christy123

paper tape or meshed tape for the drywall

I had some drywall installed some cielings ..guy used meshed tape ...now the painter is telling me that drywall guy should have used paper tape and that i would get cracks along the seams... is he right? is there anything i can do before the cielings are painted?

XSleeper

Yes, it'll probably develop a hairline crack. Unless you want to paper tape over it, there isn't much you can do but caulk & paint it if and when it cracks.

christy123

Posted By: XSleeper Yes, it'll probably develop a hairline crack. Unless you want to paper tape over it, there isn't much you can do but caulk & paint it if and when it cracks.

ok..thanks

tightcoat

Not so fast xsleeper,

If the tape was set in setting joint compound it might not crack. If in regualer compound almost cetainly.

Paper is better than mesh for most applications.

XSleeper

ha ha, true. I accept the correction. My "probably will" indicates a greater than 50% chance of it happening, while your "might not" sounds like less than a 50% chance of it happening. In that case, there "might" only be 2% points separating us.

tightcoat

When you state the odds that way I think I'd sure stick with paper.

marksr

You can also jot down a material list or fast food list on a piece of paper tape hadn't tried it on sticky tape

tightcoat

If you only bought and ate what you wrote down on the mesh tape you might lose some weight. I don't k now if that's a concern for you or not.
Also you might run short if you use it for a materials list.

Jampac

Nothing wrong with using mesh tape, sometimes if were in a tight deadline we use mesh tape to speed up the process. As long as the taper bedded the mesh with compound you'll be fine.

yongeman

personally, ifyou need more than a foot of tape, use paper.
i have seen homes done in meshand it will crack.
all mesh does is saves a coat of mud.
read this article it sums up my feelings.
http://www.plaster-wall-ceiling-solutions.com/drywall-tape.html

if a drywall contractor uses mesh tape he is a handy man-not a drywall contractor. sorry if i insult someone, but if it aint broke dont fix it.
paper tape is stonger and it has years of good history
ryan

Wayne Mitchell

This topic resurfaces every couple of weeks. Hands down, the concensus seems to be that joints taped with fiberglass mesh tape is more likely to crack.

Like yongeman, I only use mesh for patches.

Jampac

Posted By: yongeman personally, ifyou need more than a foot of tape, use paper.
i have seen homes done in meshand it will crack.
all mesh does is saves a coat of mud.
read this article it sums up my feelings.
http://www.plaster-wall-ceiling-solutions.com/drywall-tape.html

if a drywall contractor uses mesh tape he is a handy man-not a drywall contractor. sorry if i insult someone, but if it aint broke dont fix it.
paper tape is stonger and it has years of good history
ryan

Let me start by saying that 98% of our work is done with paper tape. Second the 2% of the time we use mesh it DOES NOT crack when installed properly. We have to warranty our work and if mesh was so much of a problem we would never use it because of the costs involved with repairs.
BTW I am a very handy-man around my house, and I should point out that I don't build houses, I only do large scale condo/apartment projects. Not trying to inflate my ego, it's just that every time i tell someone that i'm a drywall contractor it's always assumed we build houses.

mikehammer

Ask the old school pro's & they'll give you a resounding thumb's up for paper tape.

To me,mesh tape was devised to skip the embedding process for DIYer's by giving them the adhesive without the bother of mud.

Since then,some TV reno guy's have endorsed the mesh tape as being better than paper but I'll never buy into it.

The only place I'll use it is on a concrete or Denshield application pre to tiling with a mastic or thinset.

Paper Rules!

Jampac

Posted By: mikehammer Ask the old school pro's & they'll give you a resounding thumb's up for paper tape.

To me,mesh tape was devised to skip the embedding process for DIYer's by giving them the adhesive without the bother of mud.

That's just it to use mesh tape the right way you will still have to bed it with compound. The time savings come from sticking the tape on the wall first then bedding with a small amount of compound, instead of the process of paper tape which takes longer.