Debate: Skipping mud on the first coat of butt joints saved me 2 hours per room

I tried just filling the gap with hot mud and taping flat without the pre-fill step on a 12-room house in Denver and now I'm wondering if anyone else thinks the extra coat is just a waste of time or a necessary evil for avoiding cracks later?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaking7d agoTop Commenter

Asked my buddy Mike about this. He tried skipping the pre-fill on his own house last year. Dude was so proud of saving time. Six months later he had hairline cracks in almost every butt joint. He spent a whole weekend digging out tape and redoing it. Said the extra hour per room was worth it compared to fixing cracks. I'll stick with the pre-fill.

the_alex7d ago

Six months later he noticed cracks? That's wild he didn't see em sooner.

josephbailey7d ago

Did your buddy mention if he used setting-type compound on those butt joints? Some guys get away without pre-fill because they use a hot mud that doesn't shrink as much. All-purpose in a bucket seems to shrink more than most people expect, especially on those deep tapered edges. I did the same thing on my first remodel and learned that lesson the hard way too, cost me a full Saturday of sanding and patching.