# Drywall bowing out



## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Hi ron and welcome to the forum.
Pictures would help and include a long straight piece of woof across the problem area so we can see how much it is bowed. 

Between floors isn't registering for me, stairwell?

Age of house?

Bud


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

I will get some pictures here after I get off work. 

Age of the house is 11 years old.

I have opened up the drywall on another drywall area where a small amount of bowing is happening. And where the bowing happens inside the wall, is a stack of 2x4 between the 1st and the 2nd floor. I believe this is the support between the two floors. I am not sure how to describe it using technical terms.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

If it is bowing due to the load it is supporting that is a major concern. 2x4's don't bend far before they lose their ability to support what is above. Don't remove anything else until we see pictures, even the drywall helps hold things together.

To add a thought, they have adjustable posts like *this* that can hold a lot of weight and be used to crank up that area until you make a permanent decision. 

Bud


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## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

Yup - remove the drywall and post some pictures.

You are about to have a fun adventure! Please remember - it's a chance to laugh at mistakes, learn new tricks, buy new tools and give yourself stories to tell your grandkids around the campfire!!!

You lucky dog!:biggrin2:


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Bud, thanks for the response. I'll get some pictures over when I get home. I actually decided not to touch that area knowing the sensitivity of it.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Here are the pictures, hopefully you can see the bulge. The bulge yields a 2" gap against the flat portion on top and 1" gap against the flat portion at the bottom.


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## That Guy (Aug 19, 2017)

Holy crap!!!

your gonna need to open that up to see whats going on... curious whats above this area?


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

It is a small guest room, RARELY used. I barely even walk in there. The side of the room where it meets that wall is not sagging either, totally flat.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

With the doorway to the right and I can see what looks like trim top left, add in a tall wall, and I'm guessing a lot of load has been shifted to a few tall studs. You might only have 3 or 4 studs there and who knows whether they did something strange to get the full height.

My first step would be a support wall on the side we are looking at as well as something on the other side we can't see.

Definitely not just wood cracking because it is drying out. And you mentioned walls show some cracking, pictures there as well.

You might talk to your home owners insurance to see if they will get involved as a structural engineer is probably needed to take care of this properly and safely.

May seem like you uncovered a Pandora's box, but in reality you saved the day. MUCH easier to fix now than after it let go.

Bud


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

I've pretty much determined that I cannot do this work myself seeing the extend of the problem. So I'm getting a professional to fix this. One of my coworkers did mention home insurance. Now what type of "damage" would warrant a home insurance company paying for the repair, without me getting nailed a year after with a massively high home insurance premium?

Picture of the corner crack included. I started peeling away at the repair I did many years ago so please don't mind that. Up above is the second floor and is that guest room I was talking about. Please excuse the slight extortion due to the wide angle camera of my cell phone. As you can see, you can barely see the bubble when looking straight on. Very high ceiling up above.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Studs will sometimes collect dust over time and it looks like we ca see your tall studs, all three of them. I agree with bringing in a pro, but pick one who knows what they are doing and get some assurances that it will be done right.

Bud


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

If that is an interior wall, they are not tall studs the floor was built up stairs and then a wall was built above that. What you see is very sloppy framing. 
The wall would need tapers added to bring it level. You can hide it with a trim board strategically placed. Like open top crown molding with string lights hidden behind it.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

.........................


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

You are probably right about sloppy framing. The second floor's frame is recessed in a bit from the first floor's framing?I spoke to a relative of mine last night who does a bunch of house works himself, and he thinks that's just cosmetic. The drywalls aren't holding any load and it is safe to open up, albeit slowly just to be sure. I was able to find an original picture of the area when the house was being built BEFORE any drywalls went up, let me know what you think. I squared in the area where the drywall has bowed. I also took a stud finder to the bulge last night and determined that the wood framing is way behind it, and not pushed up against the drywall pieces at all. I also the good old knocking test on the drywall itself along a stud and found that it's solid, then empty, then solid again.

I'm looking to open up a 1'x3' area there this weekend at this point.


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

No cause for structure alarm. Just cut drywall out at will. Common problem, a 2nd floor 1/4 inch overhang here or there and a drywall butt joint at the same spot. Also your rim joist could be a little cupped to the out. 

You can't really plane the rim joist or sill plate above if they are the ones sticking out. Best solution is to use 1/4" or 3/8" drywall at the "proud" spot and shim as necessary. I don't see from the rough framing pic why it would be 1" or 2" bowed though. Cut and report back!


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

thanks for the response. I'm feeling a lot better today after finding these old pictures last night, assuring myself that it most likely isn't a super serious issue now.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Bud9051 said:


> Studs will sometimes collect dust over time and it looks like we ca see your tall studs, all three of them. I agree with bringing in a pro, but pick one who knows what they are doing and get some assurances that it will be done right.
> 
> Bud


That's actually not the studs you are seeing, but glass reflection of the big overhanging light in that area when I turned it on to take a picture.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

ronnieshih said:


> thanks for the response. I'm feeling a lot better today after finding these old pictures last night, assuring myself that it most likely isn't a super serious issue now.


