Drywall Repair

[sloeffle]

When I moved into the house I'm currently in almost 18 years ago I fixed some of the drywall. It looks like I didn't get the mud thick enough on a couple joints and the tape is starting to come off. Should I rip the tape off completely and start from scratch or can I just put some mud under the tape and call it a day ?

 

[bholler]

Take all of the old tape out and start over

 

[Gearhead660]

I would take it all off and start fresh.

 

[sloeffle]

I had a feeling that was going to be the case. Thanks......

 

[bigealta]

Yup cut it at both top and bottom trim. pull it off. put a thin but full smooth layer of joint compound in the "cavity" created by the removed tape. Have your replacement piece of tape or mesh pre cut. Place on top of mud. Use mud knife to smoothly press it into the mud. The key to taping and repairing holes in sheetrock is to keep the layers just below the surrounding material surface level. This way you don't need to sand down any high spots. After mud dries, put another thin layer on top. repeat till it's nice and smooth. Use a larger knife next. Then for final coat feather out edges with a slightly watered down spackle to make it thinner. Use a sponge on visible edges to melt the edges into the original surface.

 

[zrock]

i would almost bet the tape is good underneath and its just the mud that cracked on the seam from being to thick. As said above peel the tape off and start with a clean surface.. If it were me i would use the mesh tape so the mud has something better to bite into and hold

 

[bigealta]

i would almost bet the tape is good underneath and its just the mud that cracked on the seam from being to thick. As said above peel the tape off and start with a clean surface.. If it were me i would use the mesh tape so the mud has something better to bite into and hold

Yeah but that doesn't matter. paint will crack, it will just be a pita mess. Just cut it out and retape or mesh.

 

[zrock]

Pretty sure that's what I said

 

[bigealta]

Pretty sure that's what I said

Yup Agree, just pointing out not to be "tempted" to try to slide some mud behind the tape. Just gonna make a bigger mess and harder to fix in the long run.

 

[NickW]

If you're using premixed mud, thin it down with water. Helps avoid "dry tape" and goes on nicer. My bro-in-law (former pro) just gave me this tip as I was getting set to start mudding the cabin and it's gone much better. Wish he had mentioned it 4 projects and 10 years ago...

 

[sloeffle]

If you're using premixed mud, thin it down with water. Helps avoid "dry tape" and goes on nicer. My bro-in-law (former pro) just gave me this tip as I was getting set to start mudding the cabin and it's gone much better. Wish he had mentioned it 4 projects and 10 years ago...

The pros who did my house addition mixed in dish soap before hand. He told me added more "air" to the mud. They also used mud with a brown lid for taping and mud with a blue lid for everything else. He said there's more "glue" in the mud with the brown lid.

Thanks everyone for the info. I pulled the old tape off yesterday and plan on using mesh tape this time. From what I can tell it just looks like the tape just came off of the drywall for some reason in a few spots. I'm not sure why, as the tape looks good on 80% of the rest. Mudding drywall is definitely and art that the pros make look easy. I'm still struggling with mastering the art.

 

[bigealta]

best to use green lid. Standard spackle. It shrinks which helps because it's better to be low than high. The guy that taped that joint originally did a poor job. I can see the tape lines and also where they feathered it out, there is a clear line as well. and it's wavy so it shows an amateur spackle job and poor sanding , or melting edges. I'm sure you can do a better job.

if you use mesh Make Sure it is below the level of the existing surface. If it's high or even level, the ridges on the mesh make it more of a hassle to cover with smooth coats. Especially if your not a good taper. This is a skill that takes practice.

 

[gzecc]

Mesh tape is marketing nonsense. If the job is done right the paper is fine. Mesh has no benefit. Costs 10 x as much as paper. Mix your own spackle. Get the 20 minute bag. Can finish in one day with 3-4 coats. Realize some people can't do it with one hundred coats.

 

[EbS-P]

If you are retaping add some more screws. My dry wall guy said any time he see cracks is mostly movement and he fixes with lots of screws

 

[bigealta]

Mesh tape is marketing nonsense. If the job is done right the paper is fine. Mesh has no benefit. Costs 10 x as much as paper. Mix your own spackle. Get the 20 minute bag. Can finish in one day with 3-4 coats. Realize some people can't do it with one hundred coats.

Yeah stick with the regular spackle, if you mix db 45 or 90 or whatever, it will harden up on you and turn rock hard. It’s for pros or talented tapers. Also it’s to hard to sand if you leave any spots high which I bet will happen. I do agree about the mesh for the most part. I would use tape.

It’s such a small job no need to go nuts. Add a few 1 1/4” drywall screws like ebs-p suggested .