Had a talk with an old timer in Baton Rouge about tape joints

Ran into a guy who's been hanging board since the 70s on a job over on Perkins Road. He said I was wasting time by not wetting my paper tape before applying it. Said it keeps the mud from drying out too fast and reduces bubbles. Tried it on the last three rooms and I think he might be right. Anyone else do this or is it just an old school thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

knight.oscar1mo ago

Read an article not too long ago where some old school mud guys swore by this exact method. They said wetting the tape lets the paper fibers soak up water so they don't pull moisture out of the joint compound and cause it to crumble. Makes sense if you think about it. Drier mud shrinks and cracks more, and bubbles come from air pockets forming when the tape tries to dry too fast. That old timer in Baton Rouge probably knows his stuff from trial and error back when materials were different.

the_willow1mo ago

Old timer in Baton Rouge probably learned that trick back when tape was made of bark and prayers lol. Jokes aside, he's right about paper fibers being thirsty little sponges. You ever see what happens when you put dry paper tape on damp mud? It's like watching a drama unfold in slow motion. The tape sucks up all the moisture so fast the mud underneath turns to dust and starts cracking like a desert floor. I bet that guy has a few more tricks up his sleeve that involve bacon grease or something equally random.