Brand New Drywall already bowing at seams?

NycNorma

Hi All,

Apologies if this has already been answered - looked through the convo threads and couldn't find an answer.

I just had a renovation done in my pre-war building apartment. There were several walls, all plaster, that had been bowing/cracking - these were completely removed and replaced with drywall. The work is less than a month old, but today I noticed bowing on one of the brand new walls already. It seems the wall is bowing out where the seam is between two sheets of drywall, but about an inch. I don't know much at all about DYI, but I DO know that this is not normal - any ideas why this is already happening on a brand new renovation? Is this to be expected in an old building? Or is this the sign of some shoddy work? Thank ahead of time, any advice is deeply appreciated.

chrisn

That would be my guess. Can you get the contractor back to look?

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joecaption

Can you post some pictures?
Is it the ceiling, the walls?
Even if they left out 1/2 the screws needed I can not think of anyway sheetrocks going to bow by that much.

NycNorma

I have attached some pics here. Sort of hard to catch on camers - you should be able to see the wall bowing out under the picture frame, down to the socket.

Attached Thumbnails

   

NycNorma

Sorry - camera won't let me rotate images.

oh'mike

Have you pushed on the bulge to see if the fasteners are loose or missing?

You might also have a bad stud that moves a lot----if so . the drywall will need to be removed and a new stud installed.

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NycNorma

Thanks so much for the reply! Tried pushing on the bulging part of the wall, I am not getting any "give" - this was also a brand new sheetrocking job and the wall is less than 4 weeks old.

oh'mike

is it possible that you just noticed the bulge? If it just happened , then you have a bad stud or joist---in either case the drywall will need to be opened---the wood fixed and the drywall patched and painted.

I've had that happen with new work---stud twists or bows a week or a month after finishing----real pain--but it's wood,and these things can occur.

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NycNorma

You are absolutely right - I just noticed it, a week after work was completed. My contractor is coming to take a look on my request - this info will really, really help!

ToolSeeker

Sounds to me like he did a really bad job of mudding the seam and sanding since its where 2 sheets come together. If its what is called a butt seam where the ends of 2 sheets come together, or 2 cut ends come together they are very hard to cover without getting a bump.

NycNorma

Unfortunately, agreed. A second wall they finished is also a mess - the seams in between the sheetrock boards are visible, the wall is uneven to the touch at the vertical and horizontal edges. Shoddy work all around.

NycNorma

NycNorma

I have attached a pic of the second wall - even in shoddy lighting all the seams are visible.