corner. So I obviously need to remove paint and dried mud covering the other side of bead to get out screws and cut. There is an inside corner just 3" from outside corner so I do not want to disturb that (see photo posted with original question). There is probably just inch between metal outside bead edge and edge of inside corner bead. What is best way to remove the paint and mud to remove section of metal bead without having to redo both corners?
 
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Old 08-18-16, 09:11 AM
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Not sure I follow you corner bead covers both sides. It's L shaped. A hammer is usually enough to knock the mud off of the corner bead.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 09:29 AM
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Yes, 90 degree around corner. That side is just a 3" section of drywall wall to an inside corner. I don't want to hammer it disturbing the inside corner just inches away. Is there a "controlled" way to hammer so doesn't crack into inside corner. Or a way to cut a straight edge before hammering. See photo.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 10:37 AM
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Ok, I understand the question now

The corner is taped [folded] with some of the tape extending over the corner bead. You need to cut the tape at the corner so it doesn't pull off of the long wall. While it is best to replace the tape you could get by with just mudding up to the corner and caulking the corner once all the mud work is done.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 07:10 PM
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If you have to buy new corner bead to do this get vinyl. It won't rust and if you have to do this again all you will need to do is scrape off the old mud and replaster. No, I take that back. If it dissolves the drywall you will need to take off the bead and replace the drywall and install new bead but it won't look as bad in the mean time as a rusty steel bead.
 
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Old 08-18-16, 09:35 PM
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Progress & new photo

I bought metal bead because only replacing drywall section by tub and new corner bead over that section. Wasn't sure I could put vinyl below metal on same corner as vinyl is glued. If I was doing entire corner from floor to ceiling, I would choose vinyl because next to tub/shower.

Had some difficulty cutting and removing rusty section of bead. A crack in mud developed up the middle of the narrow wall section at the edge of metal bead (exactly what I wanted to avoid) . Mud there was quite thin. So I scraped off paint and mud up to where crack ended (bead not rusty up there at least).

I did some damage to edge of drywall (small edge chunk) so not sure if I can just cover with new metal bead section or if I need to patch that area with something before putting on new bead. Any suggestions?

This had turned out to be way more than I planned. I just wanted to paint but wanted to look good. The base board broke while removing it so now I will learn how to miter new base board sections. Baseboard next to tub looked water-damaged behind paint so probably needed new section there anyway.

As a first time homeowner and newbie DIY, I have learned a lot in a week but am really enjoying learning and doing. I read everything I can on web. You have all been great help.

BTW. I bought slip-on tub spout with set screw and trim. Bought tube cutter but haven't cut copper nipple yet or installed new spout.

The faucet in photo that had gap between trim and surround was the result of movement of plumbing in wall. With a little jiggling, it snapped back in place, flush with surround.
 
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Old 08-19-16, 04:09 AM
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You need to install new strips of drywall where it's missing. Ideally you'd remove the old and replace with new. Any patching needs square cuts [easier to patch than trying to match the damaged drywall]

As far as I know the smallest piece of drywall you can buy is 4'x8' so unless you have use for the rest of the sheet I'd suggest canvassing houses under construction and see if you can get some scrap drywall for free. If you smile pretty and have the dimensions they might even cut it for you
 
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Old 08-19-16, 09:06 AM
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Lowes sells 2' x 2' squares of sheetrock for $4.98. I bought one piece only need 20" x 3" along bathtub so have plenty left to patch the gouge. Maybe cut damaged edge into a small smooth rectangle and cut a piece of drywall as patch. Don't want patch area to be thicker because extra tape and mud. Maybe remove back paper layer on patch piece so can paper and mud patch and will be flush with the rest of the corner. Would that work?
 
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Old 08-19-16, 09:17 AM
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I wouldn't remove the paper from the drywall as that is all that holds the ground gypsum together.
That area was already built up some with joint compound [to cover the tape/cornerbead] Even if it does get built up more it shouldn't be noticeable as you'll feather it in going further up the wall.
 
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Old 08-19-16, 10:09 AM
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Found several suggestions on how to fix loose in-wall plumbing behind surround. One was to use trim with set screws. Pull plumbing in towards surround and put tighten set screw with trim against surround. Another is to "glue" fixture trim pieces to surround with silicone caulk. This would help minimize movement of plumbing behind surround. Do you agree with these suggestions?
 
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Old 08-19-16, 10:33 AM
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The shower head arm at my house is loose and can flop back and forth. I installed an escutcheon plate with a set screw and it really tightened it up.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 12:54 PM
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Cut off threaded end of copper nipple close to threads as possible. Installed new spout with set screw and escutcheon. Looks nice but water is now dripping between escutcheon and spout when I turn on water through spout. Apparently the copper nipple is now too short so gasket inside spout not stopping water from splashing back as it comes out spout. This is worse than before because now highly likely water is being splashed back directly through opening in surround into wall.

Apparently the copper nipple was nonstandard length because threaded nipple too long but after cutting off thread portion, nipple is too short for gasket inside spout.

My temporary solution now is to remove spout and put on push on end cap on copper nipple and only use shower. Put protective cover around nipple to keep water out of hole in surround.

