Need Suggestions to Repair Crack in Greenboard

[Denny]

Greetings - I would like to gain your collective assistance on how to best repair a crack in a greenboard wall in a bathroom. The house is 65 years old, superbly built and during the past 10 years that I have lived in the house, the top part of the wall (non-tiled) with the greenboard remains horizontally cracked. It happens to be the wall that has the shower handles & faucet. This crack has remained the same since I moved in 10 years ago and after living with the peeling paint for a decade, I have decided to take action!

I was thinking about using waterproof caulking for the crack, then tape, covered by a water-resistant compound, then cover with Kiltz (oil-based primer) and then, a final coat of mildew resistant paint. I'm planning to replace the greenboard in about 5 years (when I can afford it) but for now, I need to make sure I'm on the right track.

Does this strategy sound okay or would I make a unattractive problem worse?
Thanks in advance for providing your suggestions! Denny

[jadnashua]

Is the greenboard where it gets wet? If not, then just fix it normally with tape and drywall compound, then paint. If it gets wet, greenboard shouldn't have been used in the first place! My unprofessional opinion.

[Denny]

Jim:

Thanks for your posting - the shower area is tiled about 50-60 inches up the wall, then the remaining wall to the ceiling is greenboard that is painted over with oil-based paint. The wall does not get 'wet' directly (the tile usually does), but the wall does get 'sweaty' after a shower due to moisture. I have a fan that dries things up in about 15 minutes.

Based on your response - it sounds as though my strategy may seem a bit like overkill, but you think that I won't do any damage by caulking, taping, compounding. priming and painting?

Denny

[jadnashua]

Greenboard once you put a nail through it is not much better than standard drywall. I'd just fix it like a normal drywall crack, then put a good primer on, and top coat of finish...my unprofessional opinion.

[Denny]

Jim:

Thanks for your feedback - I really appreciate it! Based on your suggestion - I'll tackle this project this month.