Mud/tape peeling off drywall

[atgcpaul]

The garage of this house we're inspecting has the mud/tape peeling off the drywall of the garage (my future shop) ceiling.

There's an attic space above and there is insulation between the rafters which has been moved and not placed back in spots. The garage roof has a small, but visible shingle patch, and there's a slight dip in one area of the roof. Inside the attic, though, the inspector notices no water damage or delamination of the roof plywood. I don't see any water damage in the exposed areas of the ceiling. Maybe there was a leak in the past but not now.

So I think it's generally just cosmetic but how do I (if the seller refuses to fix it) fix it? Scrape off the parts that are hanging down until it stops at a firmly attached area, then go back and tape/mud those areas smooth again? Is there a primer that will help the new mud stick to the old drywall? The whole 2 car garage is pretty much like this. Would this job be too small for a pro to take?

Thanks
Paul

[TDKPE]

Would this job be too small for a pro to take?

Probably not something a taper would want to bother with, but a handyman type probably would.  And it doesn't take much skill to tape a garage ceiling, as cosmetics don't seem to be a concern there based on every garage I've ever been in.  

[Snipe Hunter]

Garage drywall usually isn't finished with the same care of interior walls.

Interior taping will have a bed coat of mud under the tape and two (at least) on top of the tape. Garages usually just have the bed coat and one (if any) quick top coat and not sanded. It's rare in this are (DC) to see a garage interior painted on new construction so they usually don't put on the last coat (finish coat) to be sanded and painted. It was probably never primed and painted and sat several years before painting. So the tape and mud is exposed to humidity and degrades over time and the adhesion of the tape fails. In the DC area, we get a lot of humidity and peeling garage tape is typical.

From the picture, it looks like the garage was tapped but not "finished". They painted over the unfinished joint tape after the joint compound and paper fibers in the tape had already degraded. Exposed tape and joint compound just sucks up moisture.

If it were caused by a leak, the tape, joint compound and the affected area would have a dark stain to it. You would also have sagging drywall if water was the problem over an area that large. What you have is paint over unfinished drywall joints.

It's a fire safety issue from the perspective of a home inspector as the garage drywall is is a fire-break. The inspector would (should) note the peeling tape and report it as such.

[Phil Thien]

Any chance the garage door opener is "bouncing" the structure enough to cause the mud to fail?

You could put your hand on the ceiling and then operate the opener and see if it is pushing on the ceiling too hard when the door closes (for example).

[K. L. McReynolds]

The usual way to repair those areas is to cut the tape where loose and splice in new tape/mud. In my short history of dealing with that situation, I found a bad tape job is complete and sections not replaced will come loose later. If you have no problem working on a ladder overhead, it is not that much of a problem to pull/scrape/cut off all the loose tape, sand the rough edges(with sheetrock mesh) and mud/tape new---like Snipe stated. A six (first coat)and ten inch knife(mud applicator) (second coat) will be all that is needed.

[Robert Adams]

That's normal for drywalled garages. It happens because of the mush higher moisture in the garage than in the house and the heat of cars can't help it either. There really isn't a great solution but an exhaust fan in the garage might help. Exhaust fans in garages are becoming more common to vent out heat and exhaust gasses and other VOCs from stuff stored in the garage. 

      I have had better success using hot mud as it is has a little stronger bond.

[Snipe Hunter]

      I have had better success using hot mud as it is has a little stronger bond.

So have I. Resisted it for years because I'm not a pro and slower working time isn't a problem but now I use hot mud for the tape bed.

[Woodenfish]

Most professional drywall installation companies can fix this for you quickly and for less than you might expect. I’ve seen worse.