Home Depot parking lot taught me about drywall mud

I was loading up my truck at the Home Depot on Coors last Saturday after buying a 5 gallon bucket of all purpose joint compound. A guy in the spot next to me saw my bucket and asked if I was doing a big job. I said yeah, patching some walls in my rental. He laughed and said good luck with that mud, it shrinks like crazy. I didn't think much of it until I got home and the first coat on a 12 inch patch cracked overnight. Called my buddy who does drywall for a living and he said always use the lightweight stuff for small patches because it doesn't shrink as much. Now I check the label every time before I buy. Has anyone else noticed a big difference between all purpose and lightweight in New Mexico dry weather?

2 comments

2 Comments

kimr332d ago

Oh man, I've been bit by that same snake. It's like every time I try to save a buck on something simple the universe reminds me why pros charge what they do. I bought the cheap caulk once instead of the silicone stuff and had to redo a whole bathroom window seal three times. Now I figure the extra five dollars is just the price of not hating myself later.

skyler_fox721d ago

See that's the thing though, I've had pretty good luck with the all purpose stuff if you just accept that it's gonna need a second coat. I think a lot of the frustration comes from people expecting one coat to be perfect. I've done a few patches around my house with the regular mud and sure it cracked a little the first time but that's just part of the process. Sand it down, throw another thin coat on, and it's fine. The lightweight stuff dries too fast for me and I end up with craters. Does the extra shrinkage really matter if you're doing two coats anyway?