Until a few years ago, there were two drywall problems that could not be satisfactorily finished: the off right angle and the butt joint.

     A finisher will not have a concern with his seams, nails/screws and right angles, but the butt joint is still a concern as the off right angle problem has been solved with the plastic tapes such as Strait-Flex and No-Coat.  The curvature of the butt joint is still a concern especially with glossy paints and its tendency to crack or ridge.  In the current method of doing butt joints, the two boards are bonded on a 1-1/2" stud or joist that is mainly crooked, not perfectly straight, and which will shrink due to the moisture of the stud or joist causing cracking or ridging.  Simply, the 1-1/2" width of a wooden stud or joist and the 1-1/4" width of  steel stud is not adequate to properly bind the two butt joint boards.  The USG Gypsum Construction Handbook addresses these butt joint failures on page 115 with their “Back- Blocking Application”, which states  “The Back-Blocking System enables the floating of end butt joints between studs or joists and makes it easier to form a good surface over a twisted stud or joist”.  Unfortunately USG’s method is cumbersome and labor intensive, although “the system has been widely used for years and produces outstanding results”.

     The Gypsum Construction Handbook on page 108 under ‘Single Nailing Application”, states: “Drive nails at least 3/8" from ends or edges of gypsum board”.  Wooden studs/joists due to their not being perfectly straight, does not allow enough space to properly space the nails 3/8" from the butt board end.  If a nail or screw is placed at the very edge, it losses its holding strength as do nails that are driven at the edge of any wood resulting in wood splintering.  The same applies to drywall!  Essentially, the traditional method of binding two butt boards on a framing member is not adequate enough in the long term to prevent butt joint cracking or ridging.

     The Gypsum Construction Handbook also states on page 105: “Butt all joints loosely.  Never force panels into position”.

     It is virtually impossible to properly install drywall butt joints following the Gypsum Construction Handbook guidelines in the current traditional method on a stud or joist, and for that reason butt joint cracking and ridging is a constant problem.

     The ButtTaper system eliminates this impossibility by allowing proper screw spacing from the board ends, offers a wider surface area to bind the two boards together, eliminates wood shrinking while offering a flat butt joint in minimum labor time at reduced material costs.