Closing Up Cracks in Walls
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
About this time of the year, I get questions about cracks in walls. My readers will get very concerned and worry that there is something seriously wrong. There isn’t, it’s just dry around your foundation and it’s flexing. And that will result in cracks in the sheet-rock walls because they don’t flex. And if you are diligent about keeping the foundation watered, it won’t happen. But if you are like me, I’m just trying to keep the grass from completely dying. And watering around the foundation is a back burner.
There used to be a product called Good Bye Cracks. If you have an older “Best of Johnnie Chuoke” book, you will see the product as the answer for cracks. But Good Bye Cracks went goodbye and it’s no longer available. Dap has come to the rescue with a product called Alex Flex. It’s a much better answer than just using a flexible caulking. Why do you ask? Well, you can’t feather out caulking. It skims over and you can’t sand it. Will it work? Of course, but it’s not the best answer for wall cracks. A flexible spackle is the best choice. So, let’s go over how to use Alex Flex.
Take a razor blade knife, the kind with a point and open the crack just a small amount. If you don’t open it up a bit, there will be no room to apply the product. Using a small plastic putty knife push Alex Flex down into the opened-up crack. Smooth and feather out the edges. Let it dry. Apply a second coat. After it dries, use about a 220-sandpaper sponge to smooth. Wipe away the dust. Then paint. This crack will never open again. Easy right?
Do you have a hole in the sheetrock from anchors? You know the plastic sleeves that you put in the wall and then put a screw in so that you can put something on the wall like a TV? Maybe you are selling the house and when you took down the wall mount, you had big holes that need to be filled. Most homeowners will use sheet-rock mud. And you can use that, but it takes forever to dry. Let me suggest something quicker.
Dap makes Fast N Final light weight spackling. And it is perfect for the job. Let me give you some tips on removing the anchors from the walls. Simply just don’t. Remove the screws from the anchors. Then scrape off the part of the anchor that sits on top of the wall. You can use a straight razor blade, or I just use the edge of a metal putty knife. The edge will be beveled to a sharp edge and is perfect to get off the head of the anchor. Then push the anchor below the surface of the sheetrock with the handle of the putty knife. You just want it below the level of the sheetrock, so you have an area to apply the lightweight spackling. Take that putty knife and push in the spackling. You won’t have to apply that much because you have an anchor there and you are just covering up the top of it. Let it dry, and then apply another coat. When that is dry, sand it smooth. Then you are ready to paint.
Hope this helps you next time you need to repair the walls.
Now to the email….
Question: What is the best way to remove wallpaper? This is the thick kind thanks!
Answer: My question is do you have to remove it? Because I left mine and primed and painted and it was just perfect.
But if you want to remove it, use Paper Tiger first. It will leave tiny pin holes in the paper. It will not damage the sheet rock.
Then use Def Wallpaper Remover. Chomp also makes a remover; it's got pretty good reviews. Apply the remover and let it set and then start removing the wallpaper using a putty knife. It might come off in long pieces, or it might come off in quarter sized pieces. Then you will need to remove the adhesive left on the walls. Use the remover again and the putty knife.
I hope this helps like I said....do you really need to remove it...or could you just prime and paint over it.