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I have a shower where the wall is completely tiled. They installed tape on the wall/ceiling prior to installing the tile. The tape is now starting to separate from the ceiling and shows a crack. On a normal inside corner I would normally cut out the tape and redo it, but I'm not about to start ripping out tile to do that. The visible tape extends approximately 5/8" on the ceiling. Too small to tape over the crack? Looking for suggestions.

Added info/context - I think I have four options that I've outlined below.

  1. treat the crack as a butt joint. widen the crack, fill with joint compound and sand and paint. Problem is back of tape is still not secured to anything and would fail over time.
  2. same as above, but use narrow paper tape (cut tape in half) over the crack after filling and add a coat or two of joint compound. Problem is back of tape is still not secured to anything and would fail over time.
  3. I could cut the visible tape away and just use joint compound to fill the gap where the tape was. Sand and paint. Don't believe I need to worry about settling I would just be filling the ceiling.
  4. same as above, but use narrow paper tape (cut tape in half) over the crack after filling and add a coat or two of joint compound.

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isherwood
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sullivap99
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  • Why do you think it's cracking? Moisture? Impact from construction? Faulty framing? That's key, and the repair method depends on more information. – isherwood Feb 04 '20 at 18:00
  • I would not pull the tile it will be much harder to repair than paper tape and mud that is releasing. To tell the truth I would put a piece of quarter round, or cupped trim even a small crown molding (the most expensive) all would be easy ways to hide this. This problem occurs when regular mud is used in humid/ damp areas, I find hot mud usually can handle the higher humidity but standard mud can not. over time it dose exactly what you have. I have tried all kinds of things and found 1/4 round to be the best option. – Ed Beal Feb 04 '20 at 18:12
  • Can't tell about this particular section, but I'm in the process of redoing 30 or 40 feet of failed tape, some of which is in the same bathroom. I think it is a combination of things. One is that they used plastic rather then paper tape for the inside corners. Two is that I don't believe that they used enough joint compound to hold the tape in some places. Three is that some of the gaps between the wall and the ceiling were too wide and not prefilled with joint compound. – sullivap99 Feb 05 '20 at 02:56

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