Had to pick between a still or a hot mud on a basement job last week

I was finishing a basement remodel in an old house near Akron and couldn't decide if I should use a setting-type joint compound or the pre-mixed all-purpose stuff. I went with the hot mud because I needed to get two coats on in one day, but I pushed it too fast on the second coat and it ended up cracking in a few spots near the window. Has anyone else had trouble with hot mud cracking when you layer it on too quick?

2 comments

2 Comments

seanh911mo agoMost Upvoted

I read somewhere that hot mud tends to shrink more than the pre-mixed stuff when you force it on thick or too fast. Might explain the cracking near the window where the temperature changes. Did you let it set fully before sanding or just go by the clock?

sagesingh1mo ago

Funny you mention that, my buddy once tried to speed-dry some hot mud with a space heater because he was in a rush to finish a bedroom before his in-laws showed up. He ended up with a patch that looked like a topographic map of the moon. I think he waited about 45 minutes based on the bucket label and figured it was good enough. The mud was still soft in the middle, so when he sanded it, it just gouged out. He had to redo the whole corner and it took twice as long. Honestly, I've learned the hard way that with hot mud, you're better off just walking away for a few hours and coming back with a beer.