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Do I need to replace drywall when there was a very small fire and drywall not burned. It has stains from smoke. Some part reached 140 degrees F according to Fire dept but it was a pretty contained dryer fire and smoke stayed in small laundry room. If I patch it (after getting all the wiring tested) it would be temporary until I pay for the 1000 other things that just happened in my house this week (30 yr old furnace replaced. same with water heater, and obviously the washer and dryer)

oh, patch needed where FD cut wall to check for spread, where there was none.

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  • You might want to have the area CO2 blasted or soda blasted to remove the smoke stain smell. I have had/done this on several jobs to clean Sheetrock and concrete walls after fires. In those jobs if the paper was not scorched the drywall was not required to be replaced. – Ed Beal Feb 28 '17 at 19:50
  • HMM thank you. there may be scorching in a 2x2 area---paint or paper scorched. maybe. it's a little hard to tell. I guess i can patch that part and then wait till I can do more remediation? – Anncy Feb 28 '17 at 19:56
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No you should not have to replace the drywall if the paper is not burned. Drywall is a fire barrier and can withstand high heat for short periods without losing strength or integraty. I would clean it well first repair the patch and use a good primer like Kilz and repaint.

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You must replace drywall if the temp reached 140. Part of manufacturing drywall is adding water to the material, and when board is heated and water evaporate, you have no way of reintroducing the water to the board, and that water is the main item in fire resistance. Search the subject you will find many studies about the subject.

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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Thanks for the answer; keep 'em coming. And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to contribute here. – Daniel Griscom Oct 23 at 22:39
  • Can you provide some links to/quotes from some of these studies? That would make this a far stronger answer... – ThreePhaseEel Oct 24 at 0:03

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