# Drywall corrupted over shower surround, dont know how to approach this



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Cement board is used behind tile in wet locations, not really suitable for painting.
If the drywall is soft, I'd replace it. Peeling off the paper, priming with Zinnser's Gardz or any oil base primer before adding mud as needed will often work although the odds are the drywall won't be as strong as it once was.

The top of the surround should be caulked to the drywall. The drywall should have a good coat or two of latex enamel. That normally protects the wall above the surround well.


----------



## shark975 (Aug 18, 2017)

Is "mud", joint compound?

And the primer would go beneath the mud?

Thanks that already cleared up a lot of my total confusion.

If I replace the drywall I can cut out the bad section and patch it sort, right? I dont need to do the whole wall or anything?

You are right the drywall was caulked. At some point the defenses failed though.

But it's ok if the area gets repeatedly wet? I mean not soaked, but every shower it gets wet from water bouncing off the showeree's head.

I edited in a pic if you wanted to see the situation exactly.


----------



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Mud is a slang term for the joint compound. The 2 main types of j/c are the regular ready mix [comes in a box or bucket] and setting compounds like Durabond. Regular ready mix mud is more novice friendly.

It's best to cut off the loose paper, if you pull - even more will come off. The primer prevents the surrounding paper from getting loose from the moisture in the j/c. If you opt to replace, you don't need to replace the whole wall, just the section that is damaged. Securing the patch piece to the wall is the main thing. You can either cut it back to a stud or screw a piece of wood [most anything that fits] to sound drywall leaving some wood exposed to screw the patch piece to.


----------



## shark975 (Aug 18, 2017)

So, let me get the steps straight. Unless it's advised against, I think I'm going to try peeling off the stuff and mudding it first. If that ends up not holding, I can always patch later.

So the steps woud be: peel off the old stuff. Prime with Gardz. spackle mud.

Ok here I get confused, the rest of the wall has orange peel texture. You also mentioned two coats of latex enamel. So do I spray on the texture before or after painting?

So the steps are like, peel, prime, mud, prime again, paint, then texture last?

Seems like this is going to be tough to get to match the existng wall perfectly, but oh well I guess. Not a huge deal.


----------



## That Guy (Aug 19, 2017)

If it were me....

I would use a sharp knife, utility knife, the stanley 99E's are nice... hint hint...

and cut about an inch above the damaged area, and THEN remove the damaged drywall.

Then, I have options... depending on how bad it is, I could fit in a piece of green board...or fill it with durabond (brown bag)

Durabond goes almost as hard as basecoat plaster... you mix it to the consistancy of pancake mix, try to keep the lumps out of it, but it doesnt have to be buttery smooth, if its too watery, add more powder... to stiff it up a bit.

put that on, so its below the the surface of the surrounding drywall... if its too watery it will slouch in the hole...

once thats done, then I would switch over to the white bag, easy sand, or the stuff in the green pail...

2-3 coats, lightly sand.

then hit that area with some Sherwin WIlliams oil base problock hs...

then spot prime my patch with 1 coat of Sherwin WIlliams superpaint, and then repaint the whole bathroom...

the orange peel you see is actually roller stiple... its the finish a roller makes on walls...

youll need to add like 5-10 coats of paint to remake that stipple...lol

also, if you tape the top of the shower surround itll be easier clean up...

and caulk the joint between the top of the shower and the wall...

and DO NOT wash your tools off in a sink, go outside and do it on the lawn with a hose. drywall compound will set under water.


----------



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

If you try to salvage what you have - cut the paper, then peel. If you just pull on the paper too much will come off.



> Ok here I get confused, the rest of the wall has orange peel texture. You also mentioned two coats of latex enamel. So do I spray on the texture before or after painting?


Texture is applied after the mud work is done. Make sure the repair is level/even, remove dust and then texture. You can buy aerosol cans of orange peel texture.

Personally I like using Durabond but it's a bear to sand and might not be a great choice for a novice. I usually use ready mix mud out of a bucket for the final coat as it is easy to sand. Often diyers will apply the mud too thick resulting in too much sanding. I'd rather apply an extra coat of mud than do any extra sanding.



> DO NOT wash your tools off in a sink, go outside and do it on the lawn with a hose. drywall compound will set under water.


Worth repeating!!


----------



## shark975 (Aug 18, 2017)

I (tentatively) think I'm gonna go ahead and cut out the affected section out rather than the peeling thing. It seems like a more quality repair that way. Hopefully I can handle that! There are lots of guides online as well as the help in the above posts.

So on top of the repair I go mud, texture, primer (Gardz), then paint?


----------



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Gardz is only needed if there is ripped paper/exposed gypsum. Souldn't need it if you are replacing the damaged drywall. Basically you'd secure the patch piece of drywall, tape the joints [be sure to let it dry good before applying next coat of mud] add joint compound as needed [usually 2-3 coats] sand smooth, remove dust, texture, prime and paint. Most any latex primer will work. The finish paint should be latex enamel [any sheen] a bath paint is even better.


----------

