[tvfd27]

Im attempting to repair some pretty bad nail pops in our drywall. The house is on a crawl space, was built pre drywall screw, we live next to a train track and the home was built on a more than moderate incline. Foundation settling is an issue along with the fact that all the drywall is fastened with nails. I've attempted a few repairs in the kitchen where the pops are showing up the most. The first time I tried to repair one, I pressed the drywall firmly against the stud and ran a drywall screw above and below the popped nail. I didn't even run them down flush, I stopped as soon as the bugle of the screw made contact with the surface. When I removed my knee from the wall, the screws went right rough like there was no paper on the drywall surface. I've tried many different techniques and tips, but I'm still getting the same result. Has anybody encountered this, or know of a repair solution for this. Thanks for any help and info you can provide

 

[joecaption]

Sounds like someone tryed using to thin a drywall. Many times I've seen older homes with just 3/8 drywall.
Try adding more screws then normal before reliecing the pressure. and space them 6" apart.

 

[tvfd27]

If it could be done wrong or poorly, the builder, or possible renovator ( we're the 5th or 6th owner) done it. The more repairs I make, the more mistakes and shortcuts I find. The drywall is thin so I imagine your probably correct about it being 3/8. I'm thinking the real estate company that bought the home ( we bought it as a foreclosure) may have had the drywall replaced, because the nail pops didn't start showing up until we were in the home for a year, I just can't understand why they would use nails instead of screws, especially with it being on a crawl space.

 

[ryanh]

Some old school drywall screws still use nails as they are faster with it, but 3/8th drywall is just crazy(I've never even seen it sold before any before). Sounds like you might also have a very twisted wood stud behind the drywall and there is a large enough gap between wood and drywall that it keeps popping. Try putting more screws up and down the stud but dont sink the screws so deep start at the bottom and work your way up.

 

[tvfd27]

There is a substantial gap between the stud and drywall. The nails in the nail pops are about halfway pulled through the drywall. I cleaned out an area around one of the nails and pushed the drywall against the stud, and the nailhead ends up being being almost flush with the surface. Also, the nail pops are showing up on multiple studs. I'm not 100% certain on the drywall thickness, I'll pull an outlet plate off and check. I'll note also, when we moved into the house, I noticed right off hand that most of the electrical outlets were loose. When I pulled the cover plates off, I found that whoever replaced the outlets didn't tighten down the mounting screws all the way because this would put the outlet below the surface of the wall and not allow the cover plate to be installed. I had to go through and and add spacers between the outlet and the box that's mounted to the stud, so the outlet would be flush with the surface of the drywall and also allow me to tighten the mounting screws all the way down.

 

[tvfd27]

OK! I went and bought the best drywall screws I could find, ones that got good reviews from the users, and I took your advice and started from the bottom. I found that the worst area was below the kitchen window. I spaced the screws a few inches apart and I ran all the screws in until they just came in contact with the surface of the drywall. I then went back with a screwdriver and starting at the bottom, I gave each screw about 1 turn al the way up the stud. I continued this until the drywall was firmly against the stud, then I went back and counter sunk them just enough to be able to sparkle over them. This ended up pulling the drywall back about a half an inch, and to my surprise, the electrical outlet below the window is now flush with the wall and no spacer is needed now. The wall also looks better now than it ever has, the shadow effect is gone, and it just feels more structurally sound. Thanks for all of yall's help and advice, it was greatly appreciated, as I was pretty close to ripping out all the dry wall and starting over. I'll post some pics of my progress later, I'm one happy diy'er right now. Thanks again guys!