Mud dried out mid-finish on a 12 foot ceiling patch in a basement in Cleveland

Was working this basement rec room last Tuesday, had this patch on the ceiling that needed a third coat. I left my pan uncovered for maybe ten minutes while I took a call, came back and the mud was crusty and useless. Had to scrape off what I could and remix a fresh batch, which set me back almost an hour. Has anyone else had mud dry out that fast in a super dry basement or was my mix just off?

3 comments

3 Comments

clark.robin2mo ago

Basements always suck the moisture right out of everything, not just mud.

zarar672mo ago

My three bedroom basement took almost four months to stop feeling like a walk in fridge after we moved in. The dehumidifier ran nonstop for the first two months and I still had to wipe down the walls every week. It dried out my old book collection and a couple of wooden frames got cracks in them. Ngl, basements are just hard to keep balanced no matter what you do down there.

blake_bell291mo ago

Yeah but basements are weird cause they go both ways. I had one that was so damp the drywall started bubbling up near the floor, then I sealed everything up and suddenly it was like living in a dust bowl. You gotta find that sweet spot with ventilation and a decent dehumidifier running at the right humidity level, not just maxed out. If you drop it below 50% for too long, that's when wood starts splitting and books get crispy. I keep mine at 55% and check it every couple weeks, seems to keep the mud from drying out too fast but stops the mold from growing.