Wall meeting a Vaulted Ceiling and Drywall issues

I set out to update and repair the 2nd bedroom of my Florida condo conversion unit and it has become a nightmare. It has vaulted ceilings, and there were leak stains, cracked taping where walls meet ceiling and in corners and ceiling seams, damaged drywall and horribly thick textured walls, layers of cheap paint, cracked and bare corner beads and popcorn ceiling etc etc , with peaks of texture so high they could literally cut your skin.

For 25 years it was a part of a complex of 225 joined duplex and quad units of lower end rentals before going condo so you can imagine the layers of paint and fast budget patching present. I bought it as it was the cheapest place in Broward county to be on water as the complex surrounds a small lake with great views, and remodeling it was going to be my retirement hobby one room at a time.

The damaged drywall and cracked tape and leaks are no problem, however after power sanding down the heavy texture to prep it for mudding it over with a couple of skim coats, I noticed that along one outside wall after about 8 feet high on the wall, the drywall curved sharply in to meet the downward slope of the vaulted ceiling. Using a level to check it there is at pretty uniform 1/2 inch gap all along the top of the wall as it meets the downward sloping vaulted ceiling angling from 2 1/2 inches at the lowest part up to about 10 inches at 4 ft. and continues widening as the pitch of the ceiling rises higher.

My thought to repair it was to use two layers of 1/4 inch drywall to fill the 1/2 inch gap back down to the 8 foot high mark. The first would come down to almost the 8 foot level stopping were the gap was less than 1/4 inch, and the second sheet staggered back a little more towards the ceiling as the 1/2 gap is spread over a wider distance.

I started at the lowest part of the vaulted ceiling and the first layer piece is a triangle 4 ft long and 10 1/2 inches angled down to 2 1/2 inches. The problem now is that I cannot find enough solid studs to screw the drywall patches on to over the existing drywall. Even with a stud finder and using 2 1/2 inch screws, they just spin hopelessly. I could only get 2 screws on one stud to take hold.. Since there was a extensive drywood termite infestation on the other side of the condo, I am thinking that maybe there was a second infestation here, and there isn't enough solid wood left in the studs to attach to in that small patch area.

Since it is a condo, I cannot open up the walls to check. Their engineer is claiming that these units were very cheaply constructed, and the drywall guys probably just kerfed the backside of the drywall to fit the gap as the wall meets the ceiling, and used the heavy texturing to mask the issue. (there are no wired ceiling lights to cast shadows, only switched wall outlets). I have to admit that the 1/2 inch gap is pretty uniform all the way along, which he claims kind of rules out any roof issues kicking out the top of the outside wall, as it would have cracked a non-kerfed sheet of drywall.

So my thought was maybe I could use construction adhesive since it is only lightweight 1/4 drywall, and only about 10 inches wide at the widest, and 2 1/2 at the narrowest? Having never used adhesive before, will it hold with just 2 screws?

Will the adhesive bond to exposed joint compound or dusty drywall paper? Or would I be better off spraying the existing area with Kilz oil primer first to get a good clean surface?
Could I just use a 3M spray adhesive to attach the patches and then use joint compound to feather everything out smooth?
Could I just skip the adhesive and use a fast setting joint compound to secure the pieces, since they are relatively small pieces of 1/4 inch drywall?

Thanks in advance for your experience and input!

 

Welcome to the forums Ric!
That would concern me! Surely the condo board has a provision for checking further into that. You don't want a termite infestation and compromised wood should be replaced.
The adhesive should hold as it's often used when hanging drywall to limit the amount of screws/nails needed.
J/C shouldn't be applied very thick, it will shrink and crack if you do. A setting compound would be a better choice.

 

It concerns me too, trust me. I have been fighting them for 3 yrs on the master Bathroom which the drywood termites had eaten away up to 80% of some of the interior 2x6's stud wall, and so much of the plywood subfloor that the Gypcrete underlayment has fallen away into dust and 4x4 chunks beneath the cheap white tiled floor. Still nothing has been done, and I dont have the money to hire an attorney.

I think I have found 2 more locations that will hold screws, one looks like a metal corner bead embedded behind the angled corner sheet of drywall. There will be a big gap along the 4 ft bottom of my piece, but I am hoping I can brace that until it dries with some 2x4 lumber.

I am hoping that the 90 minute setting compound I have left over with a little warm water will not crack from filling the 1/4 gaps around the drywall overlay patch.

Do you think fiberglass tape would be better or should I use paper tape for drywall on drywall perimeters of the overlay? Or no tape at all since it is one sheet on top of the other and not really a butt joint.

 

Paper tape is almost always better. While paper tape preforms best there are times when the mesh tape works well although it must be covered with a setting compound to make it hold up. You could probably get by without tape although I'd consider embedding mesh tape in the wet hot mud. Your 90 minute mud isn't likely to crack.