Can we talk about how everyone seems to forget to back-block long seams now?

I've been hanging board for over twenty years, and I swear this basic step gets skipped more and more. I see guys just slapping up a 12-foot sheet on a ceiling and taping it flat. Without that back-block, you're almost guaranteed a crack in six months, especially in a house with any movement. I learned this the hard way on a job in Cincinnati where we had to fix a whole hallway ceiling after a year. The contractor didn't want to pay for the extra time, but it cost him more later. What's the fastest back-blocking method you all use on a big commercial job?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_daniel19d ago

You mentioning that Cincinnati job really hits home. I used to think back-blocking was just extra work for picky foremen. Then I had to repair a vaulted ceiling in a new build where every single seam had failed. The homeowner was furious. Now I won't even hang a board without planning for that back-block. For big ceilings, we use a simple jig with a T-bar to hold the board while we glue and screw. It's fast once your crew gets the rhythm. What kind of board were they using on that hallway job?

xena_rivera6319d ago

Sounds like my old "that'll never fail" theory was dead wrong.

paulb987d ago

Man, I've been that guy calling it a waste of time. Learned the hard way too after a popcorn ceiling redo turned into a total rehang. Your jig idea is smart, we just muscle it up and swear a lot. Pretty sure they used standard half-inch on that hall job, but the framing was all over the place.