For questions about drywall (aka plasterboard) installation, repair & finishing.
3
votes
1answer
105 views
How should I repair drywall seams that have developed cracks?
The second floor of the house was built 17 years ago. Every seam has fiber tape, and every seam on the ceiling and wall cracked. It's only the second floor that's cracking.
Can I just Spackle the ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
What techniques are there to smooth out or remove textured (knockdown) drywall?
We have knockdown texture on the drywall in one of our bedrooms that we're turning into a nursery. We'll be repainting the walls and want like to apply some wall decals so we need to have a smooth ...
5
votes
3answers
97 views
What type of primer should be used on moisture resistant drywall?
What type of primer should I use my basement bathroom walls? New moisture resistant drywall has been installed, taped and sanded, and is now ready to be primed.
4
votes
1answer
99 views
What is the purpose of a vapor barrier?
I live in southern Brazil and I don't really know if I need a vapor barrier, mainly because I'm still confused about its purpose.
The house in question have brick exterior walls and interior drywall. ...
3
votes
1answer
66 views
How do I paint over a textured ceiling without removing the texture?
A painter I had at one time painted the textured drywall mud ceiling (off white color) in a different part of the house. He had to change to a sprayer because he said the drywall texture was coming ...
2
votes
1answer
63 views
How can I insulate my attic conversion, without pulling down the plasterboard?
I recently purchased a house, and it has an attic conversion. Once winter came along we found out that there is no insulation between the roof and the plasterboard.
Does anyone know of a way I can ...
3
votes
2answers
68 views
How long does setting-type joint compound have to dry before priming?
I put the final skim coat of 90-minute hot mud on the walls this afternoon, how long should I wait before priming? I've seen everything from overnight to 3 days, and the manufacturer's website ...
4
votes
1answer
108 views
How do I seal a leaky roof and repair the minor ceiling damage it caused?
We recently had some very heavy rains and during the worst of it we had some leaks. When I noticed the problem, I went into my attic and found out that the leak was coming from around a vent in the ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
Can I mix joint compounds with different setting times to get a custom setting time?
I'm currently skim coating some really bad looking walls and my 45 minute joint compound is setting too fast for me to get a nice finish.
Can I mix the remainder of my 45 minute Joint Compound with ...
4
votes
1answer
95 views
How much movement is normal after mounting a TV on partition wall?
I have a wall that's made of plasterboards mounted on metal studs. I have mounted two DVD cabinets (each 22kg) and an LCD TV (40kg).
To mount all this, I installed 6mm thick MDF panels across 5 of ...
2
votes
2answers
229 views
How do I transition between tile and drywall in a tub surround?
I'm working on a tub surround, which is about to be tiled. And the last piece I need to figure out, is how to transition between finished tile and adjacent wall.
This is how my wall looks right now.
...
2
votes
0answers
38 views
How can I make a smooth transition from granite to drywall?
I had solid sheets of granite installed for shower. Looks good except for the adjoining areas.
First shower does not run width of room - so there is a support wall for the right hand side of ...
4
votes
3answers
81 views
How can I paint over an existing paint design without making it permanent?
We have a baby on the way. We are currently designing the nursery. The room currently has a diamond-shaped pattern that we'd like to keep, since it is unique and cool looking, plus it came that way ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
How do I prepare a ceiling for restomping?
I had to cut access panels in the ceiling of a 7' x 11' room to make several plumbing repairs. The ceiling has the slapbrush/stomp texture:
I have patched the drywall and I plan on restomping the ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
How can I block off a doorway with studwork on a brick wall?
I'm blocking up a doorway in a brick wall. I've decided to block it up using a stud wall as that should be a bit easier than bricking it up.
I know that the bricks are 11cm depth plus approx 2cm ...
4
votes
3answers
103 views
Can my drywall act as an air barrier?
I am preparing to improve a building in a cold climate zone. Since it does not seem to be properly insulated, I am reading a book about insulating and weatherizing. That teaches me that I should ...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
How to tile over shower wall surround flange?
