I have some uneven drywall that a contractor put up. The wall on one side is plaster and the drywall sticks out a bit where it joins.
How can I mud this so that it's even again. Does it mean floating more mud a longer distance away from the join to make it appear even? I'm unable to move the drywall further in.
Also, can I use normal joint compound for this or should it be setting compound?

 

the advantage of setting mud is that it lets you put on more than one coat in shorter time because a coat can be applied as soon as a prior coat has set. And it does not shrink if you put it on more heavily per coat.
You have the right procedure in mind.

 

I would add [in case you've never used a setting compound] that you only mix up what you can use in a specified time frame. Once it begins to harden you can't do anything with it but throw it out. While I often use setting compound it isn't as novice friendly as ready mix mud. The further you float out the joint the less noticeable it will be.

 

Depending on how big the step is between the plaster and sheetrock a vertical strip of molding may be better. Yes, you can feather out the joint but unless you skim coat the entire plaster wall to bring it out to the same thickness as the new then you'll always have a transition.

 

Both Pilot Dane and marksr are correct. Depending on the offset what you will achieve is the illusion of flatness. Under certain lighting conditions the gradual transition will still show
How much offset? How far from the joint to either a corner or angle on the plaster?

 

I'll measure again tonight. The handyman that did the initial coat of drywall did not mud over the tape. He mudded underneath and then pressed the tape in but then let it dry. Is this ok to mud over or should he have mudded over it completely on the first coat?
There are a few bubbly ridges in the tape that I'm wondering whether to leave or cut out. They aren't raised too much.

 

Bubbles in the tape need to be cut out, it's rare for them to go away with more mud. Tape is embedded in mud with most of the excess mud removed, shouldn't have more than a film of joint compound over the tape until the next coat.

Did he take a knife and press the tape into the j/c?

 

He did but it's not all mudded over the top. The drywall guy we got in to quote said that it was likely it would all bubble when mudded over. I don;t know if he was bs-ing or if there's something he can see that I can;t.

 

As long as the tape has a good bond to the underlying j/c it's unlikely that it will bubble more. I understand where your drywall finisher is coming from as it might be easier to pull that tape and start over. That way he also knows you won't have to call him back to fix it if the original tape job fails.

Bare minimum I'd scrape/sand it down, cut out the bubbles and reevaluate. Your handyman needs to leave drywall finishing to someone else!

 

That is a really crude mud job. You'd be in better shape if he hadn't done any of it. I would do some coarse sanding to knock down the high spots before adding more mud.

 

My experience is that plaster usually will be proud of the drywall. I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel where this is the case. I wil be bringing my table saw with me to custom rip down boards for each stud so that the drywall married with the plaster will sit flush. I'm surprised that the drywall he put up is thicker than the plaster,but it is what it is. If the pictures show the work of your handyman, then it is best that he has finished with his work at this stage, very sloppy mud work.

 

Do yourself a favor and sand down the high spots before going any further. They left you a real mess.

It is normal for the bed coat not to have compound on top until the second coat.

 

I think if I were taking this over I would pull the tape, then run a coat of quickset mud on the plaster keeping the drywall clean then I would tape the joint and do what it took to feather the material onto the plaster enough to make the off set gradual enough not to be too noticeable under ordinary lighting conditions.
I might reconsider pulling the tape after I got a good look at it.
Anyway clean up the mess and then figure out what to do

 

With the slight ledge that runs horizontally, I'm finding if I run my drywall knife from left to reight or right to left, it leaves a little ridge in the mud because the knife can't run flat. Do I still carry on this way for the 2nd coat? I'm assuming that eventually it will build up to a point where it is flat to the blade and then I can feather above and below it?

 

keep the high side clean. wipe the bead off of the drywall. Then you can tip the knife such that you take it off the low side by not pressing it on the filled area..
Maybe someone can explain this better than I
Ridges are your enemy but if you can't take them out with wet mud then let them dry and cut them off before the next coat. The nearer you get to flat the less ridge you should have.
maybe you can find a thread here that deals with taping a butt end against a tapered edge. This is the condition you have.

 

How large an area was dry-walled? Thinner drywall might have matched the existing more closely. If it's just a couple of sheets, I'd pull it off & start over. Sorry to say, it's not a very good job.

 

If I tip the knife to take it off the low edge, then isn;t this removing mud from the low edge. I figured that was where it needed to be built up to match the high side and then spread it out 12-24" on the lower side to make it seem even.

 

It's better to apply multiple thin coats of mud than one heavy coat. Joints are feathered out over several coats, not all at once.

 

So easy to do so hard to describe. Does anyone know of a video?

 

The horizontals seem fine but the vertical still show certain light.
Do I need to keep applying more mud and feather it further? This is 4 coats now. 3 on the horizontals.

 

A few more light coats may do it. On last coat a damp sponge may smooth better after it has dried.

 

Take a 12" knife and stand it up on end so that it is perpendicular to the wall. Put one end on the "peak" of your hump. Put the other end as far away from the hump as it will go. If you can see a gap under the knife, you need to run the knife down the joint and add more mud there. Not adding mud to the MIDDLE of the joint... just each side.

Check each side of each joint in this way. In some cases, you need to float the joint out 12" on either side to make the shadows go away. A shadow usually means you have a mound that is not completely filled on either side.

 

Did another coat but the shadows are still there. Maybe I have to put it on thicker?
When I lay my knife either side of the peak for 12" it is perfectly flat. The problem is the peak.
If I put my knife directly onto the peak then 6" either side, there is a gap - fairly large I would say.

 

The only way to get the wall perfectly flat would be to skim coat the entire wall. Generally an ever so slight hump feathered out is acceptable to most folks.

 

You may have left too much mud in the center. If you can sand the peak down without getting into the tape, do that. Use a course paper or screen on your sanding pole. Sand as much off as you can without getting into the tape... concentrate on only sanding the peak.

If sanding does not help, then you need to go down the center of the "peak" with a 12" knife and lay a flat bed of mud on it. By flat, I mean you will press the center of the 12" knife down tight on the peak and do not tip it left or right. You should try to keep the knife tips 1/8" away from the wall as you apply the mud so that you leave mud 1/8" thick on the left and right sides of the knife. (This way you will not have a peak at all... it will be flat for 12" which will help hide the shadow) Do not angle those edges or wipe them down tight... not on that initial coat. After it is dry, you should scrape off any dry ridges along the edges with your knife. Then you will coat each side of that 12" flat area you made and taper the sides down to nothing. So in the end, that joint will be about 30" wide.

 

the problem is uneven drywall causing the peak, not too much mud in the center as such.
Same solution though I imagine?

 

Yes, same solution. I would check the wall with a long straightedge, like a 4ft level... see how big the bump is... and then try to do what I mentioned above.