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Hey all, wondering the best way to fill this gap.
It's in the corner of the wall near the front of our house. It's been like this for 8+ years, so pretty confident it's no longer moving, we've just been lazy about fixing it.
The wall on the other side appears fine.
I was wondering if the move is to just to remove the old loose material, fill it up with sellys no gap, sand it back, and paint over it? Or is there a better technique for this job?
Hi @Jarrod1,
The first step would definitely be to clean out all the loose or crumbly material that has delaminated from the corner, so you are working back to something solid. From the photo and your description, it does look like a reasonably large gap, which suggests there was some significant movement at some point in the past.
If you are confident there is no longer any movement, you can fill the gap using a sandable gap filler, allow it to cure, sand it back flush and then repaint the area. That will give you the cleanest visual finish. If, however, there is any chance the corner could still experience minor movement, even seasonal, a paintable silicone or flexible gap filler would be the safer option as it will tolerate a bit of flex without cracking.
Because the gap appears fairly wide, you will almost certainly need to use a backing rod, around 6 mm is typical. Push this into the gap just below the surface so the filler or silicone has something to sit against rather than disappearing into the wall cavity. Once filled, if you are using a paintable silicone, smooth it off with a wet finger to form a neat, consistent line between the two walls before painting.
Either approach can work well; it really comes down to whether you want a rigid repair or one that allows a little ongoing movement.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
