Moisture and Drywall, Part One

Every homeowner will come across a crack in their drywall. No one is immune. Cracked drywall is unsightly and it draws attention and focus away from the décor of your room.  As discussed in the previous two blogs, there are many reasons why cracks may be caused in drywall, many due to the settling of your house.

But there are some things that can cause the drywall to crack other than the house settling, poor drywall installation, objects on the wall causing it stress, and cracked paint. More severe problems would be due to moisture issues. In the Chicago area, many homes experience water issues twice a year: when the snow thaws and the spring rains begin and when the heavy rains of August and the tornados seasons blows through town.  Both of these times of years produce basement flooding and damage to drywall in basements. But there are other kinds of moisture damage that can occur to your drywall as well.

I’m talking about when there is a slow leak behind the wall in your bathroom that you are unaware of and it is slowing seeping into your drywall.  Or perhaps the Air conditioner or spacpac is leaking and water is running down the interior walls of your home. Maybe a window wasn’t closed all the way and rain came in and ran down the wall soaking through wallpaper and the drywall.   Perhaps the dishwasher has gone crazy or the disposal or the washing machine or Jacuzzi, etc.  The point is that there are a lot of ways other than Mother Nature that we can experience water damage to our drywall and in most cases we may be completely unaware that anything has even happened until we see the cracks begin to appear.

Moisture behind the wall:  Moisture can form in many different areas on your drywall. For example, if there was no vapor barrier placed behind the drywall when it was installed, then moisture can be pulled in from outside, pass through the wall board and settle near the wall studs.  In this same scenario, the moisture may actually reach one or more of the drywall screws. If this happens, it will cause the screw(s) to rust and the expanding rust will cause the drywall to crack

If your drywall has been affected by water damage, or you suspect water may be behind your walls, Call Andy onCall for a thorough investigation of your drywall situation.  Our skilled handymen can put your mind at ease by either rooting our any water damaged drywall or assuring you that there is no damage to worry about.  Let Andy OnCall give your Drywall a Once over before your Drywall becomes a problem for you.