Drywall disaster

v8xj

So we closed in our carport and made a bedroom. Hired a reputable guy who we had used for other stuff in the past.

The carport had vinyl siding on the walls, he took that off and underneath was tongue and groove pine siding (smooth finish to the planks, not like knotty pine). Under that is tar paper then 1x6 planks on a 45 then studs. This was on 3 walls. Drywall went over top of t&g. The ceiling has plywood on it and he went over top of that with drywall. He used 3/8 for walls and 1/4 on ceiling. Built one new wall where carport opening was.

Job looked fine until we put primer on the drywall, and then we saw cracks in the joints. Nearly every one of them. Called, he comes back and spreads some lightweight filler, sands, says it should be fine. Said he called a guy who does this stuff every day and he said that it's probably a moisture problem and to use this particular stuff and it will be fine. Wrong. Next day cracks were back. We call an insurance guy we know who brings a moisture meter to test. Dry as can be. Called a local builder who asked a few questions and said it's the mesh drywall tape. Said it's crap and should only be used for repair work.

Called the guy, he comes back and cuts out every joint in the room, removes the mesh tape and goes with paper. That was finished 8/20. Cracks came back. Only this time the cracks are beside the joints. Not the joints themselves. Call the guy back and he comes in a tapes over the cracks, more mud. That was 6 days ago and no cracks. But now the ceiling is pretty wavy. The seams are much higher than the rest of the panels and it looks awful. And my wife is not happy. The walls are also looking humpy at the seams. Is there a way to fix all of this other than skimming the entire thing or ripping it all out ans starting over? We are just frustrated with the whole job at this point. We also don't have the funds to hire it out again and if it needs to be redone it will be yours truly doing it all by myself. Which I should've done in the first place but we were in a bit of a hurry to get in the room. And we still aren't.

Weird part is the new wall cracked too, not just the existing construction that he went over with drywall. This house was built in 68 so I doubt there is any settling left to do. House is SOLID built.

princelake

There is a right and a wrong way when applying mesh tape and he clearly did it wrong. Paper tape is a better product but harder to apply for novices. Anything can be skimmed out you just have to ask yourself what will take less time and be cheaper but also look good. if you do redrywall it maybe go with 1/2drywall.

DannyT

should have probably taken the walls back to the studs, you took 2 layers off why not the 3rd? 1/2 drywall should have been used also. i never liked the fiberglass tape.

Gary in WA

I agree. The T&G in contact with the drywall could be sucking the water right from the mud right after application. Did he use "setting" mud or "drying" mud? Both times?Setting type would give you no problems, even with paper tape. No insulation? Are you in Hawaii? Where?
To drywall on a "carport" wall is risky. The slab is probably only 3-4" thick, even at the perimeter. A 6" concrete curb (short wall) is required to keep the siding away from rain splash (6" to earth, 2" to sidewalk) and the p.t. bottom plate from insects. ANY water under the slab is free to wick up to your studs and wet the drywall/pine/T&G without a vapor barrier - plastic sheeting or sill-sealer under the slab AND walls. Is the slab covered? Did he probe the wood behind the drywall with the MM? Or just the drywall? Definitely a moisture problem-- my guess; drying the mud prematurely before it has a chance to air-dry.

Gary

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retired guy 60

A carport and a room addition are not constucted the same. Did you have an architect draw up plans for the conversion? Did you obtain a permit and have the structure inspected at every critical juncture of the building process? I'm thinking the cracks are caused by movement and not the type of tape or drywall compound. If I am correct, and I hope I am not, then you have significant and potentially costly issues to deal with. I am not a pro but when I build I tend to over-engineer any work I do to avoid the potential for problems such as this. Often builders, even those with sterling reputations, put in a low bid to get the job and then either fail to meet code or go no further than the code requires. That's one reason why getting permits and inspections are so important.

firsttimeremode

this is why i prefer paneling. you dont have this problem with paneling. personally i would have the floor inspected for shifting, other than that id gut it and start over

Hammer450R

I would check the roof and make sure its properly built, I am doing the same job now and the roof was not framed right(scary). Could be why she is moving and causing cracks.

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ToolSeeker

ANY let me repeat that ANY movement will cause mesh tape to crack. You don,t say where you are, or what is on the exterior, but with no insulation and no vapor barrier, it sounds to me like you have a moisture and movement problem. Carports are not generally built as solid as say a house or garage because it doesn't matter if there is some minor movement. Plus he didn,t pull off any of the t&g to even check the framing.