I have a client (I’m a Realtor) that bought a through me 1 year ago. It was 2 years old at the time. A 2 story on a heated crawl with bedrooms up and living areas on Main. The Buyer called me over as well as the home inspector to check out the drywall. When we inspected it last year all the dry wall seemed fine and it turned out to be a generally well built home. No unusual nail/screw pops. The home must have finished most of it’s drying and settling out by that time. Here is what is unusual and something neither I nor the home inspector have ever seen before. All the perimeter screws holding up the ceiling panels have popped. But only on the main floor. The upper floor is generally fine. Every perimeter screw in every room and hall on the main floor shows. To be clear it is not just the house perimeter but the ceiling perimeter of every room. Not in the center of the ceiling and nothing on the walls to speak of. What would cause this. I was a renovation contractor for many years before becoming a Realtor and have never seen nor heard of any thing like it. And I’ve look at a lot of homes of all ages and quality. There is no way that the inspector and I and the Buyer missed this. The builder is willing to send in the drywaller to fix it. But non of us can explain it… not even the drywaller? Any Ideas. Thank from Vancouver BC
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No ideas, but this will serve as a bump to keep it near the top.
Will be interesting to see what the others have to say.
It's nothing I've ever seen or heard of before either, but then you generally do no use fasteners at eht perimeter either. The wall board holds ceiling up there.
No clue as to cause, but to help others ponder, ;et me ask what sort of floor framing - TJIs or open web trusses or solid frame lumber?
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Sorry not sure but believe they are truss joist.
If they used trusses that would explain it. The trusses are likely supported on the top chord and hang down below the wall's top plate. This created a problem for the rockers since they had no top plate to nail off the walls to and hence had to improvise at the wall/ceiling joint.A variation of truss uplift.
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I have the same situation, except the 2nd floor is as poppy as the first. I've never seen it in another house, eitherStick framed, 2x4 walls, 2x10 floors, didn't get exceedingly wet while framing, and the rock wasn't hung too soon after drying-in. HVAC went on after sheetrock was finished.This didn't become apparent for maybe three years after we moved in.I'll get some pics, see if it's the same... might be some Scandinavian curse that came with our framing lumber?http://www.tvwsolar.com
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As Piffin says, usually the edges of the ceiling float -- no screws within 8". The wall boards are pushed up tight to the ceiling boards, and the perimeter of the ceiling can flex a bit with the walls.
These days, with pneumatic nailers, there can be problems with framing members not being pounded tightly together. My favorite framers in town have their guys at least hand-nail the double plates down.
I've also heard of crews who go around with a sledge hammer to tighten things up before the next floor is framed.
It could be that nothing like this was done in your case. That could mean that the wall boards are pressing harder and harder against the ceiling as the air spaces in the framing settle out.
That's a recipe for pops.
Do you know if the ceiling was glued? That would have helped prevent this.
AitchKay
I wonder if a DIY or newbie rock hanger did the walls first and the ceiling work was not supported at the edges.
Greg
I"ve been told that the company is 2nd generation? But that doesn't mean the boarders were experienced. I know the finisher is. I did not know that there should be no fasteners within 8 inches of edge of sheets where they meet the walls so that they can float. That could explain it except for the top floor where there is little of this.
I haven't heard of this either in 30 years.
Some of the causes posted here already seem plausible. I would have to go with the idea that the framing beneath probably is not nailed off on the correct schedule.
If I was fixing this I would first check to make sure the walls are supporting the ceiling gypsum and then back out every screw in the ceiling that has popped and fill and sand.
should create enough flex to absorb the movement without any further pops in other parts of the gypsum.
BTW Vancouver is a beautiful place.
sully
For what it's worth, I've got a similar situation, but not nearly to extent you describe. We built a house a few years ago (near Whistler), and at about the two year mark we had some screw pops, all of which were around the perimeter. However, there are only about 10 to 20 pops in total.
I like the point raised by one of the other posters, which is that there shouldn't be a need for screws right at the edge of a ceiling due to the wall board supporting the ceiling board.
Scott.
By "perimeter"..do you mean the perimeter of every board on the ceiling or just the perimeter of the ceiling board that meets the wall?
"All the perimeter screws holding up the ceiling panels have popped. But only on the main floor. The upper floor is generally fine. Every perimeter screw in every room and hall on the main floor shows. To be clear it is not just the house perimeter but the ceiling perimeter of every room. Not in the center of the ceiling and nothing on the walls to speak of. "I wondered that at first, but by saying none in the center of the ceiling, he clarified that it is not of each sheet but of the whole.
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This is an oddity for sure and I can't explain it because it's not truss uplift. Only reason I can think of is that the floor above shrunk and pulled up the wall studs causing the ceiling perimeter screws to pop.
Even stranger is that the house is now three years old. You would think any drying of the framing would be complete by now. That's what I find worrying.
It all makes sense to me, though. Yeah, NOW it's probably dry. And pretty close to being all settled in.But mopsy's apparently out of town for the weekend, so we'll have to wait to get the rest of our questions here answered.AitchKay
Yes sorry but was away for a week. Thanks so much for the imput. I have now been told by the previous owner that the summer it was framed was a particularly wet one. They had to drill holes in the floor to drain the water. Possible that the framing/flooring got too wet before the roof went on. But that doesn't explain why it took 3 years. I'd of expected all this to have happened in the first year... 2 at most.
Could be a combination of wet materials, and the use of floor trusses. Esp if they were hung from top bearing hangers - those allow more movement, IMO
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The perimeter of the boards that meet the wall.
Hi mopsy,
All the perimeter screws holding up the ceiling panels have popped. But only on the main floor.
I've only seen this once.....almost 22 years ago......owner had a fireplace almost centered in the house with a wood insert.....never kept a pot of water on it to humidify the air.
The fix was to install some nice crown molding at his expense. He loved it.
Pedro the Mule - Well built house otherwise
Here's what I've got:
View Image
No pops on deadwood, only the joists... I'm with you on the crown... but I'm a trim carp, and hate the stuff<!----><!---->http://www.tvwsolar.com
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"