 This happened when the bridging went between the floor joist and the lower wall was not braced enough and no one checked the lower walls before the subfloor went in. Then the wall upstairs was leaned in to correct the size for the roof.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

So it's not my imagination for the last 12 years that there was always a slight curving out on the drywall when going from 2nd to 1st floor. So much for paying 321k ?!


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

ronnieshih said:


> So it's not my imagination for the last 12 years that there was always a slight curving out on the drywall when going from 2nd to 1st floor. So much for paying 321k ?!


We have certain people framing houses out here that do their own foundation work and often the foundations are off, they wait until the build the floor above make it straight and lean the basement wall in or out to fit.. I have seen 3" in 4 ft. But you never had to worry about the basement door being left open. It always falls closed. :vs_mad:


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

Looks like the bottom of the wall may have been bumped into and pushed back/moved.


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## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

I wonder if the drywall guys just ran over a junction box and just went with it.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

And the truth is revealed today!! I cut open the wall, a small hole first. Put a flash light through to see drywall nails not even nailed into the studs!! That's why it kept moving down, because there is NO anchoring points!

And is there supposed to be glue?!

I'm happy to see that the rim joist and the studs are in place, just fine  Not bent or cracked anywhere I can see.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

it is hard to imagine why the framers get blamed for everything.


Perhaps the house has settled and there was no crush seam in the drywall


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Just adding drywall screws will have a hard time pulling that back together. Might remove more and replace with a larger piece of new flat drywall.

Bud

PS glad it wasn't a big problem.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

I'm still in the middle of it and probably will be for the whole next week. The hole is getting bigger as we speak.

I was able to push back in the left section of that bulge by just putting in 2 more drywall screws. The rest I will have to cut out.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Use double screws at each location spaced about an inch + apart. The mud will cover two as easily as one and you get a little more hold. Nails were often doubled up in the old days.

If you decide to pull an area back into place use a longer screw (maybe 2.5") and a piece of 3/4" wood. The wood prevents the screw from pulling through. Then secure the drywall and remove the wood.

Bud


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Bud, thanks for the tips.

Are you saying put a piece of wood over a bulged section, drive a 2.5" screw in to hold it in place, while I drive in a few 1.25" screws through around it on the same stud? Then remove the wood and the 2.5" screw? 

I have 1" thick wood available, the drywall is 1/2", that gives me 1" into the wood to hold it while I drive in 1.25" screws around it.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Screws will just pull thru. You need to make 2 horizontal cuts and take the extra drywall out. 1/4 to 1/2 inch. You can measure the curve and then measure what would be a straight line.


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## Mystriss (Dec 26, 2018)

Glad it's not a structural thing. Drywall and paint is much cheaper! \o/


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Thanks everyone for the suggestion. I probably won't cut out entire sections on the left side of the big bulge now. I will cut out half an inch horizontally and screw them back in. This saves me some work. Attached picture is where I stand. I should be able to at least cover up the whole thing by tomorrow.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Just a quick update. I could not pull back the left section toward the middle, because once I put a screw in, the back side of the drywall literally shattered. It has bowed for that long and dried. So I had to cut that out. I was able to pull back the upper section by the rim joist. I did double screws 1" apart as suggested by Bud. All good so far. Off to get some liquid nail at Home Depot.


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

It is all back together as of yesterday afternoon, NICE AND FLAT. I don't think I've seen that for 10 years. I do not have a big car to carry a massive piece of drywall, so I bought 3 pre-cut 2'x2' sections and pieced them together. Mudding, taping, then painting at last.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP!


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Not sure what your mud skills are, but be sure you don't recreate the bump with thick mud. My approach is to use paper tape and when applied pass over it with the knife at alternate an angles to both drive out excess mud and drive the mud into the paper. Once the paper is saturated it becomes part of the drywall.

Then I apply my next one or two coats to each side of the tape, not on top of it, until I have the seams wide enough that a final skim coat will feather out nice and flat. 

With the extra seams it should end up looking like one continuous application.

And no sanding until (maybe) it is all done.

And good job.
Bud


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

Thanks Bud for the advice. I have had problems mudding. I have a small and a medium sized trowel. I can never get one smooth pass  Should I use a large trowel and lots of mud at once instead?


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

ronnieshih said:


> Thanks Bud for the advice. I have had problems mudding. I have a small and a medium sized trowel. I can never get one smooth pass  Should I use a large trowel and lots of mud at once instead?


I'd use Fiberglass Tape and a 12 Inch trowel. First Coat thin, completely covering the Areas, let it dry completely, sand it a bit for the next coat to stick. 2nd coat nice and thick.
But I'm just an Amateur.
:wink2:


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## ronnieshih (Jan 14, 2019)

The constant debate of fiberglass vs. paper tape. I personally experienced fiberglass tape and it exposes the cracks very easily. But the paper tape seems to flex more.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Fiberglass tape only with setting compound is the way I understand proper usage.


https://www.finehomebuilding.com/20...erence-paper-and-fiberglass-mesh-drywall-tape


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## Hondadan85 (Feb 22, 2021)

Silly question/ do you have any sagging or termite damage in the basement? I’m experiencing this and my house has “settled” about a 1/8” just due to the wood giving out.


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

Hondadan85
It's two year old post. Nobody home but you.
It'a a flaw of the forum, I've done it a few times.
You just have to look at the dates.


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