Nail Coming Out of Wall

[Greg]

Our house is a little over two years old. In our sons room there is a nail coming out of the dry wall. Just the head is visible. Any suggestions what the cause of this is?

[Mikey S.]

This common issue is called a popped nail, it happens from settling and movement and sometimes banging on the wall etc. Put a drywall screw next to it to hold the sheetrock tight, then chip off the loose plaster and either remove the nail or ( easier) drive it in again and then use a little spackle or drywall compound to fix the depressions and then paint it.

[Greg]

Okay. So drive the screw in above the nail to hit the stud? And then tap the nail in and cover them both with spackle and touch up with paint. Did I miss anything?

[Joe Bobst]

Many pros will use one screw above and one below for security. Space the pair about 6" apart. HTH

Joe

[Mikey S.]

That should do it, just make sure you chip off anything loose before spackling it. As another poster suggested, 2 screws aren't a bad idea either to make sure it stays in, but it's a judgment call, I usually go with one.

[Phisherman]

This is common. It is called "nail pop" and you will see more of these as your new house settles. This is why drywall screws are better than nails.

[Greg]

I've never done drywall before. Do I just screw it in till I feel resistance from the stud and the head of the screw is about 1/8" past the face of the drywall?

[Greg]

Yes. We're finding our contractor wasn't the best in the world. They pretty much built all the houses in our neighborhood (about 30+). It took us constant hounding to get them to finish the guttering. The only real sub contractor that seemed to care was the painter and his crew. Hats off to the Hispanic work force. They really take pride in their work.

Sorry for the rant.

[Mikey S.]

yes, you want to put the head just below the surface but not tear the paper by going too deep ..it's pretty easy, you will do fine.

[Dave]

Popped nails and drywall screws come with the territory, they are not necessarily a sign of bad workmanship. Wood moves after construction, with changes in humidity, etc. The advice to put another screw in, as above, is sound. Just be sure your new nails are going into the underlying stud less than 1 1/4" (plus 1/2" for the drywall thickness). The reason for this is that you are putting those screws in, blind. There could be wires running through the underlying studs, and if you use too long a screw you could hit a wire and cause a short, or even a fire, or maybe a plumbing disaster. Electrical code in my community calls for any wires more superficial than 1

1/4" to be protected with a steel plate. You aren't guaranteed not to have a problem, but the risks are lower with shorter screws.

Dave

"Greg" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

[Tekkie]

Greg posted for all of us....

Obviously you have not researched this before belching out your question. Search Google on this subject, it has been discussed ad nauseam. Google is your friend