leo603•4mo ago

Saw a crew in Denver using mesh tape on inside corners and cringed hard

I was walking through a job site in Denver last Tuesday and noticed a crew putting up mesh tape on all their inside corners. That's just asking for trouble in my book. Paper tape gives way better mud adhesion and won't bubble up like mesh does on those tight angles. I've been doing this 12 years and tried mesh once back in 2018, had to cut half of it out after a month. Who else still swears by paper tape for corners or am I just old school?

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jamie644mo ago

Man I felt that cringe through my phone screen and I wasn't even there. My first year in the trade I tried mesh on corners cause some guy at the supply house swore by it and I ended up cutting out every single corner three weeks later when they all bubbled up like blisters. Paper tape has never once let me down on inside corners and I've been at this long enough to have gray hairs and a bad back to prove it. Mesh has its place on flat seams and patches sure but on those tight 90 degree angles it just fights you the whole way. I'd rather spend an extra two minutes bedding paper tape than come back to fix mesh failure six months down the road.

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troy_gibson434mo ago

Yo did you ever read that old Journal of Light Construction article about mesh vs paper? They tested a bunch of corners and the mesh basically popped every time when the framing dried out. I think they said something about how paper actually bonds into the mud better on tight angles.

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