Hot take: Should you pre-fill your butt joints or just tape and mud them?

I had this old timer, Jerry, tell me on a job in Akron last summer that I was wasting time pre-filling every butt joint before taping because the tape just floats off if you dont. I tried his way of just taping straight onto the dry mud for a whole house and ended up with bubbles on half the joints. Anyone else have strong feelings about pre-fill vs. not?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray3634d ago

Pre-fill is always worth the time. Jerry gave you bad advice, bubbles prove it. Tape needs a solid flat surface to stick, not a pile of wet mud.

aaron8844d ago

My buddy @ray363 swears by 3M blue tape and he got bubbles on a pre-filled joint last week. Pre-fill can actually trap moisture under the tape if the compound isn't bone dry, and that makes the bubbles worse in my experience. A light skim coat first gives you that flat surface without the risk, so I'd say Jerry might have a point depending on your conditions.