How to drywall wall with HVAC trunk and pipe penetrations

daphilli

I am building a wall separating a utility room from the remainder of the basement. An HVAC trunk, gas pipe and two PVC pipes from the furnace in the utility room penetrate the new wall, entering a soffit on the basement side of the wall. I am drywalling the utility room side of the new wall. A soffit to enclose the trunk and pipes is not feasible in the utility room. I have installed a wood frame in the wall around the trunk and pipes. The wall does not need to be fire-proof, although firestop material (mineral wool) is installed to prevent fire from travelling through the soffit.

How do I make a nice looking joint between the utility room wall and the trunk and pipes? Should I caulk between the edge of the drywall and the trunk? Or use some sort of collar around the trunk? Or do I drywall as close to the penetrating objects as I can? Should I use mud to seal the wall to the trunk and pipes? The trunk is galvanized sheet metal covered with a thin metallic bubble-wrap insulation.

Thank you.

Dave P

newfie49

When it comes to penetrations, I hang and cut the drywall as tight as I can then tape and finish around each penetration, you may have several joints to finish depending on where the pipes are but that's what I do.

oberkc

I have a situation just like yours. I cut the drywall close and lived with the results. I figured if I had a room with exposed ducts and pipes, why should I be concerned about a small gap between the pipes and drywall?

racebum

you're going to have to skim coat the whole area to make it look perfect. it's possible though, a good mud job can hide multiple butt joints near each other.