Appreciation post: A guy on a big Reno job in Kelowna showed me a better way to tape inside corners

Honestly, I used to be all about the paper tape for inside corners, no question. I thought mesh was for hacks and would always crack. Then, about six months ago, I was on this huge custom home job up in Kelowna. This older guy, Pete, was running the board crew. He saw me struggling with a bubbled paper tape in a tricky bathroom corner and just said, 'Try the fibaFuse stuff with a thin coat first, then your mud.' I was skeptical, but I was also tired of redoing it. So I grabbed a roll from his truck. Ngl, it went on so flat and stuck right away. I did my three coats like normal, and when I sanded, that corner was perfect. No bubbles, no lifting. It changed my whole process for inside work. Has anyone else made the switch to the fiberglass tape for corners, or do you still swear by paper?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hugo20d ago

That "thin coat first" trick is the real game changer. Makes all the difference.

victorb7411d ago

My last kitchen project had so many of those lifting corners it looked like a pop-up book. I finally gave in and tried the mesh tape, but only after I'd already filled a small trash can with failed paper tape attempts. The thin coat trick felt like being told the oven was on after I'd already preheated the house by trying to bake the mud on.

mary77620d ago

Yeah, same thing happened to me on a kitchen reno. Was fighting this one corner that just wouldn't stay put with paper, kept lifting after the second coat. My buddy tossed me a roll of that fibreglass mesh tape as a last try. Put it on with a really thin layer of mud first like you said, just enough to bed it. Let that dry completely before the next coat. It was rock solid, no sand-through, no cracks. Been using it for corners ever since.