Remove and replace, or install new layer?
By Paul BianchinaInman News™
Q: We have a large living room that needs all the ceiling drywall replaced because it is sagging. We believe it is sagging because there was not an adequate number of drywall screws put in, plus there was insufficient insulation with no vapor barrier installed when the house was first built. About five years ago, additional insulation was put in correctly, with the Kraft paper touching the top of the drywall plus more insulation on top.
Our question is: When this new drywall is installed, what is the best way to remove the old drywall, without having all the insulation fall into our living space? --Chris A.
A: Since you have batt insulation between the joists with additional blown-in material on top, removing the old drywall without creating a horrendous mess is going to be pretty difficult. Once the supporting drywall is removed, the weight of the blown material is going to cause the batts to sag into the room. Even if it doesn't come crashing down into the room, as you install the new drywall, you'll have a very tough time pushing all that material back up into the attic. The result could sags and irregularities in the new drywall.
You have a couple of options. Working in small sections, you can rake the blown-in material out of the way, remove the batts in that section, remove and replace the drywall, then reinstall the batts, rake the blown-in material back into place, and proceed to the next section. This would obviously be a pretty tedious operation.
A better suggestion is to just leave the old drywall in place, and install a new layer over it. You can work your way around the room and re-screw the old drywall to stabilize it, then install new 5/8-inch material with longer screws that will penetrate through both layers.
If the ceiling is currently too uneven to get a smooth finish by installing directly over it, then you might want to install wood furring strips over the old drywall, then install the new drywall directly to the furring. Install the wood furring perpendicular to the way the joists run, and use shims as necessary to get the furring even.
With either method, since the old drywall is already taped to the walls in the corner, there would be no need to tape the new drywall to the walls. Instead, cover the wall/ceiling joint with crown molding, which will enhance the look of the room and save you the time and labor needed to tape the corner joints.
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Beth Jones
Hampstead and Camp Lejeune REALTOR®
EXIT Homeplace Realty
CampLejeuneHomefinder.com
OnslowHomefinder.com
(910) 378-6468
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Labels: diy, drywall, Home, home improvement, real estate, tips
# posted by
Beth Jones @ 3:12 PM
