Had to choose between paper tape and mesh for a ceiling repair in my own house

I was doing a small ceiling patch in my living room in Phoenix last weekend and couldn't decide if I should use paper tape or mesh tape for the joint. I usually go with mesh on flat walls since it's faster, but everyone says paper is better for ceilings because it doesn't bubble. I went with paper tape and pre-filled the gap with compound. Took me about 20 extra minutes but the finish came out super clean with no cracking. Anyone else stick with paper for overhead work or am I overthinking it?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas10519d ago

Paper tape all the way for ceilings, no question about it. Mesh might be faster but that bubbling risk on overhead joints is real and not worth the headache of having to sand and redo it later. You did it right with the pre-fill and extra time, that's the kind of detail that makes a repair actually disappear instead of cracking again in a month.

ryan71919d ago

Yeah I feel you man, paper is just the way to go for ceilings. I remember reading this old school drywaller's blog a while back where he basically said mesh is fine for walls but ceilings will always fight you because gravity is pulling down on the mud and the tape wants to float. I tried mesh on a ceiling patch one time in my bathroom and got those little air bubbles right along the edge, had to scrape it all off and start over with paper. The pre-fill trick is clutch too, that extra 20 minutes you spent is nothing compared to having to re-mud and sand a whole section later lol. Paper just bonds better when you're working overhead, especially in a dry climate like Phoenix where stuff shrinks faster. So yeah you definitely made the right call, that repair is gonna hold for years.