Drywall: Taping Joints – On the House
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Drywall: Taping Joints

By on January 8, 2015

The earth is constantly moving. First, around the sun. Next, around itself. And finally, when the moisture content on its surface changes, soil radically expands and contracts. Therefore, it is a fact of life on earth that our homes are destined to be heaved to and fro for all eternity. Although there can be, normally there isn’t a great deal of structural damage caused by “normal house movement”. Most often the movement manifests itself as cracks that appear in the plaster or wallboard surrounding a door or window. The discovery of these nasty looking separations usually unnerves the average homeowner eliciting a response similar to that of Chicken Little’s – “The sky is falling….the sky is falling! Well, it isn’t. As a matter of fact, the top corner of a window or door is known to be the weakest point in the wall covering.

By the way, plaster and wallboard both react to house movement in the same way, so for simplicity we will use the term wallboard from here on – referring to both wall coverings.

Working with electricity can be a little tricky. Working with gas line can be a bit dangerous. But working with cracks in wallboard – at worst – can only be time consuming. The process is simple and easy, and if you make a mistake the process can be reversed to give you a second or even a third chance.

The most common mistake is when joint compound is used alone – without joint tape. Sorry, a wallboard crack that moves will immediately crack the next time the house moves. That’s because the joint tape is what gives the repair its strength. Yep, there are times when a taped joint will re-crack. But only in instances where extreme movement exists.

We don’t want to get off the subject, but if properly tape-repaired wallboard cracks continue to reappear we suggest that you contact a soils engineer to help determine why your home is moving so radically – underground spring, drainage problem, over irrigation, etc. – and then get the proper repair made.

Joint tape and joint compound, a joint compound tray and a couple of joint compound knives will be needed to make a proper repair. “Spray texture in a can” can be used if a textured finish is desired.

A tip: the area to be repaired should be completely clean. Yes, the joint compound will stick to a dirty wall. The problem is that spider webs and loose particles of dirt and wallboard make it difficult to get a smooth finish. A vacuum works great here. The unwanted particles make the knife skip and the finish wavy and lumpy will disappear in one or two swipes..

With tools in hand the first step is to prepare the joint compound. You can purchase a powder and mix it with water or you can purchase a ready mix. We like the ready mix. But even with ready mix the consistency of the joint compound is sometimes a little too thick and therefore a bit difficult to apply. We find that a consistency somewhere between biscuit dough and pancake batter works best. We usually find ourselves adding a little water to the ready mix compound making it smoother, lighter and easier to apply. Be careful here though. The joint compound should not be runny or drippy. Also, a really wet compound will shrink and crack. Not a good thing.

Using a joint compound tray (a long, narrow hand-held trough) allows you to evenly cover the entire edge of a 10” wide taping knife with joint compound. The tray is an indispensable tool but can be replaced with a bread pan. Since joint compound is water-base cleanup is quick and easy and the pan would not be damaged. Or, you could buy a joint-compound tray and use it as a bread pan – oh well!

With the area clean, wipe a thin layer (about a sixteenth of an inch thick – slightly wider than the joint tape) along the entire length of the crack. This first coat is used to hold the joint tape in place. The joint compound can be applied to the tape, but for longer cracks it is easier to apply it to the wall. Lay the tape centered over the crack and use the smaller (four- to six-inch putty knife) to smooth the tape and remove excess compound. Make sure to hold one end of the tape so it doesn’t slip while you smooth out the tape.

When the first coat is dry – usually about 24 hours – the next coat can be applied. We like to use two additional coats. One about six-inches wide and a third about ten-inches wide. Imperfections are sanded out of each coat. Coats should be thinly applied. Thick coats will shrink radically and crack. Also, discard the joint compound as it gets dirty. You will find that the repair is 10 times easier to make with clean compound.

Caution: over sanding can tear the paper surface on wallboard. So, be careful. A light sanding is all that is normally needed.

The biggest single mistake that most novices make when repairing a wall is to confine the area to too small an area. The larger the area that is covered with the joint compound the more evenly it can be feathered into the wall. With the new spray texture in a can, texturing, the hardest part of this kind of repair, is a breeze. And, good luck!

For more home improvement tips and information search our website or call our listener line any time at 1-800-737-2474! All you need to do is leave your name, telephone number and your question.

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