Drywall Repair!!! Fixing a classic MESH TAPE CRACK! 

This was a relaxing to watch. You are like the Mr Rogers of mud and tape. I pray your channel last forever.

Thanks Ben! I know that this is a lot of work for you. You are helping so many people! How great is that!!

Thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to show us your trade. I’ve had many very disappointing drywall jobs. I’m getting ready to drywall my basement and your videos are coming in handy.

Hey mate, I’ve watched and learned from your videos for years, despite being a plasterer and decorator. In England all we use when skimming is mesh, and yeah we do get fails with it, but generally it’s not because of the mesh, it’s loose boardwork, shrinking timbers, structural movement etc. tape and jointing is used here in new builds and I’ve been to literally dozens of tape and joint fails be it corners, angles etc. I think it’s fair to say that any joint will crack given the worst circumstances for it. Once again have watched and loved your videos for years. My Mrs even recognises your voice when watching vids haha

All I use is Fiba-Fuse. It’s forgiving for a DIY’er that tapes drywall infrequently. And even if I was to take on a bigger task it will be my go to.

I grew up in a carpenter dominated family 4th generation. Dang, you are good & a great teacher. I stopped to be a cop & medic for 25 yrs., but back in the game playing catch up. loved ones passed, thank you for this!!!

My project _is_ going well, thanks to all the help you've provided over the last couple years of content.

Dude! Love watching your work and the pointers you provide to make the job go smoothly and correctly! The humor also makes your videos enjoyable! Keep up the great work sir.

Have been learning so much from you about repairing drywall which is of great help in my handyman jobs for many clients. I rarely ever use mesh tape anymore, except for small repairs. Just explained why to another client today why I use paper tape. Thanks so much for all your new videos. I enjoy learning from you!

So helpful! You are enjoyable to watch, funny, and good at explaining the “why”…keep up the great work

I’m a painter and decorator from the uk and you’re videos have helped me so much. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge 👍

just want to thank you for all the hard work you put into these awesome videos. great work!!!!

I’ve been subscribed for about a year and have never seen (or even heard of) the Fiberfuse tape. Seems like a cool and very good product in the right circumstances. Great video as always!

Thank you so much! Tons of repairs need to be done around our home. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge and sense of humor! 🤣

Your absolutely amazing. You are the Master of All Trades. You deserve your own show on the HGTV channel.

From one Ben to another, THANK YOU for making this channel. I actually have a cracked mesh tape joint that I need to fix as part of my current project. Looking forward to repeating basically what you did here... except I'll use 90 minute and paper because I'm a newbie :) Can't tell you how much time, money, and frustration you've saved me as a new homeowner doing a lot of DIY. You're an artist with a trowel, always uplifting, fun to watch, and I've learned so much from you. Peace and love, friend. You're a huge blessing.

Yep!! I almost done with my house and thanks to you, it looks awsome!!! Great channel and I tell everyone I can!

Your videos got me so much confidence. Where I live, in Iceland, we dont have much options in terms of timing so I get the american powder one ugc or something like that, the 20mins version and damn I learned to work with it fast and it was a learning curve too, I thought putting water would make setting it slower boy how wrong I was 😂. Today I have a kitchen finished and it took me 2 days to figure out the consistency for the 20min one. Next time I will get a 45/90 one so I can take my time.

I am a home owner, not a pro. And I the vast majority of home repairs and have learned so much from your vids. I suck at feathering but Im better than I used to be. Its a little confusing knowing which mud or tape to use on what repair and such. But I have managed to make some really crappy walls look pretty good thanks to you. Great job!

"Kicking off" - love it... never heard that terminology but I'll be sure to inorganically interject it as much as possible.

This gave me a lot information that I have not seen in other videos on this subject. It is nice to have advise from an expert that is easy to understand. Also I have been using your glue recipe from a previous video. It has worked very well for me. THANK YOU!

Crazy how a small repair can take days to fix for mud to dry. Pending on the mud you use. For a diy person I typically like the mud that doesn't set too quick. But recently started using 90 and mixing in small batches it definitely speeds up the process. Just wish I had your knife skills. It's like watching a chef in the kitchen. Love the videos, you've been a huge help and also very entertaining

Always impressed with the finish you get. Good work Ben

I have been using Fibafuse a lot lately. I started with just patches, but it's also good for butt joints on new work. The one place I won't use it (so far) is inside corners. It doesn't fold well and it is really easy to cut with the corner of my knife. I also have a favorite 10" Knife that I have had for at least 15 years. When you find one that really works for you you can never let it go lol

Thanks for this one! I have this exact issue after filling in some wood paneling and discovering two overlapping sheets weren't quite fastened enough. It was a sad surprise to see a big ol' crack spread over the winter as the temperature and humidity fluctuated. I'm gonna follow your steps and finally fix the issue!

instead of mud to fill the joints, use plaster of paris. doesn’t shrink and cures faster. solid

You snuck in that butterfly patch!!!...lol...you wizard!!..great work!...ive been painting for 17 years and learned to pull mud/ drywall repairs from the jump..you do things the exactly how i do them to the T! 👍👍

You should allow the "pre fill" to dry before taping. It holds up longer.