Background
I've been following this guide from Family Handyman on installing a fiberglass tub surround, and am to the point where I need to tile over the nailing flange. They say to put 1/4" tile ...
3
votes
2answers
193 views
What should I do after mistakenly using moldy paint on drywall?
I was painting my basement and used a six year old five gallon bucket of paint. It had about 4 gallons of paint in it. The surface was black, but it didn't smell bad. I thought it was the dye ...
3
votes
2answers
105 views
How do I locate studs in my wall?
First, I'm not the handiest of men, but can usually figure this sort of thing out. I just moved into an apartment in Manhattan and we're wanting to mount shelves, desks, and televisions to the wall to ...
4
votes
4answers
144 views
Is this a good drywall hole cutter?
Has anyone used this: Stanley Drywall Hole Cutter
There are no reviews for it and I can't seem to find any on the web. I like the fact that it has two saws, though since I've never used a cutter ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
How can I hang a heavy mirrored bathroom cabinet?
I purchased a bathroom cabinet today that is 1200 mm wide, by 750 mm tall, and 150 mm deep. When I brought it home, I discovered it weighed nearly 40 kg (88 pound) empty.
I was told that I could use ...
2
votes
2answers
133 views
How can I prepare a wall for reasonably heavy tiles in a shower area?
I'm renovating a bathroom in my apartment and would like to fit 12mm Travertine tiles in a bath/shower area. For most of the walls in this area I have used cement board (Hardibacker 500) attached ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Is it hazardous to leave a hole in the wall for a week or two?
Yesterday in a fit of manliness I accidentally punched a hole in the wall of my bedroom. I will eventually get some putty to fill in the hole but I'm concerned about the fibrous dust that may be in ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views
How can I figure out what material my row home's interior and party walls are made out of?
I'd like to hang some shelving on the wall in my kitchen that separates my home from my neighbor's. How can I figure out what material this wall is made of? The home was built in 1950. The party wall ...
3
votes
3answers
291 views
How do I fix drywall around wall box so switch plate covers damage?
In my house, there are maybe three or four outlet boxes and switch boxes where there was damage done to the drywall surrounding the box at some point. There are no structural or electrical issues ...
2
votes
1answer
128 views
How do I mount curtain rods securely into crumbling plasterboard?
I am trying to hang curtains and am using a medium weight wall plug which screws directly into the plaster. I live in an old Victorian mansion block, and every time I try and screw the plug into the ...
2
votes
1answer
187 views
Why is the joint compound cracking around a repaired patch in my ceiling?
Backstory: We had a leak in our roof that damaged some of the ceiling drywall. When we put new drywall up, the pre-existing drywall "sagged" a bit lower than the fresh piece that was screwed into the ...
1
vote
2answers
147 views
How do I replace a 7' drop ceiling so it matches an 8' ceiling with 2 layers of drywall and popcorn texturing?
I would like to remove a dropped ceiling and give the room an 8 foot ceiling. The great room ceiling has 2 layers of drywall already. I need to repair many areas of the ceiling (remove an attic fan, ...
2
votes
1answer
124 views
Is it normal to have a bulge along the seam between pieces of drywall?
We are just finishing up (cross our fingers) our first Wisconsin winter in our new (to us) home and the other day notice something strange along the exterior walls. Roughly 4 ft up from the floor a ...
6
votes
2answers
199 views
Is the back section of this house salvageable or should it be knocked down?
My grandfather's house is getting to be in bad shape after years of neglect and more so the back section of the house is falling apart. Now the back section of the house, if I remember correctly, was ...
1
vote
1answer
340 views
What is the proper way to install a exterior door in brick/drywall wall?
A little background: in Brazil drywall is kind of novelty yet, mostly used on comercial building. Houses here are still built only using bricks, with the jambs of door being affixed to the bricks ...
1
vote
1answer
274 views
How can I attach a light fixture to plasterboard?
After some water damage and a ceiling repair I cannot locate the joist to refix the light fitting. It is a circular fluorescent light weighing about 3 and a half pounds.
Is it safe to fix all 3 ...
2
votes
2answers
827 views
Could this cracked drywall be caused by a shifting house?
