# Drywall over drywall?  And a bonus flooring question!



## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

So I'm going to start working on making our breezeway between the house and the garage look a little more presentable. Currently, it's some sweet 1970's wood paneling. I ripped off a few hunks of it to see what was behind it and to make sure it was insulated, which it is. I didn't get down to the studs, but from what I could see, it's 2x construction with what appears to be 3/8" or maybe 1/2" drywall nailed to the studs, and not mudded or anything. Over the top of that is the paneling that is just nailed on. From the limited areas of drywall I've seen, I think that taping and mudding it would be too much work because there's some pretty large gaps and it's not terribly even, and the nails aren't driven into dimples.

Here's what I'm planning on doing first:

1. Remove all of the trim
2. Remove all of the paneling and get down to the existing sheet rock.

Here's was I need help with:

Do I then:

Attach another later or sheet rock right over the top of the existing rock and then tape/mud/finish it? What thickness should I go with? 1/4" just to basically replace the paneling? I think if I go too thick I'll have issue with trimming out the two windows and 3 doors.

Or....

Remove the current paneling and sheetrock and replace it all with new 1/2" or 5/8" sheetrock?

As long as I started this thread, let me ask about the flooring.

There's some not-so-nice looking vinyl flooring in there. I'm going to make the valiant attempt to rip it up and replace it with some ceramic tile. If getting the vinyl up is too much of a task, could I tile right over it as long as I scuffed it good? Would this take a different mastic or whatever type of base?

Thanks!


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## RippySkippy (Feb 9, 2007)

Before I'd re-drywall, I'd carefully assess the current stuff and see if it can't be salvaged. If you rock over uneven drywalls, it will not appreciably fix the problems...deal with the problems first then see what you have. Mud and tape goes a long way to make a marginal room look good...if you do it right.



perpetual98 said:


> ... If getting the vinyl up is too much of a task, could I tile right over it as long as I scuffed it good? Would this take a different mastic or whatever type of base?



No. What's the sub-floor? At minimum, if the floor is level you should put down a cement board with thinset. Mastic bad, thinset good.


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

Okidokie! Noted. Thinset escaped my brain this morning, that's why I typed mastic. Thanks for the correction. I'll get the vinyl up. I don't want to start adding layers of stuff to the floor because it's going to make me drastically change the door thresholds.

If I had to guess right now being at work, I'd say that the sub-floor is concrete, but I wouldn't make that my final answer. I'd opt for a life-line I think.


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## RippySkippy (Feb 9, 2007)

If the sub-floor is concrete...consider an un-coupling membrane, like Schluter Ditra...we can purchase it from HD locally...otherwise there's a ton of places on line. One I've worked with that was outstanding is Tile-Experts.com, didn't oversell, and were very professional. YMMV...but mine was a good experience.


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## ron schenker (Jan 15, 2006)

Was there any vapor barrier between the insulation and the drywall?


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

I don't think so. Without ripping a chunk of drywall off to investigate, I'm leaning towards roll-type insulation between the 2x4's with the thin sheet-rock nailed over the top. 

What would make the most sense? I can rip everything down to the studs if I have to, it would just make more work for me and add costs and time if I want to re-insulate everything.


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## ponch37300 (Nov 27, 2007)

If this was my job i would tear off down to the studs and start fresh. this will allow you to see exactly what your dealing with and redo this right. drywall is cheap and easy to install. This will allow you to do any electrical work also. Just my opinion!


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## pavola (Nov 13, 2007)

ponch37300 said:


> If this was my job i would tear off down to the studs and start fresh. this will allow you to see exactly what your dealing with and redo this right. drywall is cheap and easy to install. This will allow you to do any electrical work also. Just my opinion!


Amen to this. The cost of 1/2 vs 1/4 or 3/8 drywall is nominal. All your window and door jambs will flush out, but most importantly you'll know what's behind the wall board.


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

Ok, I'll rip down to the studs, I would have probably ended up going that route anyway because there's a baseboard heater that I want to move, so I would have had to have done that on one wall anyway. The breezeway isn't even 6' x 10', so it shouldn't be too bad either way. There's a tile ceiling up that that I'm going to drywall too, and replace the huge 4x48" fluorescent fixture with something that is a little less blinding. I don't need to see my guests that bad!  

