# Best approach to "shaving" studs to get drywall flush?



## red92s (Nov 14, 2012)

I'm in the process of removing an interior door between a bedroom and a bathroom. First time dealing with drywall, in any capacity.

The door opening has been framed in, and I've gotten the bedroom side drywall hung, taped, finished and painted. Came out pretty good for my first time. 

When hanging the bedroom side, I spent some time tweaking the studs from the bathroom side of the wall to get the new drywall nice and flush with the existing wall. Now I'm about to start on the bathroom side drywall, and the studs are forcing the new drywall to sit a bit proud of the existing wall.

Is there a good way to shave down the studs in certain areas to try and bring the new drywall flush with the old? The mismatch might be something a pro could easily hide or work around but I'm not that confidant in my abilities. Is using a rasp on the backside of the new drywall (1/2") a viable to thin it out? Plane on the studs? 


(Bedroom side has been hung and finished since this was taken)


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Different approaches depending upon how much and where. If you Google a "drywall hammer" you will see a hatchet on the opposite side. 

Personally, I don't like the idea of shaving down the 1/2" drywall and would attack the mounting surface. If it is just one or two, a hammer and wood chisel would do the job.

Bud


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## stick\shift (Mar 23, 2015)

Load bearing wall? I'd be more hesitant to trim the studs if it is.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

How "proud" do they stand, if less than a 1/4 inch, I might try a power planer, quick, easy to shave a 2X, remove all metal. 

More than that you have the wrong studs. 

All studs eventually bow one way or the other, and as you said a pro dry-waller can compensate with enough mud, but us amateurs like things to fit better. 

Remember to use a long straight edge (6'level) to find the crowned 2Xs and mark them between the upper and lower limits, and shave the excess.

If you really want to go old school, look into a drawknife / spoke-shave tool. 


ED


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## red92s (Nov 14, 2012)

de-nagorg said:


> How "proud" do they stand, if less than a 1/4 inch, I might try a power planer, quick, easy to shave a 2X, remove all metal.
> 
> More than that you have the wrong studs.
> 
> ...


Less than 1/4", probably in the 1/8-3/16" range. And there are some areas that are already acceptably flush and won't need much correction.

I might just have a go at it with a hand plane. Not fast, but I've only got this one door to do. I bet a belt sander with an aggressive belt would be pretty effective as well. 




stick\shift said:


> Load bearing wall? I'd be more hesitant to trim the studs if it is.


No, but it shouldn't matter. Any studs I'd be shaving down are the three I added to frame in the door opening, not part of the original wall framing. They are not load bearing, even if the rest of the wall is.


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

Drywall shims.










http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grip-Rite-Shim-Drywall-100-Bundle-GRDWSHIM/202090729


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## PPBART (Nov 11, 2011)

Portable planer


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## ront02769 (Nov 28, 2008)

Only a quarter of an inch? I beat crap out of the joint with a hammer back an inch and a half or so on each side of the joint, mud and tape it. Ron


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## red92s (Nov 14, 2012)

ZZZZZ said:


> Drywall shims.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I ended up using a chisel to shave down a couple areas. Didn't take a long. As is typical, I was overthinking it. 

Shims wouldn't have worked. The new drywall was already sticking proud of the existing wall . . . can't shim it backwards.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

For less than a 1/4", a plane, power or just a block plane is probably the best. If you don't have one of those handy, a belt sander with a 36 grit belt will go pretty quickly, too; just a little dustier.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

You can cut 90% of them with a circular saw and finish with a recip saw.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

HotRodx10 said:


> For less than a 1/4", a plane, power or just a block plane is probably the best. If you don't have one of those handy, a belt sander with a 36 grit belt will go pretty quickly, too; just a little dustier.


4 1/2 years ago, they finalized this, so you drag it up?

ED


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

de-nagorg said:


> 4 1/2 years ago, they finalized this, so you drag it up?
> 
> ED


Dang it! How did it get in with the new posts? Well, sorry everyone.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

stick\shift said:


> Load bearing wall? I'd be more hesitant to trim the studs if it is.


Non issue.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

HotRodx10 said:


> Dang it! How did it get in with the new posts? Well, sorry everyone.


If you look down below on a page, there is a "Recommended Reading" list. It links to posts years old. It's a flaw of this forum design, IMO.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

jeffnc said:


> If you look down below on a page, there is a "Recommended Reading" list. It links to posts years old. It's a flaw of this forum design, IMO.


I've learned to watch the dates in the recommended reading list. I just must've gone farther down the list in the "Drywall & Plaster" forum than I thought, and there's not as many new posts in it as I assumed there would be...

Nope, that wasn't it; I know I didn't go past the first page. It was somehow bumped up with the new stuff.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

I have a hand held 3 inch power plane I bought 20 years ago to fit a slab door on the front of my last house. When I finished my basement, after a month or so, I went around the room with a 4 foot straight edge and held it against the studs. I found a few that had bowed outward. That power plane did the trick in short order.


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