The stems for faucet appear to also be too long as visible even with escutcheons. I am not messing with this any more. I plan to eventually replace surround and fixures so can worry about stem and nipple lengths then.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 01:10 PM
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Cutting off most of the threads is a non standard fix. Normally if the pipe is too long you will remove it and get a shorter one. What gasket are you talking about?? Should just be teflon tape applied to the threads.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 01:25 PM
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Replaced threaded spout with one with set screw as instructed by czizzi on this forum.

"Look to find a compression spout that you can cut the nipple shorter and slide it on and use a set screw to secure it."

No teflon tape needed for set screw. To convert to spout with set screw, I had to cut off threaded end of copper nipple.

I don't see how I could just replace copper nipple with different length by screwing one in. The nipple is sweated to water supply so nothing to screw.

There is a plastic gasket inside the spout with set screw. The screw-on type spouts don't have gasket.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 03:11 PM
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A lot of houses utilize a galvanized nipple that is screwed into the fitting at the top of the shower supply pipe .... sounds like your house wasn't done that way. The teflon tape goes on the threads where the shower head screws on to the nipple.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 04:27 PM
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As long as the exposed copper is longer than the gasket location on the new spout, it should not leak. Possible that the cut end has burrs that were sharp enough to cut the gasket or scratch it so that a good seal could not be created. Usually these are fool proof. Investigate further.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 05:05 PM
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OK. Look inside and it does appear that one of the rings is damaged. Is this little ring something replaceable?
 
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Old 08-22-16, 05:54 PM
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Yes, you can get replacement o-rings. Take the existing ones to a plumbing supply house and they should be able to replace. You have plenty of pipe there for a successful seal.
 
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Old 08-22-16, 06:05 PM
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Very happy to have solution. Thanks. Update on corner bead: successfully installed bead and just applied 2nd coat of mud. Let 1st coat dry 24 hours. Decided would be easier to replace both sides of drywall from cut bead down instead of cutting small section of drywall for part I damaged. Looking good so far.
 
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Old 08-23-16, 01:09 PM
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Spout still leaks bad against surround even with new O ring. Is the end of plastic inside spout supposed to press against something to help it seal? The hole in surround around the copper pipe is much larger than the inside plastic part of the spout. So not sealing off. I tried with and without escutcheon and leaks big time. What am I doing wrong? The plastic end in spout goes through hole in surround so not pushing against anything to seal spout. This DIY video shows a seal over copper stubout. Is this something I need to buy? Hole in surround too big to caulk.

Maybe this is solution. Last photo.
 
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Last edited by femaleDIY; 08-23-16 at 03:17 PM.
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Old 08-24-16, 05:05 AM
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Is this the replacement spout you purchased? Maybe the instructions will let you see where you are missing a step.

How to Replace a Tub Spout - Danco
 
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Old 08-24-16, 06:48 AM
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Cheap universal relplacement without any instructions except "slide on and tighten set screw." Watched many YouTube videos but none address what to do if it leaks after slide on and tighten set screw.

I'm delaying further work on spout for now. I installed new drywall and metal corner bead. Applied 3rd coat of mud last night so can sand, prime and paint soon. Then finish painting bathroom (my original project before spout issue came up).
 
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Old 09-07-16, 12:13 AM
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Project update: Successful completion

I cut out rusty section of metal corner bead, inserted new corner bead section, new drywall, taped and mudded, primed and painted. Just caulked and will paint caulk tomorrow. Was able to repair the broken baseboard so just need to touch up the paint there.
 
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Last edited by femaleDIY; 09-07-16 at 12:32 AM.
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Old 09-07-16, 12:25 AM
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Fixed loose plumbing in wall and new tub spout installed

Had plumber out today to fix my loose bathtub valve/pipes in wall. He found a 2x4 inside the wall at the bottom. When foundation repair was done to lift house, it apparently ripped this loose leaving the bathtub valve/pipes just floating in wall. He was able to move the 2x4 back up where it belonged and place a nail so it won't fall down again. (Did all this through very small cutout in drywall on other side of wall).

The support back in place pushed the surround out snug against escutcheons. Can no longer see the faucet stems. (see photo in original post). I was then able to install new tub spout. This time I bought the DANCO kit that czizzi suggested. Before I installed the spout, I put a DANCO self seal spout trim piece that has a foam insert with hole in middle for 1/2" copper pipe. This covered the large hole that was previously exposed. Then I installed the spout. NO LEAKS now. And the trim piece means I have a good seal and no need to caulk around faucet or trim.

Looks very nice now. Discovered my ugly surround is very cheap plastic. So as soon as I have the money, I will replace the surround with a nicer fiberglass or acrylic.
 
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Old 09-07-16, 02:17 AM
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Looking good. Thanks for letting us know how it is going.
 
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Old 09-07-16, 03:16 AM
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The inside corner in the pic in post #43 looks a little rough. You can run a bead of caulk down the corner and then touch up the paint. That is an easy fix that will make it look nicer BUT all in all not a bad job for a novice!!!
 
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Old 09-07-16, 08:10 AM
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I just worked on outside corner. I only painted inside corner as it was. Thanks for suggestion. I didn't like that inside corner much. Now I know what to do to fix that up.
 
 

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