I think I need a pro on this one..plasterboard estroyed
netrate
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Well, I was taking down the wood panelling and discovered this mess (see pics of when I first peeked and after). I don’t think a bucket of drywall compound is going to fix this one.
I am guessing when they put in the shower about 8 years ago (which is directly behind this wall), they must have been hammering and banging around. The wood panelling from the 70’s was the only thing keeping the plasterboard up. So, how do you think I would begin to fix this mess? Call a pro? Cry? Both?
Replies
Repair
Cut out the damaged part and clean it down to studs. Go only as high as needed to get to a solid portion of the existing plaster. Purchase two sheets of drywall that total thickness equal the thickness of the plaster, or just slighty less than the plaster board thickness. Install and finish with setting joint compound, then skim coat the whole thing with regular joint compaund.
Not counting the material pick up time, your looking at about 3-4 work, depending on your finishing skills.
I'd tear it out up to where it gets solid, fill it in with drywall and patch it in. Really no big deal and nothing to worry about.
Ok, I was thinking about ripping out the shower (which is ok, but I want something better) in the future - will this affect how I proceed? Remember the shower is behind it...
If ypu're going to rip out the shower even better. Tear it all out down to the studs and start over. Since it's close to wate ruse mold resistant drywall. If you don't feel like you can do a good job hire a pro, a small job will be pretty cheap and they'll got it done quickly.
I don't want to attempt the shower just yet, but I do need to clean up this mess. I tried to cut evenly across, a ways up, and the plasterboard really shatters. Should I use a sabre-saw to cut across with a thin blade? I don't want to go to the ceiling with this if I don't have to because the top part is still solid.
Generally a utility knife and a straight edge is all you need. However, if the stuff is heavily skim coated you may have to work pretty hard to cut through that. Sabre saw is not recommended since there are most certainly pipes in the wall, and the saw will make a mess of things anyway.
Keep in mind that you don't need a super clean cut -- drywall mud covers a multitude of ills.
If its shattering that means it's been wet and is damaged. Move up more and try again. A sabre saw is not the right tool but will work as long as you go slow and hold it really tightly to the plasterboard so it can't viberate. You might need to screw a piece of 1 x 4" to the studs behind the plasterboard just abouve the cut to keep viberation down.
I will try that, thanks for the replies.
Also, the piece is part of a corner where the corner metal bead is still attached - how to I take care of this? Do I dig out the plasterboard from the corner bead and keep it there so when the next drywall goes in, it slips in place of the old?
I'd cut the cornerbead at the same time. When you hang new board either you or the pro you hire will run new bead to the top. When it gets done and whoever does it make sure they use bag mix and now regular mud. Regular mud is water soluable forever.