Spray Foam for Batten Gaps?

[marriednamobile]

Could I use this instead of mud or caulk?
I was looking at the website and it looks like it would do the job well.

[Greg]

You could try it, I would find a seam in a closet as a test seam first. Greg

[Brenda (OH)]

You might want to try a low expanding foam if the gaps are small, I think the foam comes in different expansion grades... Brenda (OH)

[flcruising]

I think you would have better luck with caulk (though I wouldn't say that would work well either). Spray foam is messy, and it still requires drywall mud to smooth it out. The gaps you have are so small, simple tape and mud the simplest route I would say.

[Rod]

Hello!,

I agree spray foam is not the way to go. If your home is on a slab or footings below frost you will have better success. However if your home shifts alot cracks are almost guaranteed.

Get a mud troth & 3 mud blades

Mix the mud good

Use mesh tape. Install the tape and bed it with a 4" blade and thin coat. Next coat use a 6"-8" blade again thin coat. Next coat use a 10"-12" blade and a thin coat.

Sand as needed. Apply a skim coat if needed. re-sand.

The key is patience.

Do not try to make your coats perfect, if you work the mud too long it will start to drag & pit on you.

use Gregs Idea practice in the closet first.

Oh yeah after each coat toss the remaining mud in the troth in the trash. Do not put it back in the original container.

Good Luck

Rod

[marriednamobile]

thanks for the replies, we have vaulted ceilings and so many strips, I've been looking through some posts and am thinking about spackling over the wall board with the strips in tact, instead of taping and mudding, would this make the walls too heavy?

[flcruising]

That would be ALOT of mud. You would be building out the walls a good 1/4". I don't know why you'd want to do it that way.

Do as others here have done and just use paintable wallpaper over your walls. It apparently floats right over the seams and makes them invisible. But you still have to remove the strips (that's the easy part).

[Rod]

Marriednmobile,

The paintable wall covering does sound like a good ides to me as well.

Aaron to answer your question,

It would be nowhere near 1/4 inch. Re - read "thin coats"
When mudding 2 panels that do not have beveled edges you have to taper out farther to hide the seam. When done properly the joint is nearly invisible. That's why you would want to do it that way! To make it look like it was never there to begin with.

The multiple thin layers reduces the chance of cracking over 1 or 2 thicker coats.

This is the reason why mud knives come in different widths.

This does take a certain level of skill but can be learned fairly easily with practice.

Rod

[flcruising]

Rod,
I completely know how to mud drywall joints. Here is what I was refering to...

...thinking about spackling over the wall board with the strips in tact, instead of taping and mudding,...

The strips are at least 1/8" of an inch thick. That would take alot of mud and tapering to make invisible, even then, it would still crack.

[Rod]

Aaron,

When I posted the instructional suggestions that quote you refer to wasn't even up yet. Look at the order of the thread.

I took your suggestion of "The gaps you have are so small, simple tape and mud the simplest route I would say." and elaborated on it.

If you look back my post was directly after yours and then her idea of leaving the battons came after that.

Obviously for a smooth finished look the battons would have to be removed.


Marriednamobile,

sorry to get off topic but mudding the seams should not be a weight issue at all.

Good luck

Rod

[Rod]

Hey Aaron,

My bad! I thought your post was responding to mine not hers. I Must be sleep deprived. No I haven't been drinking either.

Peace out

Rod

[flcruising]

No problem Rod. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep track of online conversations too.

[JD]

OK. Well then... We will consider the original post sufficiently answered. If Married has another question regarding this, we can start a new post.

JD