Update: The 12 foot ceiling job in Portland that made me quit using lightweight mud for the final coat

Last week I was finishing a big remodel on a house in Portland. The living room had a 12 foot ceiling. I used lightweight mud for the final coat like I always have. Three days later, the homeowner called. Said they could see every single seam in the afternoon light. I had to go back and skim the whole thing with regular all-purpose. Took me an extra day and a half. Anyone else had this happen with lightweight on big, tall walls?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan6668d ago

Saw a thread on a drywall forum a while back about this exact thing. Lightweight mud can shrink back a tiny bit more than regular compound, especially under that kind of stress from a big panel. On a normal 8-foot wall you'd never notice, but with that much surface area and harsh side light, it'll telegraph every imperfection. Switched to all-purpose for my final coats on anything over 10 feet after reading that. Just not worth the callback.

holly_gonzalez618d ago

Interesting, @rowan666, but I've had the opposite luck with lightweight mud on big panels.

thead444d ago

Noticed the same thing with cheap paint on a big south facing wall last year. It looked fine until the late afternoon sun hit it, then every brush mark showed up like a shadow. Sometimes the small savings just aren't worth the extra work you create for yourself later.