Quick drywall question... non-tapered edge, taped?

Hey Guys... how do you finish the non-tapered edge of drywall? Does it need to be taped if it's caulked? Or can you just mud over the caulking?

You would tape the non tapered edge pretty much the same as any tapered edges. If you are planning on finishing the wall, to coat the non-tapered joints, aka butts, you would split the butt coating your knife's width on each side of the tape rather than down the middle like a joint embedded between tapered edges. Sounds a lot more complicated that it is. So if a joint was represented with an ' I ' and a proper fill for said joint was represented as an ' F ', then a joint between two tapered edges that was properly filled would show as F and a 'butt joint' would show as FIF. The second coat for the tapered joint would still be represented as an F and the second coat for a butt joint would be represented with an FFF. How ridiculous of an explanation was that? I am actually a drywall contractor, but I have no idea how to explain it over a forum. But yes, it needs to be taped even it is caulked.

TomM wrote:

Hey Guys... how do you finish the non-tapered edge of drywall? Does it need to be taped if it's caulked? Or can you just mud over the caulking?

The mud, if it is to be used, requires the tape in order for the mud to have any strength. Left on it's on, the mud would crack eventually and crumble out of the joint. So, in respect to that, yes you would use tape if you are using mud. I have yet to tape/mud a final layer of rock at the end of the panel where any corner is formed. I work on small rooms, residential, so that's just the way I do it.