Provided the insulation is ok, (and even if it needs to be replaced I suppose) what should I do for vapor barrier? Or is it something fairly obvious that is at Home Depot?


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## pavola (Nov 13, 2007)

If it needs replacement, a kraft faced insul (R-13) for 2X4 will be sufficient. If you're keeping the existing and it has no paper facing, I'd covered it with 15lb. felt. I've seen the down side of using poly to many times - condensation forms on the back of the poly and with enough, pools up on the bottom plate. You probably would'nt have this issue in a breezeway, but if you ever intend to heat it, set it up for that.


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

Thanks! I ripped a bunch of tiles down yesterday when I was in the "demo" mood. It's a hodge-podge from what I can tell. When I get all the ceiling tiles down I'll re-evaluate the insulation that is there. It appears to be R13 from what I can tell, but I'll know more probably later this week. I'm probably going to do a complete tear out and all new drywall anyway. Hopefully the current insulation is ok, but the entire room is only 6' x 10' anyway, so it wouldn't break the bank to re-insulate it. 

My major hurdle at this point appears to be the fact that the ceiling was framed in after they installed the drywall and paneling. The one wall I ripped down totally I ended up scoring and snapping the drywall and paneling even with the ceiling. Anything else would require ripping the ceiling framework apart which i don't really want to do at this point.

I also got the old door out and replaced it with the new door with the big window in it. Looks really nice! I'll post pictures when I get them off the camera.

Merry Christmas!
Eric


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## Spike99 (Dec 24, 2007)

perpetual98,

If this was my entrance way and I was planning to keep the house for 5+ years, I'd remove the original drywall. I'd remove original wall, ceiling and all trim. Hence the phrase, "stud to stud" rebuild. It may cost xx minor dollars more but if this is your 5+ year home, correcting the original low level 1970s standards is worth it. And if necessary, add deeper insulation, add more electrical outlets, lighting, etc. in this area. Now is the time for these minor improvements....

.


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

Yeah, like I said, I'll re-evaluate when I get all the sweet 70's ceiling tiles down.  

Figuring out how they got the existing ceiling attached to both "buildings" will be the interesting part.


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## kgphoto (Dec 2, 2007)

Are these exterior walls? If so, drywall ain't the way to go.


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## ponch37300 (Nov 27, 2007)

Kgphoto...Since when can't you put drywall on the interior side of an exterior wall? Guess i don't understand you since everyday thousands of sheets of drywall go up on exterior walls.


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

I thought that too, but then I assumed that kgphoto thought that when I said "breezeway" I meant just an open area that was between my garage and house and maybe not totally protected from the environment.

I finally got some pics off of my camera.

Here's a shot of the door going into the house. I had ripped some of the paneling off to see what was behind it. That began the, "oh boy, now I have to finish this" part of the project.










Here is a shot from the house to the garage door...










And here is a shot after I ripped the paneling off of the house wall, and the drywall off. The pictures don't really do the color justice, it's horrible. There's a legitimate shot that we wouldn't have bought the house if it was that color.










And here's the new door installed. Photo is from the breezeway. The inside is all trimmed, I just need to finish nail it a bit more and touch up some paint...


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## kgphoto (Dec 2, 2007)

ponch37300 said:


> Kgphoto...Since when can't you put drywall on the interior side of an exterior wall? Guess i don't understand you since everyday thousands of sheets of drywall go up on exterior walls.


I guess it is when you use words that don't mean what everyone else thinks it means. Breezeway is one thing, hall is another. If you read closely, I asked if these were exterior walls, not interior and IF that was the case, then drywall would be a problem.

*Breezeway*

*From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia*


A *breezeway* is an architectural feature similar to a hallway that allows the passage of a breeze between structures to accommodate high winds, allow aeration, or provide aesthetic design variation. Often a breezeway is a simple roof connecting two structures; sometimes it can be much more like a tunnel.


Is that asbestos siding?


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

Sorry for the confusion! I will henceforth refer to this part of my house as a hallway. 

Since my last update, the hallway was gutted to the studs, a vapor barrier was installed (thank God I spent the money on a hammer stapler!!!), 1/2" concrete board was put on the floor, 1/2" sheetrock was put up on walls and ceiling, and I got some mud put over the screw holes and seams. I haven't tackled the corners yet, but I didn't have much energy yesterday.


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## kgphoto (Dec 2, 2007)

Did you put thinset under the backer board?


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