drywall repair

I am redoing my half bath in a condo I just bought. The original project was to take out the vanity, toilet and tile and replace with new tile, a pedestal sink and a new toilet.

When I removed the base boards to remove the tile, I discovered a huge mold problem in the walls that the previous owners just painted over and half of the drywall was rotting out.

I removed the drywall from about 32" down, cleaned everything out, let it dry out, killed the mold and then let it dry again for another 2 days.

My problem is that when I put new green board up some of the old wall is warped and the seams aren't lining up very well. I'm concerened that taping and mudding won't be able to fix the problem.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Lori

Reply to
Lori
Loading thread data ...

How long have you been in the place? Here in AZ the owners are required to notify the buyer of things like this. Check with your realtor and see if you can go back on to the old owners.

Depending on the warping, mud will cover a lot of sins. I would not want it more than 3/8 of an inch thick, unless your using the fiberglass mesh. Sounds like you have a ventilation or possibly a old leak.

Reply to
SQLit

Two thoughts:

As SQLit noted you may be able to recover the cost of all this from the prior owner. That depends on the local laws.

You said ".. let it dry out ..." What I did not see was "I fixed the source of the moisture." Fixing the damage without fixing the source is a total waste of time and money. If you have not found and corrected the source of the moisture, that must be your first step.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

FERGEDDABOUT the drywall. Call your agent, and start proceedings for failure to disclose. This stuff can kill you, and it is best removed by professionals. You have grounds for a lawsuit, and depending on your state, may have other recourse. For them to paint over it indicates they knew of the problem, were just hiding it, and failed to disclose it to you.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

If it's a multistory condo with units above you, then eventually this is a constant problem, due to leaks from above. My mom's 1970s high-rise has a major incident every year or so.

In Florida, everybody is responsible for damage to their own unit, even if you get soaked by your neighbors above.

Hope you knew this before you bought it.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

If I understand what you're describing the problem is where the new drywall meets the older dry wall above. An easy way to deal with this is to place a short pieces of plywood (3/8" or 1/2" thick is enough x 4" x 12") behind the old drywall with the long dimension running horizontally. Position it so that only 2" is under the old dry wall and run drywall screws into it. Now when you place the new drywall it will overlap the plywood and you can screw to it. This should pull the two sheets of dry wall into alignment. I do this frequently.

There's a good article on this and taping drywall in the current (July) issue of Fine Homebuilding.

Make sure you've killed all mold with bleach or something as effective. Try to determine why the mold formed in the first place. There must have been a water leak somewhere. If this is not resolved the mold will only return. Don't become one of the paranoid "all mold is bad and dangerous" types until and unless you know that what you have is toxic. In all likelihood it isn't.

RB

Lori wrote:

Reply to
RB

snipped-for-privacy@thecenteroc.org (Lori) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

  1. Find a fix the source of the moisture. Do this first!
  2. Use 1"x4" boards as joint "backers -- drywall screw a board between the studs and onto the old section of drywall with 1/2 of it available as a backing for the new dryway section. The boards and drywall screws will pull the joints even.
Reply to
Murray Peterson

you should be able to fix that problem by putting in some backboards (can't remember the technical term) and screwing both drywall pieces to it. e.g. before putting in the new drywall, put a piece of wood as long as your stud distance, by 3" wide. Screw the original drywall to this, leaving it hang down 1.5". Then put the new drywall in and screw it to this piece as well as the studs. This will effectively join the 2 pieces of drywall together at the joint.

Reply to
jeffc

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.