If you want to keep your home’s interior from looking like it’s falling apart, you need to resign yourself to some annual maintenance. That one neighbor on the block whose rooms always manage to look brand-new understands the importance of routine care. Believe me, that interior doesn’t stay picture perfect without effort.
The good news is, your home could stir envy too, and it’s not as difficult or time-consuming as you may think. Take a stroll around the inside of your home and check out your walls. No doubt you’ve noticed a few cracks here or there. Now is a great time of year to repair them. Here are a couple of tips to help.
If you see cracks where your walls meet the ceiling, don’t panic. While they may be unsightly, they don’t pose any structural risk. These cracks happen to nearly everyone, and they’re the result of the normal expansion and contraction of your home where the two pieces of drywall meet.
You might also notice cracks in seams in your ceiling and along the wall, or at joints where pieces of drywall meet. Don’t worry – that’s just the joint compound over the seam drying out. To fix these kinds of cracks, start by removing the old piece of drywall tape. This is going to cause some damage to the surrounding area, but it will ultimately allow you to make a repair that will stand the tests of time. Next, apply a continuous piece of mesh-like fiberglass drywall tape over the joint. Then apply a thin layer of joint compound using a wide spackle knife, then let it dry. Continue to apply in layers, allowing each layer to set before applying the next. You can apply up to three layers. Once the tape is fully covered, sand the area using a fine sand sponge or paper to smooth the texture of the wall or ceiling and finally, repaint.
Make it your yearly routine to patch up the wall cracks in your home, and you too could have a home that never appears to age.
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