Sheetrock not inspected prior to finishing - DIY Chatroom

diymaniac · 11-08-2009, 11:34 AM

In my mad race to get sheetrock hung and finished before our baby is born (any day now), I failed to have my sheetrock attachment inspected before mudding/priming/painting. I had everything else inspected prior to hanging the drywall- framing, plumbing, electrical, insulation.
It is a fairly large job (50 sheets) in a daylight basement. The thought of ripping it all out to start over makes me ill. It's Sunday today, so I plan to go to my Bureau of Development tomorrow, but what do you think my approach should be with them? Beg/plead/bribe...any other experience and suggestions would be helpful!

**Scuba_Dave** · 11-08-2009, 12:14 PM

Here the only inspection after insulation is the final - once finished & painted
They don't inspect the drywall after its up (here)

diymaniac · 11-08-2009, 12:21 PM

I'm sure required inspections will vary based on municipality, I am pretty certain it is required here in Portland, OR. If its not important enough for some municipalities to include it in required inspection, then maybe my inspectors will be lenient about it...

Anti-wingnut · 11-08-2009, 01:12 PM

You better ask the building department. I assume that you are acting as your own GC. Explain what you did, and the remedy. I don't know if screw inspections are required in Portland. Seattle has dropped their requirement, and very few areas in the Puget Sound area still require screw inspections, especially for residential work.

diymaniac · 11-08-2009, 02:06 PM

I am "acting" as my own GC. LOL, I do feel like an actor in this role! I live in the house, and plan to live here for a while longer, so the building department allows me to be my own GC, but if this mistake costs me a new sheetrock job then I should have just hired a GC who doesn't have to act. I did hire a sheetrock contractor to do this job, and he knew that the site was under the inspection process because I had to hold him from doing his work until electrical got approval. He didn't mention anything about screw inspection. Lately, inspections here have taken 3-4 days after calling, so it really holds things up. About 50% of portland building inspectors got laid off in early October. I plan to check with them first thing tomorrow.

bjbatlanta · 11-09-2009, 05:05 PM

Fastener inspection is not required here. If it's already painted, you can't even see where the nails/screws were placed. Maybe a strong magnet to find some fasteners randomly as they should have been placed?? At least enough to convince the inspector it's not going to fall off of the wall. Best of luck.....

Maintenance 6 · 11-09-2009, 05:50 PM

Around here, fastener inspection is required. The building inspection agency tells you right up front "required after drywall has been installed, but before taping or finishing".

bjbatlanta · 11-09-2009, 06:53 PM

Yeah, about a year before I moved here they started requiring fastener inspection in Florida (or at least St. John's County, where I was). Hopefully they'll be a little more forgiving for a homeowner.........

steve1234 · 11-10-2009, 09:27 PM

My inspector told me a story about another inspector in his office busted some guys chops for finishing a small portion of a larger job before the fastener inspection (don't recall why he finished it). The inspector said, "gotta see where the fasteners are, take it out". Inspector goes away, guy calls the next day for re-inspection. Inspector comes back out to see the drywall not taken out, but the guy went out and bought a bunch of magnets, busted them up a bit with a hammer and had a piece of magnet stuck on every screw. Nicely played....inspector signed it off.

diymaniac · 11-11-2009, 02:07 AM

Thanks for the advice. I'm still waiting on an answer from my bureau of development- they've been so backed up lately. I am thinking to just call for the final when I am ready, and see if they catch it. I did take some photos after it was hung, showing the screws and joints, so maybe this will help if they demand something. Instead of ripping everything out, wouldn't another option be to drive additional screws into the finshed drywall, and then just refinish over the screws? I like the idea of the magnets, but that doesn't prove there are screws under the finish- magnets would stick to nails all the same.
This requirement is not explicitly stated in any of the documents that were given to me by BDS, I just noticed "wallboard attachment" as one of the inspections offered. After 2 days, I still haven't gotten an answer from them, and if I had known to get the inspection done, it would have taken them 3-4 days to come out- really holding up the job. I'm not a huge fan of my BDS right now!

Anti-wingnut · 11-11-2009, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diymaniac

Instead of ripping everything out, wouldn't another option be to drive additional screws into the finshed drywall, and then just refinish over the screws?

Yes it would

mark942 · 11-11-2009, 05:07 PM

In PDX they are looking for shear nailing/screw schedules. If your plans did not call out for a sheer wall nailing/screw schedule, then it might just be a mute point. But like it has been mentioned, better to give them a call and see if this is the case or another reason............... Hopefully it can be a good sign off for you.................

md2lgyk · 11-13-2009, 01:01 PM

Drywall fastener inspection?? That's ridiculous. If they're going to be that picky they could better spend their time counting and measuring the spacing of roof sheathing nails. After all, there's a schedule for that too.

I'm so glad I live where such nonsense doesn't happen. For the log house I'm building, the first inspection was the foundation. The second was framing, combined with electrical and plumbing rough-ins. Third is insulation. Then the final. They don't even require a pressure test of the DWV piping.

jogr · 11-13-2009, 01:48 PM

Having to wait 3-4 days for any inspection is ridiculous. Having to get drywall inspected before taping also seems ridiculous unless there are some unique circumstances in your area or house design. Take your photos in and talk to the inspector. If that's not good enough, offer the "magnet inspection", if that's not good enough offer to have the inspector pick a few locations for inspection and carefully remove the drywall compound ( a damp sponge can expose the screw heads quickly in the field). If that's not good enough then go to the Mayor. If that doesn't work go to the newspaper/TV.

Sounds like a city that is no longer run by it's citizens. You have a vote, use it.