I needed this video today. I'm fixing to repair the ceiling in my kids' bathroom tonight, it just kinda gave up and drooped where it meets the wall and I'm angry at the builders of this house because of how much crap I've had to fix since moving here.

Thanks a lot Ben , your videos are a great help with some of the work I’m doing at the house

Thank You! Iv been having trouble with a ceiling and you just really helped me out!

@vancouvercarpenter, WOW! If it weren’t for the fact I watched the whole thing and knew where the wet spots were, I wouldn’t even see the repair. I’m sure there some camera issues with color and all, but you can’t hide lumpy shadows. I couldn’t see ANYthing at the end. Beautiful work. And I didn’t realize screws were needed. You can really tell my builder cheaped out. SOOOO many mail pops!

I soooo appreciate you!!! Thank you for all these wonderful videos. So helpful.

great job Ben like always vary helpful and amazing guy try’s to help anyone he can witch is amazing. You are amazing Ben

I have been priming with latex bonding agent on V out joints.This is to provide a stronger bond for back filling.I use the same material added to the rapid set hot mud. I do this for my repair work mostly.Useful over prepared painted surfaces,prior to plastering and skim coating.

Thanks for shearing this type of videos, i am beginner in this paint job this video is very useful to me. thanks a lot

You replied to a comment I posted on a kitchen remodel. You told me to skim it, I did and posted a comment to you on the video where you show your Carpenters card and talked about the differences in the trades. I thought that was a new video, that's why I mention it, thanks again.

Thanks for all the drywall knowledge. My projects look much better. Though no one sees it but me! Feather those edges and use good bucket skills.

🤣 at how you immediately catch all of your "that's what she said" moments

Good video. Solid thinking. A lot of experience. That tape looks good. Not available when I was doing this work. Personally I won't use mesh tape. If you have a nail pop, either remove the nail, or put another nail, or screw, right next to it. I've nailed a lot of drywall. Two nails less than an inch apart will never pop, one nail will almost always pop. In the early 90s was renovating my 55 year old house. I was in Los Angeles and fnished taping the cracks before the Northridge Earthquake. Some cracks I used paper tape and some I used mesh tape (no actual plan or reason.) The mesh tape cracked, none of the paper tape cracked. This wasn't drywall, this was plasterboard with a layer of plaster over the top. So it was all fastened correctly. I probably ran a few screws in. The ceiling where most of the cracks were could've been built stronger. (A friend's house I helped his father a more experienced carpenter had similar problems but more of them. We ran purlins in the attic, this distributed the load across all the joists, problem solved. In my attic I put down plywood over the insulation same basic idea, plus you could walk on it.) So my experience indicates that paper tape is significantly better than mesh. Mesh of course is a lot quicker and easier.

Men thanks for you videos I been learnings from you videos a lot

I love using Fiba Fuse it's easy and so thin it makes repairs easy.

Ahhh nothing like using an impact to drive drywall screws! (That’s my special trick too) Great content cheers 🇨🇦

Good guys' humour too.

Lot of love went into that repair

Great video as always Ben. Much love from Croatia!♥

Real Gs use impact driver for drywall

Harder by the second… deprived and depraved… a little bit of tiddlin’… don’t get yourself accidentally demonetized! 😆 I really had a good laugh at that though. Excellent video, and I liked seeing the whole process in one short complete set.

Looks much much better then new... Cheers

Got to fix me a mesh tape crack this weekend I'm curious to now see why it failed thanks for the video!

Real good job. Thanks

Your channels to go to when I wanna watch something while I eat

Thanks!

This is really helpful as i have a few more cracks to repair. Learnt more about my recent repair mistakes...... I realised I didn't go wide enough or feather the edges well enough. Sanding was fine but I suspect I'm to see some unevenness around the edges after priming and painting. Too frustrated to care. I'll reposition the lighting!

Masterful... I have learned much from you!

“Do I dare?” 😂 Oh how many times I’ve thought that exact same thing instead of just leaving it alone. It’s usually that last pass that grabs a chunk and drags a nice snail trail through your glassy, pristine mud. 🤦‍♂️

Good job

Great video, like usual, I noticed the hot patch you did off camera... have you ever tried chamfering the edges of a hole like that, then pressure fitting in some diamond mesh lathing screen, then keying it in with thick 5 min quick set? A repair like that typically takes 2 coats of quickset, with a final of topping, and it is basically like filling in a nail head, no need to break it out (creating a hump over a distance). It is an extremely strong repair on both plaster and drywall.

I think the hardest thing I had to realize, was it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth with the knife. Many times its the " one more pass" and its got a krusty in it then it turns into 4 more passes, when I should of just stopped 5 passes ago.

Artist at work!

Another great, useful vid - with a little goofy humor as a bonus. Well done!

Thanks, you are fun to watch

I have this exact issue! Before I started down the Vancouver Playlist. I had started a drywall project and I used mesh tape to tape the edges of a large piece of replaced drywall. Now I have tried putting thin amounts of mud twice but it just came right back! Like a bad dream! I live in a cheap trailer and all of the drywall was stapled on and the butts were covered with thin ugly trim strips.😮‍💨

its amazing how a small crack fix turns into skimming several feet of drywall.