We are in southern Illinois and last Sunday my wife noticed a crack above the kitchen cabinets. We started looking around and have found cracks all over the house in different areas that were not ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
How do I add fire protection to a common (shared) wall?
I own a condo, built in 1961. I've started remodeling and in tearing out my kitchen I discovered the wall between me and my neighbors is only that: a wall. No fire protection just drywall, regular ...
2
votes
1answer
163 views
How should I treat a rusty corner bead in the bathroom before covering it again?
The paint got scraped off the corner bead in my bathroom, and now it's rusty. How can I treat it before spackling and repainting?
0
votes
0answers
51 views
Rewiring House (Coax and Ethernet) [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I run ethernet, speaker wire, and coax through a wall into a crawlspace?
When my family moved into our house, there were holes in the floors where the coax cables ...
1
vote
2answers
143 views
How do I tape a joint between drywall and plaster?
I have old old plaster (on lath) bordering new drywall. Is it better to use mesh tape or just paper?
2
votes
2answers
137 views
How do I patch my wall with tile along the seam?
I just removed the top 6" of tile from my bathroom wall which is tiled from the floor to about 4 feet up. I just didn't like the pattern of tiles at the top. The tile seems to have been attached to ...
3
votes
2answers
184 views
Will this moisture problem persist after drywall is installed?
we remodeled a trailer home recently, removed the aluminum siding, put up osb in place of the siding, then used the Lowes brand of house wrap. we installed new vinyl siding over that without using any ...
1
vote
2answers
139 views
How should I prepare drywall for wallpaper?
If I am posting wallpaper, is it still necessary to apply joint compound? I though that corner could be cut because the surface won't be exposed especially if i cut all the beveled edges off and ...
8
votes
1answer
345 views
When finishing drywall, is it a common practice not to mud the bottom of horizontally-hung drywall?
I hung drywall horizontally in my bedroom and hired a company to mud and tape it so that I could prime and paint. As you know, drywall sheets are recessed along the edges in order to hold drywall ...
2
votes
1answer
140 views
Can I use 2-1/2“ metal studs to hang 1/2” drywall?
I am in the process of remodeling my basement, & it's ready for studs; the basement is small, so to maximize as much space as possible I was thinking of using 2-1/2" metal studs opposed to the ...
2
votes
1answer
232 views
How can I cover water stains on this wall
During sandy storm I had some water leakage in my home. The damage isn't much in the sense that the drywall is still hard. It just has water stains that I'd like to get rid of.
Here is a pic of what ...
2
votes
3answers
206 views
How do I reduce the number of screw pops in my drywall?
Background:
I'm gluing and screwing 5/8 in drywall on the ceiling in my own home. I'm attaching it with screws and construction adhesive directly to the attic joists -- which are 16 in OC. I'm ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
how to find out my primer color
I have some scratches on the drywall which was primer'ed dry wall from moving furniture. I'd like to just apply a coat of primer on the spots where the scratches are. I don't plan on painting just ...
2
votes
1answer
191 views
Which primer to use on an old drywall?
I have a dry wall in the kitchen that has some stains on it. I would just like to put a new coat of white primer on that dry wall so it doesn't look stained.
My questions are:
Should I sand the ...
2
votes
1answer
291 views
Is this asbestos in my ceiling drywall?
While looking through a hole in the drywall, I saw this...
Is this asbestos?
1
vote
1answer
140 views
How do I properly prepare newly-finished drywall for priming?
What is the minimum amount of dust that can be left on a wall before it adversely affects primer application? If it has to be completely free of dust, how do you get it all? Taking a damp rag over ...
3
votes
2answers
167 views
Can drywall with ripped paper be repaired?
I damaged some drywall when doing demo in a bathroom. Some of the paint peeled back and exposed the paper, which ripped off of the drywall. Can I do a thin coat and sand? please help, already ...
5
votes
1answer
211 views
How do I mount this non-standard wall plate to a completed drywall wall?
I have this
But it only has what you see in that pic. I was told I needed the box thing to go behind it to mount it to in the wall. There is no hole in the wall right now, so how do I get this to ...
