Just finished a job where we tried the new pre-mixed joint compound versus the old powder kind.

We did half the house with each. The pre-mixed stuff saved us maybe 30 minutes total on a two day job, but it dried way slower in the humid basement. The powder let us control the consistency perfectly for the ceiling patches. Which one do you guys think is actually worth the extra cost?

3 comments

3 Comments

roberts.jesse3mo ago

My uncle's a contractor and he says the same thing about pre-mixed mud. It's the classic convenience trap. You pay more to save a little time, but then you lose control and get stuck waiting on the weather. I see it with all kinds of stuff now, like those pre-made pancake batters that never cook right.

sage5283mo ago

My apartment's always humid and I learned the hard way with pre-mixed mud. @roberts.jesse is right, it's like the pancake batter of home repair. You pay for the shortcut but it ends up making more work.

seth_nguyen18d ago

Nobody's talking about the waste factor though. That pre-mixed stuff comes in those big plastic buckets that you can't really clean out and recycle because it's caked with dried compound. The paper bags from the powder kind at least break down or can go in the regular trash without feeling guilty. Plus, when you mix your own you can batch it smaller and not have a half-used bucket drying out in your garage for six months. That's where the real cost adds up, not just in dollars but in garbage.

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