How to fix a stress crack in Salisbury, MD.

As the world turns. Wasn't that a soap opera?

The earth is always moving, whether it be spinning, shifting, or shaking. Merriam-Webster says that movement is the act of moving from one place or position to another. It also says that stress is a physical force or pressure. Put the 2 together, with a little path of least resistance, and you have stress movement or stress crack.

How to fix a stress crack:

Take your spackle knife and scrape away any loose material. The separation has created space between the gypsum plaster and paper.

Tap on the area with your finger to make sure the surface is sound. Listen and feel for any hollow spots. You want to make sure the surface is solid before proceeding.

Sand the surface smooth. Pay special attention to the exposed paper, make sure there is no paper lifting away from itself. Bubbling can occur if the paper surface is not sound.

Precut your joint tape to the legth needed. For this type of application I recommend using FibaFuse. It has interweaving fiber strands for creating a strong joint and aids in crack prevention.

Apply a generous layer of compound (hot mud for time sensitive jobs, all-purpose for slow setting). Embed your tape into the compound and apply pressure with your knife to smooth out.

Apply 2 more coats of compound over the tape coat. Put pressure on the outside edge of the drywall knife when smoothing out the compound to taper it off and limit the sanding. Sand and you're done!

Here is a list of the tools I used for this project: