I finally figured out why my inside corners kept cracking after a week

Was using too much compound on the first coat and not letting it dry fully before taping, so after I tried doing a thin pre-fill coat and letting it sit overnight before the tape went on, every inside corner I've done in the last 2 months hasn't cracked once-anyone else struggle with this or find a different fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarm249d ago

My buddy Mark had a similar issue with his drywall work until he started using a different approach. He switched to those fiberglass mesh tapes instead of paper, and it solved most of his corner cracking problems without needing to pre-fill. @jamesblack is right about backing off like with wood glue-I see that in guitar repair all the time where people crank clamps too hard and starve the joint. For drywall, I just switched to using a setting-type mud for the first coat on corners, let it flash off for about 45 minutes, then hit it again with regular mud. Hasn't cracked since.

jamesblack9d ago

You ever notice how that applies to everything though? Like with paint or caulk, if you try to do it all at once it ends up worse than if you just take your time and do it in thin layers. I've found the same thing with wood glue where if you clamp it too tight it squeezes everything out and the joint ends up weak. Sometimes the fix is just backing off and letting things sit for a bit.