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Watching a new guy skip the back-blocking on a long ceiling seam
He was taping a 16-foot run and just went straight to the paper, no support. Saw the sag starting before he even got the second coat on. Anyone got a favorite trick for convincing apprentices this step isn't optional?
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tessacarter3mo ago
Remember that old article in Fine Homebuilding about tape tension? They said the back-blocking isn't just for support, it puts the tape in a slight bind so it can't relax and sag later. Makes total sense when you see a droopy mess like that.
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Oh man, that's the classic shortcut to a nightmare. Next he'll be trying to paint over wallpaper without sizing it, or maybe just nailing drywall right to the studs with no glue. Let him enjoy his new hobby of staring at that belly all night, waiting for the big POP when it finally lets go. Some lessons you just have to learn the hard, saggy way.
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colej743mo ago
Honestly, my buddy had a guy do that on a whole hallway job. The ceiling looked like a roller coaster by the next morning. Tbh, the only thing that got through to the new kid was making him tear the whole mess down and redo it on his own time. Ngl, watching him fight that saggy tape for eight hours was a better lesson than any talking. Sometimes they just gotta feel the pain.
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