I have a section of drywall (installed perhaps 4 years ago) that is bowed majorly.
It’s in the stairwell on the way to the unfinished basement. Rockers hung and finished the mudding of the drywall, but it was never painted. So you can clearly see they did not use and fasteners in the field, just perimeter. It’s a 4×12, hung horizontally, and the middle has bowed out into the stairwell over an inch. Very noticeable.
Is there any easy fix here, or just rip it out and replace? I was thinking about getting the surface damp, and screwing through a few 2x4s to pull evenly back in, perhaps over a few days.
I’m not in a hurry, and this piece of rock is awkwardly placed so that putting a new one in would involve much more work than normal (removing trim, a railing and possibly a bunch of stair treads.)
Replies
I wouldn't get it wet. What I would try first is to screw through spreader strips of 2 or three foot long 1x into the studs to distribute the screw pull over a larger area of the sheet rock. Start at the center and work your way out. Once you have it pulled up tight, fill in between the spreader boards with screws then take off the boards one at a time and infill with screws there.
Be sure not to punch your screws all the way through the paper.
Kevin Halliburton
"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men." - Solomon
Wrecked Angle's idea is great. I'll work it slowly, like tightening the spreader strips over a few days. Hope this works out for you.
Another way is to saw a horizontal line across the whole sheet so there would be a taped joint in the middle.
Typically the buldge is at the plate line where there is horizontal members (2 top plates, 2 bottom plates and 2X rim blocking). These wood members compress very easily from the weight of the building.
If the house hasnt stop settling, maybe an expansion joint is needed.
I think you are on the right track. You have to wet it to get the bow out properly.
I'd like to bring it in with something wider than a 2x4 though. I'd see what you have for scraps laying around that would flatten as much of the sheet as possible.
Good plan - wide strips of ply spanning more than one stud would be ideal. My concern with wetting is that it would make the face paper soft and easier to punch the screws through.Kevin Halliburton
"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men." - Solomon
Right, you can't screw the sheet off until you have it fit back to the studs, and dry. Then dbl screw it.
Is the back side of the wall open to the bare studs?
I had a similar problem on a basement that I was remodeling. For that I was able to squirt construction adhesive between the studs and the bowed out drywall.
I then took a 2' x 8' ripper of 3/4" CDX and screwed it right over the face of the drywall to clamp the bowed drywall back to the studs.
By the end of the week, I was able to remove the CDX, added some field screws for good measure, and mud the holes.
Using plywood spread out the clamping pressure and left the drywall flat to the studs.
Terry
Edited 4/14/2004 9:38 pm ET by TLE
I vote against weting the paper. Unless you can wet the concave side. That is the side that needs the help . But with such a small bow ,just push it up with a couple of deadman Ts and screw it in place. Do it slowly .
An inch of bow on a 12' sheet doesn't seem to be a major problem. Lean on it with your shoulder firmly but gently and see what happens. If you get it back to the studs, screw it down. If not, use a spreader as suggested and jam some 2x in the stairwell to hold it in place while you screw it. Use plenty of screws, don't punch through the paper, and take out the shoring slowly.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Good tips; much appreciated.
A shoulder into it does move it, but not to the studs.
It does cross the plates between the floors, so the compression theory may be right on.
the bow is ~1 3/8 inches across the 4ft (whoops, just measured...54" wide rock); rock is 5/8" thick.
I will try 2x8s or plywood and see how it takes it before I try water. The backside is mostly accessable.