How to Fix a Cracked or Damaged Drywall

Drywall is a building material well known for its properties, ease of use, low cost, and durability. Drywall also offers a fantastic factor of price-to-quality ratio. Drywall offers many benefits but it gets cracked and damaged very easily. Here are some techniques that describe how to fix a cracked or damaged drywall.

Advantages of Drywall

The main advantages of drywall are:

Drywalls are light in weight.
Its installation requires less labor.
Drywall is long-lasting hence it is cost-effective.
It is very easy to paint drywall.
You can patch a hole on the wall by cutting a piece of drywall and fitting it to cover the gap easily.

How does drywall get cracked and damaged?

Cracks on drywall can form due to a variety of different reasons. They can lead to severe problems depending on the location as well as the size of the crack if neglected. Cracks may be caused by building movements such as earthquakes, and other environmental factors, as well as lack of foresight on the part of the expert who installed it.

Types and Causes of Cracks:

Truss uplift: the constructor used trusses as an assembly that transfers the load to the outside of the walls. When it happens, the bottom chords cause contraction at the interior ceiling corners and cause damage.
Vaults: when lumber shrinks on both sides of the peak due to stress and improper application of joint compound inside corner angle.
Butt joints: the points where two pieces of drywall meet, this area is highly susceptible to cracking.
Off-angle cracks: off-angle cracks are formed due to poor framing and hanging.

How to Fix Cracked or Damaged Drywall

Prepare the area to fix: in case the crack is near woodwork or trim, cover with painters’ tape to protect the surface. Next, use a utility knife to cut a V-shape notch through the entire length of the crack
Apply drywall tape on cracks: you should apply 1/8 inch of joint compound over the crack and embed a strip of drywall tape.
Fixing by drywall compound: use several thinner coats of drywall compound to prevent cracks and mildew on walls and corners.
Setting additives: You can also use powdered mixtures or setting compounds that dry without water. Due to these additives, it dries more quickly and is less prone to cracking.
Butt joints: to minimize butt joint cracking, place them where they are the least exposed to movement.
Mud leg edges: to avoid hairline cracks, never nail the corner bead into the framing. Using a mesh or fiberglass over the mud legs reduces the chances of crack formation.

Conclusion

Before you start painting a wall, it is important to have a smooth surface to paint and that can be achieved by fixing cracks or damages. You just have to gather the proper tools, take your time, and apply one of the best-mentioned solutions to fix it. Or you can hire an expert such as Home Drywall & Painting to do it for you.

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