That new mesh tape I swore was a gimmick actually saved my bacon yesterday

I've been using paper tape for 15 years and figured that fiberglass mesh stuff was just marketing hype for homeowners. But I had a job at a old house in Portland where the corners were so uneven, paper kept bubbling on me. Grabbed a roll of mesh tape from the truck out of desperation and it laid flat on the first try. Anyone else been burned by a product they thought was garbage but turned out to be the real deal?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrew91623d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on this one hard. I've been using paper tape for 20 years and mesh tape has let me down every single time I've tried it. That fiberglass stuff might look good going on but it cracks like crazy in dry corners and it doesn't add any real strength to the joint like paper does. Paper tape takes a little more skill with the mudding but it becomes part of the drywall, not just a sticker on top. I've had jobs where I had to go back and fix mesh tape work from other guys and it's always a mess of little hairline cracks showing up a year later. I'd rather spend an extra 15 minutes getting the paper to lay right than gamble on mesh tape holding up in a hundred year old house that's still settling.

seanh9123d ago

Paper tape is like the crotchety old timer who knows the job inside out but needs a little extra patience. Mesh tape is the flashy new guy who looks good at first but leaves you cleaning up his mess a year later. I've pulled apart too many mesh tape repairs that looked fine until the first cold snap hit and the whole corner started spiderwebbing. Give me the paper every time, even if it means a little extra elbow grease upfront.