How To Repair Drywall Screw Pops

• Walls & Ceilings

Solved! How to Repair Popped Nails

Banish the bulges caused by nail pops before you paint to achieve flawlessly shine wall surfaces.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Q: I just bought a business firm and am planning to paint over its existing green interior walls with a fresh coat of country white. I'm concerned, however, that the handful of small circular bulges I've spotted on the walls will nevertheless be noticeable afterward I repaint. My neighbor told me the bulges are popped nails—spots where nails have worked loose. What I tin can do to go rid of them?

A: Congrats on your new home! You're right about those bulges: Left unrepaired, they'll be visible after you repaint. Fortunately, popped nails (likewise known as "boom pops") aren't too tough to fix and typically aren't serious—although at that place are a few exceptions. Keep reading to understand the causes of nail pops, the problems they could stand for, and how y'all can achieve perfectly smooth walls.

RELATED: The Dos and Don'ts of Drywall Repair

Boom pops are largely due to wood or drywall motion and often announced within a yr of construction.

Lumber used to build houses may comprise moisture, which is often absorbed from humidity in the air while lumber is stored in open-air warehouses. Subsequently construction, as the forest slowly dries, the studs may shift or twist slightly. This tin can cause private nails to move, and when a nail holding drywall moves, it loosens the joint compound covering the blast. The result is a tiny burl on the wall surface or, in some cases, a visible smash head if the drywall compound comes loose and falls away. This is the most common crusade of nail pops and information technology's completely cosmetic. There are no structural issues to worry about, and repair is fairly simple.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Repair popped nails with screws.

Just tapping the boom back down with a hammer will solve the immediate problem, but eventually, the nail will probably work its style back out. A better solution is to tap the smash back downwardly and then insert ii drywall screws in the stud, i nigh an inch above the blast, and i virtually an inch below the nail. The screws will attach the drywall panel securely to the stud.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Choose the right length of spiral to reinforce a popped boom.

Short screws that barely penetrate the stud beneath the drywall console may pull loose in the future, leaving you with more pops on the wall surface. The general rule is to use screws that volition penetrate the stud by a minimum ¾ of an inch. For instance, with ½-inch thick drywall, you lot'll need a screw at to the lowest degree one¼-inch long.

Add more screws if yous doubtable skimping.

If the installer failed to use plenty fasteners, the drywall panel might not be securely attached to the studs, resulting in move and popped nails. When hanging drywall, a fastener (preferably a screw) should be inserted every 8 inches along the edges of the drywall, and every 12 to 16 inches in the center of the panel over every stud. If you suspect that this happened when your habitation was built, y'all may wish to insert additional screws (ane every x to sixteen inches) over the studs to reduce the risk of future pops.

Get a pro to do it for you

Receive costless, no-commitment project estimates from licensed drywall installation and repair pros almost you.

+

Photo: istockphoto.com

Fill indentions with drywall joint compound.

Drywall screws are designed with trumpet-shaped heads, which allows you to insert them but beneath the surface of the drywall, just they will leave a small indentation. Smooth over indentations with a piffling articulation chemical compound—a quarter-sized glob should make full virtually blast and spiral indentions. Apply with a putty knife, then smooth away whatsoever excess. Allow the chemical compound dry at least 24 hours, and so apply one more thin glaze of articulation compound with the putty knife. When that dries, sand over the chemical compound with a drywall sanding sponge, and and then roll on a new coat of paint.

Inspect trusses, where uplift tin crusade nail pops.

If you noticed popped nails in the walls of your dwelling house, y'all may wish to do a fleck of investigating for like bulges on the ceiling—which tin indicate a more than serious problem. Today'due south homebuilders oft use manufactured trusses to construct a roof rather than edifice the roof with rafters. Some wood members in a set up of trusses are designed to move slightly with attic humidity and temperature fluctuations, then many modern drywall installers use a special attachment technique when hanging drywall on a ceiling made from trusses. If they adhere the drywall directly to the underside of the trusses, however, when the trusses elevator, nail pops tin can occur in the ceiling drywall. Depending on how much the truss moves, in addition to boom pops, you might also find a horizontal scissure between the ceiling and the wall. In order to fix this issue, a contractor should remove the drywall panels and install news ones fastened to clips or blocks, just not to the trusses themselves.

Popped nails in combination with other issues indicate a bigger problem.

Normal house settling tin can crusade framing lumber to motion a bit, resulting in popped nails. If the house continues to settle, over time, boosted nail pops could appear. Foundation problems can likewise cause movement that leads to smash pops, but in both cases, they will be accompanied past additional problems, including:

• Doors that stick or won't shut properly.
• Cracks in the drywall around windows and doors.
• Cracks in the corners of the ceiling.
• Visible cracks in the foundation.

If your house has ane or more of these issues, it'south a skillful idea to have a contractor or a structural engineer take a wait. Structural problems should be addressed before repairing popped nails.

Get a pro to do it for you lot

Receive free, no-delivery projection estimates from licensed drywall installation and repair pros well-nigh you.

+

Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/popped-nails/

Share this post