Ask a Carpenter/Painter/Repairman

[Outta Here]

I thought there used to be a separate sub-forum for carpentry questions. Anyway...I'm trying to paint a tiny bedroom that once belonged to my son. Here is a picture, albeit sideways, of a crack in the wall where the door was opened too quickly and the paint and whatever was under the paint chipped away over the past 10 years. Can an experienced person give me advice on how to fill in this crack so that it a) won't "show" once it is painted over, and will not fall apart within the next 4 or 5 years? I need advice also on brand of product(s) to use. Thanks in advance!

[doug yowell]

I thought there used to be a separate sub-forum for carpentry questions. Anyway...I'm trying to paint a tiny bedroom that once belonged to my son. Here is a picture, albeit sideways, of a crack in the wall where the door was opened too quickly and the paint and whatever was under the paint chipped away over the past 10 years. Can an experienced person give me advice on how to fill in this crack so that it a) won't "show" once it is painted over, and will not fall apart within the next 4 or 5 years? I need advice also on brand of product(s) to use. Thanks in advance!

Can you back the picture off a little,away from the crack.That looks suspiciously like it's drywall corner bead that's showing.

[olger]

That is steel drywall corner bead.

Might take another picture Aubrey, and flip it 90°.

Remove any/all loose material. Use lightweight spackling and a 4" drywall knife. Sand it nice and level and prime the new spackling and then paint it same color (2 coats).

Should look nice when completed.

`og out

[Outta Here]

I knew that picture would be wonky! LOL Sorry, I had my son take the picture on his iPad and he's kind of a grumpy 16 year old--you'd think I was asking him to mow the lawn!

Anyway. Thanks for the responses! The crack you see in the picture is about a foot long, and there is loose drywall(?) for about two more feet below that. When you say "lightweight spackling", what exactly do you mean (and does it even matter what brand)? I have some spackling I used in the other bedroom earlier this summer--it comes in a tube and takes 24 hours to dry. It worked fine for the nail holes and push-pin holes I'd been working to fill in, but I'm not sure it will work for this job.

Should I buy the spackling in a tub, or a tube? Or, should I buy the stuff you have to add water to?

I know these are tedious questions, but I need to know. I've already wasted money on Painter's Putty--after I got home and really read the directions, I knew it wasn't what I needed. (That's why I'm asking here, because the guys at the hardware store just want me to buy stuff--they're not interested in really helping.)

Thanks again!

[Tom Wetmore]

A small container of the premixed variety should be more than enough for this job. Avoid the "lite" quick dry varieties. Just get the standard stuff and wait a day before sanding.

One thing I would check since you noted that the crack was the result of the door being slammed. Make sure the door frame is solid and secure or this could reappear from door frame movement each time it closes and opens.

[John317]

Sorry, I had my son take the picture on his iPad and he's kind of a grumpy 16 year old--you'd think I was asking him to mow the lawn!

Please show us another picture of it, once the job is finished. I'd like to see what it looks like repaired. Hope that's OK with your son. Tell him he can write me a nasty post if he wants to. lol

[ClubV12]

I'm doing some major drywall around my house. Some new, some old. What I've found is that "spackling compound" is different than traditional dry wall "mudd". It does a much better job for repairs and larger gaps and holes. It doesn't shrink as much and does a better job of hiding imperfections.

Larger gaps and holes,,, that pretty well describes the NEW dry wall I'm putting up. Dry wall is easy to hang, hard to tape and mudd and get good results depending on how it was hung to begin with. Plenty mistakes around my place, I'm buying the large tub of spackling. :)