How to Repair Drywall Tape

Repairing Drywall Taped Seams

By Mark J. Donovan




Repairing drywall tape is easy to do. To repair drywall tape you will need a 6” drywall taping knife, a utility knife, a roll of drywall tape, sand paper or drywall screen, and some all purpose joint compound.

Drywall tape can separate and peel away from walls for a couple of reasons. The house settling or the improper installation of applying the drywall tape could cause the drywall tape to peel away from the wall.

To repair drywall taped seams start by lightly sanding over the peeling drywall tape area. Next, use a utility knife to score the far edges of the peeling drywall tape. Make sure you make your cuts just beyond the ends of the peeling drywall tape.

After scoring the drywall tape, use your utility knife to peel away the old tape. Then lightly sand over the seam with your sand paper or drywall screen.

For the next step in repairing a drywall taped seam, use a 6” taping knife to apply all purpose joint compound to the old seam. Then lay a new piece of drywall tape over the seam. Work the tape into the joint compound and apply a thin layer of joint compound over the drywall tape. Make sure you don’t press the drywall tape so hard into the seam that you squeeze out all the joint compound from behind the drywall tape.

Don’t worry about being to neat with this step in the process. Allow the joint compound to fully dry.
After the freshly drywall taped seam is fully dry, lightly sand the edges and any ridges of dried joint compound on the seam.

How to Repair Drywall Tape seam

Then apply another skim coat layer of joint compound over the seam. Flare the seam out a couple of inches wider on either side of the seam in the process. Allow the taped seam to fully dry.

Again lightly sand the edges and any ridges on the seam, and apply a final finish coat of joint compound over the seam. This time flare the seam out a couple of more inches on each side of the seam.

After the final finish coat of joint compound has dried, lightly sand the edges out and any ridges. Then wipe down the seam with a rag, prime and paint to complete the drywall tape repair.


For information on repairing a large drywall hole, see the “How to Repair a Large Drywall Hole” Ebook from HomeAdditionPlus.com.  The “How to Repair a Large Drywall Hole” Ebook provides step-by-step instructions on how to repair your damaged wall so that it looks as good as new.

See HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Drywall Calculator

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Additional Drywall Installation Resources from Amazon.com


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