LESLIE: Lester in New York needs some help with a patching project. What can we do for you?
LESTER: Yes, hi. I enjoy your program.
LESLIE: Thanks, Lester.
LESTER: I have some stress cracks in my kitchen ceiling.
TOM: OK.
LESTER: When I clean it off, the paint chips come off and the thickness of the defect is only the thickness of a couple of layers of paint.
TOM: OK.
LESTER: And I remember last time you said that such defects could be fixed with fiberglass tape and joint compound. And I’m wondering if the tape would even be too thick; that I would have to use either joint compound or spackle alone.
TOM: Well, if you’ve got a crack, the best way to stop it from cracking is to cover it with fiberglass; perforated fiberglass tape. Now it is thick and it’s not an easy project. It takes a number of layers. But what you want to do is first sand down that area so you get rid of any glaze on the paint; you get rid of any looseness of the paint. You put the fiberglass spackle – the fiberglass drywall tape down and then you put probably three coats of spackle; letting each one dry. So start with something that’s around a four-inch spackle blade. You sort of just cover the tape; then you put a little more and a little more and you sort of feather it out so it goes …
LESLIE: So it thins out as it gets wider.
TOM: Yeah, exactly. Now, after you’re done with that, you paint that ceiling again and if you use flat paint – we would recommend not anything with a gloss; flat paint because it hides those imperfections of the ceiling – then you won’t see it anymore. But that’s definitely the way to fix it if you don’t want to see that crack any further.
Lester, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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