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Looking for advice on how best to fix cracks along the buried edge of a drywall bead? The drywall finishers did not bury the beads deep enough and after painting fine little cracks have developed along the length of the bead. The obvious solution — tearing them out and refinishing — sounds like a real bite in the shorts. Since drywall is not my thing, I’d appreciate any direction here. Thanks.
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You might try to renail the bead.....should know pretty quick if it'll be an answer or not. It might just rock the other side loose. Beats taking the old off by a little. You just have to know when to quit. It sounds like it's loose if it's showing a hairline crack. If it's just a straight line, it might not have been mudded enough. You could add another coat. Best of luck.
*Two choices beyond Calvin's 1)can't find my can of it but there is a product out for hairline crack repair that comes in can with a red top . It is made for stress crack repair and is found in most home Depot's or hardware stores. The second choice you have already addresssed, tearing out the old bead. If you go this route find someone in your area who carries "no-coat" structural corner bead. It is easier to apply than metal bead and they sat they guarrantee that it won't crack. Either way god luck, Skip
*I got a sprayable product for hairline cracks in plastered walls from a Sears paint store a couple years ago, and it does keep the crack from showing. However, even with priming and painting two coats, the paint has a different texture over the sprayed area and in this area, a bathroom, there are tiny bubbles forming under the film.I center fiberglass tape over the edge of the corner bead before i mud and don't get cracks. Is this standard practice, or something else? Never have seen or read about it done this way so far...
*Bob,If the metal is not out enough at the corner to be able to coat the ends of the wings with at least 2mm of mud, it should be torn out and redone. If the wings are deep enough, I have had luck grinding out the mud with the nose of a belt sander, to 1-1/2" past the bead (messy!) and renailing, then mesh tape and mud. I always use setting-type mud for the first pass on beads, and always tape. Beads nailed to green framing lumber, then mudded without tape, will very often crack as the wood shrinks and the nails pop, allowing the bead wings to float. It is worst where the beads get bumped, but I have seen it in high ceilings, too.Splintergroupie, taping beads is standard practice among the drywall pros I work with and the quality-conscious builders who do their own drywall.Bill
*Thanks, Bill! I'm out here in the sagebrush re-inventing a lot of wheels, i'm sure...nice to know they've already rolled for others before me!
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Thanks Gang,
I think I'll try the excellent suggestions in ascending order of diffculty/dust generation. First the red-topped stress crack mud, then if that lets go I'll rip them out and reseat. Further inspection shows them to be buried around 2mm. Fortunately, they are in a place that gets zero traffic and bump stress. Thanks again -- much appreciated.
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Looking for advice on how best to fix cracks along the buried edge of a drywall bead? The drywall finishers did not bury the beads deep enough and after painting fine little cracks have developed along the length of the bead. The obvious solution -- tearing them out and refinishing -- sounds like a real bite in the shorts. Since drywall is not my thing, I'd appreciate any direction here. Thanks.