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I switched from paper tape to mesh on a 12 unit apartment job in Gary and the corners still look fine 5 years later
Back when I started in the early 2000s, everybody I worked with used paper tape and mud, no questions asked. Around 2015 I noticed more guys on my crew grabbing the mesh rolls for butt joints, mostly because it was faster and they could pre-fill without waiting for the mud to set. Last month I walked through that Gary job I finished in 2020 and I looked hard at every inside corner, and not one of them has popped or cracked, which honestly surprised me. I still use paper on the outside corners because mesh just doesn't hold the same way there. Anybody else out there still swear by paper for everything, or have you made the switch on flats too?
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jason_knight8h ago
Five years on a 12 unit building in Gary and not a single popped inside corner? I have a hard time buying that, and I'm not saying you're lying, I'm saying that's not how it usually goes around here. I've torn into remodels where mesh joints looked great from the surface, then you press on them and the whole seam moves because the tape never really grabbed the mud. Gary has real temp swings too, hot summers, cold winters, so if those corners are truly solid after five years, that's a rare bird in my book. Paper still wins on outside corners for me too, so we agree there, but flats and insides staying put that long is the part I'd want to see with my own eyes before I switch my whole crew over.
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