Great video, thanks

Thanks again for a very helpful video.

Riverting video, love your work. 2 things I've learnt, feather and dont mess with it.

And the Bob Ross of mud and tape without the happy little accidents!

My favorite pan

Thanks! I’m having exactly the same problem. The contractor used mesh tape which has cracked around the entire perimeter of the drywall repair.

Tiddling, firming up, and a "six inch knife". And we're the ones who are depraved! Always fun to watch.

I took a shot every time he said ‘mud’ and now I’m dead.

Educational...AND entertaining!! LOL 😆

I’m so glad I waited to repair the drywall. This video showed me how to work on the next project which I procrastinated because... I just did not know how. In addition, it answered some of my questions, such as how to not let the paper tape move. Now, I know. Thank you!!!

Good Video thanks,

It is nice to see you struggle with crusties too. It gives us some hope😉

I'm a painter for a small home repair company. I have to constantly instruct my boss on how to repair or do sheetrock.

I put a kid through college fixing mesh tape jobs . Fibafuse on all flats and butts .

Always watch till the end. 😂

There is Fibafuse and Fibafuse max.... for us homeowners would the Fibafuse Max with a bit more reinforcement help us... maybe do a video with that stuff to show us all how it works... I like the combined steps in this video... most of us don't like jobs hanging out for days at home this helps...

#1 Drywall guy in the World

I'm chillin out watching and you're giving me an anxiety attack stopping to talk about your knife while the mud is hardening!

I love the 5 minute mud lol

Really enjoyed the swedish pass 😂🇸🇪

Love your videos! When you do this repair on a wall with light texture, do you sand down the texture on either side of the crack? Thanks for all the info!

Thank you sir. Better then therapy.

I have my Blue Steel 10 in. knife. So when I get ready to do a mud repair, I just whip out my big 10 inch… record of my favorite blues 🤣

Can you possibly do a video on using a plasters float. They are becoming more prominent in the UK, especially in the DIY market due to the ease of getting a smooth surface without the need for multiple coats. I'm sure it's in the realm of cutting corners but seeing a professional use one would be great👍

Get an magnetic bit holder mate. You propably have one anyway :) love your videos

Skills!

Another amazing vid but you need to change the the name to Vancouver 20 minute mid 😂

Good Stuff😎

My biggest problem when doing this my self at home is to understand when you're at the 'thats good enough'-state, and not go past that. I bet I've waisted a lot of time trying to get mud to be more perfect than it should be at a too early stage. But this video is perfect for me right now. I have cracks like these after removing fiberglass wallpaper (not sure if you have those). I thought I had fixed the problem with sanding, mud and paint, 2 years later the seams started to crack . Turns out the walls were never tapet to begin with because they knew they were putting up wallpaper. So now I'll have to cut out and tape.

Man that seems like a ton of work to fix a crack

I've just discovered a delaminating area behind our fridge and found out why, they were using leftover bits; one section is only about 4" wide and poorly fastened. I've added screws where I can, but half of it has nothing behind it aside from the dwangs and I tried doing an angled screw, but it didn't work. I'm going to use our equivalent of Fiba Fuse on it and backfill beforehand. It didn't crack, just the layers of plaster delaminating which I put down to them putting it over lining paper that had been applied to the Gib board. One of many examples of poor work in our place. I'd replace the gib, but you can't get it here atm due to shortages so I have to work with what I've got. Today I'll be backfilling, I don't have the experience to be doing everything in one session yet.

Thanks for this movie... and all your other!.. so., firstly, getting mud deep enough into the cracks is important right? so, why not run the knife n mud over the cracks first, pressing mud deep, then tape over that and continue? Love your work. I found you a while ago when I wanted to patch a hole. Found your videos on the subject, watched them, then spent the following 2 hours watching the next one then the next one then the next one.. you sir, are a fascinating individual and an excellent craftsman. Thank you.

Hope you're having a great day. I really enjoy all your informational/training videos. I have a question if you have time and a good idea of how to address my sister-in-law's problem that may become my problem, oh well. She has a wall that had wallpaper, been stripped, wall is not sheetrock but a much harder material, more like a form of rockboard?? Paper hasen't come off perfectly and the walls still have some rough surfaces even after being sanded and sanded. What would you recommend to smoothen the surface and prep for painting. Mud, or is there a paper like on sheetrock that could cover the rough surface????? Thank you for any recommendations. Love how you make mudding look easy, I think more is best but I end up sanding and sanding and sanding. Thank you Mike

Plenty of these ahead in my basement bath. Taking notes on fuse. Luckily its way down the list bc plate is beyond full. Perhaps far enough that i can show my boys how to fix a slop job. -U10

I did some work in my bathroom. Used the mesh tape. It failed. But now I need to see if the cause is the tape of a loose joint. Thanks .

Great video. I’m having all my tape in my garage fail. Any idea what would cause that?