I'm going to be doing some drywalling shortly and was wondering what experiences other have had with the self adhesive fiberglass mesh tape.
Is it a good choice or am I going to regret using it?
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I've found that it works OK, but it's more difficult to get the surface smooth than paper tape -- as the mud dries, it shrinks, so the mesh starts to show through. Obviously this is not a problem if you're going to be doing some heavy texturing afterwards. |
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Fiber glass mesh is designed to be used with fast setting mud. This is dry stuff that is mixed with water and contains plaster of paris. I use it all the time. they have a product at Home Depot that will dry in 5 minutes (usually takes 15). then put another coat on top of that. The final coat should be regualr mud which is a bit easier to sand. |
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The two advantages I know of for fiberglass tape are that it's mold resistant and it won't bubble up like paper can if you do a bad mudding job. But I think others have already pointed out many of the advantages of paper, which is my preference. |
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The fiberglass tape is all I use. It doesn't stick very well, though. |
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I was warned by several people to not use fiberglass tape when finishing drywall. The fiberglass mesh tape is more likely to allow cracks to form over time because it is not as strong as paper tape. |
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I like it since it generally goes on quite a bit faster. The only place I don't like it is for inside corners. It's much easier to get a nice clean corner with paper tape since it has that convenient seam down the middle for folding it. |
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I have used it for patching areas, but not for an entire drywall installation. It made patching in a tight space much easier. You just needed several coats of mud on top to compensate for the shrinking. |
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