Drywall is a common construction material primarily made of gypsum. It is used to add strength to walls and ceilings. Along with that, drywalls also add aesthetic value to the home. Sometimes an installation fault or wear and tear cause drywall to become uneven or crack.
A cracked or dented drywall is a sore sight for the eyes. It can also be a potential health and safety risk.
Listed below are 5 common drywall issues and their solutions faced by the average American and the ways to fix them. Let’s take a look.
Patching Up Hollow Cavities
- Overtime, drywalls wear down. Small dents and cavities appear due to certain environmental factors like pressure and friction. These dents are easy to repair.
A single application of spackle paste or drywall material over the cavities usually does the trick. Apply the paste with a flat-blade knife to provide greater coverage.
- Let the paste dry. Wait for 24 hours at least. If the hole hasn’t completely filled in, apply another light coat of spackle paste. Once the surface is nice and even, prime and paint it.
Propped Nails
- Sometimes nails – which have already been fixed – prop out due to force applied by misaligned and overlapping sheets of drywall. There is an easy fix to this problem.
Hammer down the nail gently in such a way that some recess is created on the drywall. The recess can be filled in with spackle paste and left for drying.
- To make this less noticeable, paint the area with similar color paint and you are good to go.
Plugging in the Cracks
- Cracks are different from holes and need to be dealt more professionally. To fill in a crack, first cover the crack with a strong adhesive fiberglass mesh tape.
Then apply an ample amount of spackle or mud into the mesh tape. Use a big knife with a six-inch blade for applying mud.
- Wait for at least 6 hours and let the mud dry. After the mud has dried, coat the area lightly with sand.
Apply another thin coat of mud if the underneath mesh is still visible and dust it with sand. If needed, you can repeat the process with a third coat of mud and sand.
Once the crack has fixed, prime and paint it.
Issues with Drywall Tape
- Due to environmental factors and wear and tear, drywall tape can bubble up and break. Since the tape covers quite a large area, it is very costly and troublesome to replace the whole of it.
One way to fix the problem is to remove only the defected portion of the tape.
- This can be done cutting out the damaged part of the tape with a sharp knife and peeling it off. Some drywall material will come off in the process. Apply some spackling to the peeled off area. Once dry, retape and repaint the area.
Cracking Due to Closely Spaced Drywall Joints
- When placing two dry sheets side by side, care should be taken to leave 1/8 inch space between both drywall sheets. They should not be placed neck to neck with each other.
This precaution is taken to avoid cracks that occur when two drywall sheets rub against each other and friction is produced.
- Basically, the underneath wooden structure expands and contracts due to temperature and weather changes.
If some space is not left between adjacent drywalls, the expansion will cause collision. Collision causes cracks and drywall gets damaged.
- If your residential drywalls in Mckinney, Texas are also facing similar issues, seek the help of professionals now.
Contact Encore Painting and get your drywalls fixed right away. The company offers a variety of interior painting services backed by certifications and years of experience.