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QUESTION: I just repaired
a small hole in my drywall. Do I need to tape the joint before
finishing it?
ANSWER: There is somewhat of a
debate on this. To really answer this question, however, you should
determine why exactly the tape is being applied. In a wall joint where
two sheets meet, there can, and often is, foundation shifting that can
place considerable pressure along the joint. Without taping, there
would be a crack at the joint in less than a season with near
guarantee. For a small fist-sized hole in the middle of a wall,
however, there is no way for stress to be placed on the joint, since
it is contained entirely within the middle of the sheet. For such a
small hole, taping is not needed and in fact I have made such repairs
without taping and they have never cracked. If, on the other hand, the
hole lies on an edge meeting another sheet, you should tape.
Some folks will want to tape this type of small hole
repair for the purpose of covering the rough edges along the perimeter
of the repair. This allows mudding and finishing without snagging the
edges where the patch piece meets the wall. It's not a problem to tape
for this reason, and if it aids in finishing, then tape the joint.
Just don't overlap ends of tape (making a higher profile to cover) but
cut the ends of the tape 1/8" short of where they meet the next piece
of tape. And I recommend paper tape by the way. |
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