Drywall is one of the main construction materials in use today. If you own a house, chances are good that somewhere in your home, you have walls or a ceiling made of drywall. It’s a material that does its job and serves its purpose well, but that doesn’t mean it’s immune to having certain issues! Luckily, when you know what to look for and you have the right help on your side, drywall issues are easy and painless to deal with. Here’s what to look out for in your drywall!
For Small Repairs:
Scuffs and Marks
It’s inevitable that the walls in your home are going to take some wear and tear over time. Whether you have kids or pets running around bumping into things or you’ve just left a few accidental marks with furniture, having dents and scratches in your drywall is very common, and luckily it’s quite easy to fix with a little spackle! The most important part of a small drywall repair like this is to ensure that layers of spackle are completely dry before sanding, and to sand the patch until it is completely smooth and unnoticeable.
Cracks
Cracked drywall is also something that can happen in any home, and it’s not necessarily the result of anything you or your family might’ve done. Cracks in drywall, especially ceiling drywall, can appear over time as a house settles and ages, so if you live in an older house, you’re likely to find a crack or two eventually. You can fix a crack the same way you fix a scratch, with a simple spackle job, but these patches usually end up showing cracks again in very short order. To keep the cracks from reoccurring, you need to actually widen the crack a bit with a knife to get all the way through to the stud cavity, fill it with drywall compound and apply fiberglass tape, then cover the tape with spackle and sand and paint as usual.
MYH ProTip: It can also help to use drywall screws to stabilize the crack if you can.
For More Complex Repairs
Water Damage
Leaks and the water damage that goes along with them are unpleasant to deal with, but not at all uncommon. This can lead to ugly discolored patches on your drywall, not to mention the possibility of mold and mildew. Step one- find and fix the leak! After you’ve ensured that the water damage won’t happen again, the drywall can be repaired by cutting out the damaged section, ideally from between two joists, smoothing the edges with sandpaper, and adding a new piece of drywall cut to fit. This piece should be attached with drywall screws and then covered in mud and tape before being allowed to thoroughly dry. After that, sand and paint the repair, and you’re all set!
Holes
Holes in your drywall are something that can make any homeowner panic, whether they came from a misplaced elbow during a fall or a thrown object by a young child. While these repairs are tricky to pull off, they are possible! You’ll need something behind the hole to support the new drywall; the old school method involves using a paint stirrer, while these days you can also find sheets of aluminum with adhesive drywall tape on them made especially for this purpose. This method allows you to just fill the hole with mud, sand, paint, and go, while using a piece of wood requires you to screw on a new piece of drywall before completing the same steps.
At the end of the day, when you’re dealing with drywall issues in your home, you simply may not have the time or inclination to handle a repair on your own. That’s where Maintain Your Home can step in to help! We can coordinate the repairs you need to take the difficult task of managing your home maintenance off your plate. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us today!
