Talking to a painter made me reconsider my whole approach to corner bead

I was working on a remodel in Tacoma last month and got chatting with the painter, Mike. He pointed at a finished corner and said, 'You know, I can always tell when someone uses paper tape on the outside corners. It shows through the paint after a few seasons.' He said he sees it fail on about 1 in 5 jobs he paints. I've always used paper tape because it's cheap and fast, but his comment stuck with me. Now I'm thinking about switching to metal or vinyl corner bead for exterior walls. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference in callbacks?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_wood431mo ago

Cheap fixes always cost more later, don't they?

felix_coleman8714d agoMost Upvoted

Read an article about this last week. They talked about using cheap caulk in bathrooms instead of the good stuff. Saves five bucks now, but the mold comes back in months. Then you're tearing out tile.

zara_hunt1mo ago

Tell me about it... saw it with my last landlord. Penny wise, pound foolish.