Water Damage to Drywall

[bennet]

I need to repair some water damage to a drywall ceiling and walls. I repaired the source of the roof leak last weekend that caused the damage. There is a small (~0.5") hole in the ceiling with some black around the hole. There are also some blackened streaks down the wall near the hole and some of the joint tape is coming up. My thought was a simple repair where I just put mesh tape over the hole, cut away the loose joint tape, mud it and paint it. This as opposed to cutting out the offending drywall and replacing it. I'm guessing the black is mold? I would appreciate this group's opinion on my plan.

BRW

[roger61611]

i'd rip it out and replace it, especially cause i'd want to see what's underneath...

[Todd H.]

Yeah, the black staining is the worrisome part here I think. God knows what you'd be covering up back there. Drywall is inexpensive enough to replace or inexpensive enough to hire out a moonlighter in the neighborhood that it'd probably be wise to cut out at least the stained drywall to have a look at what more might be going on after an unknown duration of moisture having been supplied back there.

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

[Joe]

When you get the entire mess removed, take time to treat as much as you can of the structure behind the drywall with an aggressive mold killer before you repair and button it all up. Usual precautions about dealing with mold apply. HTH

Joe

[Joe]

When you get the entire mess removed, take time to treat as much as you can of the structure behind the drywall with an aggressive mold killer before you repair and button it all up. Usual precautions about dealing with mold apply. HTH

Joe

[Joseph Meehan]

Not good. The whole thing needs to be removed and all mold treated. If it seems too much for you, your home insurance may cover it. Lacking that you may want to pay the pros.

[jeffc]

Cut it out and replace it.