Drywall Water Damage

Drywall water damage is never good as in most cases you need to replace the affected drywall because repairing usually costs more than the terms of replacement. Exceptional cases arrive if the affected area is unfinished to begin with. If you can address the drywall damage quickly and get it dried out then you can usually adapt to a simple method of repair which may only require some new taping, mudding and a coat of paint.

Drywall water damage in unfinished areas is relatively easy to spot as it always indicates the presence of an irregular line where the water touched or soaked into the drywall. If the surface is painted you may not be able to see the line but you will be able to feel the dampness or softness in the area where the damage has occurred. If your drywall water damage is in the ceiling then you will probably get a drip where the drywall was screwed to the studs or you will see paint bubbling or even the drywall itself bulging under the weight of the water.

If any of these situations occur you need to stop the source of the water as soon as possible and get the area dried out in an expeditious form. The use of high velocity fans and dehumidifiers is highly recommended in these situations to get the area dried quickly. I have been through a number of new construction homes that have some sort of drywall damage because the windows were not all in yet or the roof was not finished or a door was left open during some phase of the construction. I have never seen a builder replace the affected drywall, but merely muds and paints to cover up the damages.

This tells me that minor drywall water damage can be easily repaired by an average person with a little time, elbow grease and paint. Even more extensive drywall water damage can be repaired as most repairs require minimal technical knowledge. The hardest part of drywall repair is getting the edges straight and the flat surfaces sanded properly. We had a situation where our clothes washing machine overflowed and before I was aware of the problem water had run down the vent in the laundry room and through the vent seams into the drywall box surrounding the vents in the basement.

I found out by almost falling down in the kitchen where the water had come out of the laundry room. Once I had sucked up all the water in the laundry room and kitchen with the wet/dry shop vacuum, I mopped the floor dry and put the washer back in its place. I did not realize that a large amount of water had gone in the basement.

Later that day I had to take something down and I noticed that there were several puddles along a line on the concrete floor of the basement. As I look up I noticed the paint bubbling in several places and water dripping from all of them. I got the ladder out, climbed up to the vents and removed them while trying to see if I could get to the water.

There was only a small amount of water in the actual metal duct work that I was able to vacuum out. What I had to do was remove several drywall screws and place holes at the lowest point of the entire duct work enclosure to let the water drain out. I placed several containers along the line of drips and fastened my wet/dry shop vacuum to some of the drilled holes to help get the water out faster.

The entire process from discovery of the leak to final moment of turning off the shop vacuum took several hours. Several feet of drywall tape had to be removed and the various holes would have to be repaired once the drywall box is fully dried out.

The best thing you can do to keep repairs at a minimum is to get the area dried out as quickly as possible. I have a dehumidifier that I fastened a drain hose to bypass the water catching tray so that the dehumidifier will not stop when the tray is full. That way I can be sure that the area will get to the desired lower humidity much faster. For more answers about drywall water damage please post a comment and we are going to do everything possible to answer it!

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