You will never know when your drywall seams will crack and what causes it. Sometimes even due to a very minimum movement of your wall, it can result to cracking especially if the drywall is located near windows or doorways where any activities such as slamming of doors or windows would produce very slight movement within the wall thus cracking your drywall seam. It does not matter what causes your drywall seam to crack, the important thing is for you to repair the crack as soon as possible before it gets worst. The following steps will provide you with some information and understanding on the process for repairing any cracks in your drywall seams using suitable tools and materials that you can find at your nearby hardware stores.
To repair drywall seams, you need:
- Scraper
- Utility knife
- Drywall tape (with adhesive backing)
- Drywall mud or compound
- Mud Pan
- Water
- Taping knife
- Sand paper
- Ladder (if only the affected area is in a high position)
Repair Drywall Seams
Ways of Repairing Drywall Seams
- The first thing that you need to do is to prepare the crack for the filling.
- You must determine the exact location of the crack that you need to repair and also its severity.
- You must determine the exact location of the crack that you need to repair and also its severity.
For damage which is wider than 1/4-inch or if it is located near your door or window, you need to pay extra attention and requires more than a standard repair. This is due to the location where the wall is more likely to shift or even vibrate.
- Make sure that you replace any existing drywall tape and its plaster. Do not just tape over the damaged tape
- This task can be done by using a scraper where you just need to push the edge of your scraper beneath the existing drywall plaster in order to force the plaster away from the surface of the drywall and follow along the length of the damage area.
- Make sure that the surface is smooth in order for you to apply the new tape without any problems. You can even use coarse sandpaper on the affected area so that you would be able to remove rough places on the wall surface.
- This task can be done by using a scraper where you just need to push the edge of your scraper beneath the existing drywall plaster in order to force the plaster away from the surface of the drywall and follow along the length of the damage area.
- The next step is to mix a small amount of your drywall mud together with water in order to make the mud thinner.
- The thinned mud need to be loaded on your joint knife before applying it over the cracked area. Make sure that you move the joint knife along with the mud on the drywall down the cracked area.
- You also need to leave sufficient mud on the drywall on either side of the cracked area which is wide enough to cater for the drywall paper that you will be applying over the cracked area.
- The thinned mud need to be loaded on your joint knife before applying it over the cracked area. Make sure that you move the joint knife along with the mud on the drywall down the cracked area.
- Once you have done the above step, you can proceed to apply the drywall paper tape by cutting a strip of the tape according to the length that would be able to cover the crack in your drywall seam.
- The strip needs to be pressed into place beside the mud bed.
- Press it with enough pressure against the knife in order for the tape to adhere with the mud bed and at the same time does not create any dent.
- Make sure that you position the joint knife with its blade in a horizontal way across the adhered tape.
- The knife blade’s position should be at a 45-degree angle where at this position you must press the knife’s edge against the tape allowing you to draw it down the tape. This will also enables you to smooth the mud edges thus adhere the strip into the mud bed.
- If you notice any obvious ridges in the mud, you have to smooth them away so that the mud strip will be smooth.
- The strip needs to be pressed into place beside the mud bed.
- Then, you must let the drywall mud on the seam to dry completely.
- Once dried, take a sandpaper to smooth any ridges or bumps that you see on the surface.
- Finally, use your knife and load it with thinned drywall mud in order to float it over the seam and able to match the surface with the surrounding wall.
- Leave them to dry thoroughly before you sand the surface again.
- Once you finished sanding you need to wipe off the dust on the wall completely before you would be able to apply the primer and the paint of your choice.
Always remember that whenever you want to repair your drywall seams,
- Make sure that whenever you tape and mud the cracked seam properly, your seams should flare out at least 5 to 6 inches on both sides of the actual joint seams amid two adjoining drywall panels so that you will be getting a seam width totaling at least 10 to 12 inches.
- Once dried, take a sandpaper to smooth any ridges or bumps that you see on the surface.
