I'm looking for advice on what I should do to repair my bathroom wall.
Picture located here:
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Defect is on the wall above the tub, above the level of the tile (you'll see in the picture). It is in a straight-line, almost like a line of paper lifting off the wall.
Handyman I am not. But it looks like it would be a simple fix. I would greatly appreciate your advice on the steps I should take to repair this.
It looks like wallpaper. They sell wallpaper repair glue in a small tube. Try to get it under the paper, put some blue masking tape over it, then about an hour later, gently pull the tape off.
scott wrote on 05 Apr 2008 in group alt.home.repair:
It looks to me like bedding tape is lifting from the seam between two pieces of wallboard. The traditional way of installing this is to put a layer of wallboard compound ("mud") on the wall, lay a strip of tape (just heavy paper) on the wet mud, and go over it with a trowel loaded with more mud. This imbeds the tape in the mud and puts a thin layer on top. Let it dry, sand, and put on another coat. Repeat once more, usually.
In bathrooms, moisture gets through the paint and into the mud, causing it to dissolve a little and releasing the tape, especially if the wallboard guys did an adequate job instead of an outstanding one.
The fix is just what Mikepier said: Slide a putty knife under the tape, squirt in some glue, work it around, and hold it down long enough to dry. I usually use a waterproof woodworking glue, since I always carry it with me, but any waterproof glue should work fine. Look for some with a short "open time" so it sets quickly. I wouldn't use cyanoacrilate (super) glue because it's hard to clean up, and you'll definitely get some on the outside.
Once the glue dries, apply some bathroom-type caulk to the joint, smooth it around so it's not obvious, and let it dry. A little touch-up paint will make it invisible unless you know where to look. Make sure the caulk says it's paintable.
Your idea is good, however if you look closely the wall is textured. If you spackled and sanded, it would be difficult to match the texture. Not that it couldn't be done, but it would be difficult to match.
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