comments:
Yeah. Is it normal? Yes. Common? Yes. Ideal? No. A sign of poor work, also no. It happens. Especially on a fresh piece with fresh studs and mud. And when there’s changes in humidity, and moisture, and temperature. Which.. is happening more and more now. And that’s for nails and screws. Drywall also expands and contracts with changes, but not at the same rate, the exact same way that wood does. Metal does as well, but not nearly as much as wood and drywall in a houses temperature. It has to get red hot to expand in any noticeable way. I usually use a putty knife, and chip off the cap to access the head, add a screw above and below the failed screw (maybe 2 ish inches) , tighten the failed screw a little, and then mud sand and paint. I am not a professional, and using a knife like that is blasphemy.. but, a fork could work. The only thing holding it in is the paint and maybe paper. They are in a weird spot, though. Is there a pocket door or something on the left? Or a larger, load bearing archway that would require all those studs? I know some homes put diagonal studs like that with the flat face out for a pocket door… what is going on there? Is it a patch? And if you’re not familiar with working with drywall, there are drill bits that only allow you to sink a screw to the appropriate depth. I use ones like https://a.co/d/05JZXi3b for my husband who learned how to shoot a gun before a drill.. he strips any screw he touches. And completely sunk all the screws he put in our drywall. That part requires a lot of finesse, and those bits are amazing for people whose whole job ISNT drywall. And drywall screens (used for sanding spackle) are lovely, and last way longer than sand paper. For a project like this, you’d only need one, and you can wrap it around a scrap piece of 2x4. Less is more with the mud. The more you apply, the more you have to sand off, and it’s messy.. Never dip your working knife into the bucket of mud. A grain of sand or grit makes everything way harder. Have a bucket of water near by. If it starts getting gummy or pilly or rolling, wet the knife and, give it a lick of water on the wall. And keep your working knife pristine. When you’re done with a spot, clean it completely. And you press it into the hole, you don’t just smear it. And then you smooth it. Your knife should bend. For the first application, your pointer finger should be slightly uncomfortable. And the smoothing action should involve “X” shaped blending, in all directions. Almost an “infinity symbol” motion. Let fully dry, sand with the block and screen (sand) with light pressure, until it’s entirely smooth. Theres nuance to it, but getting the steps right is key to not have a shitty end result, and have to do this again when winter comes. It can also pop out (like, as a solid piece on the floor) as the weather changes if it isn’t solidly crammed in there, fully slowed to dry, and all the things. If YOU know all this, I’m sorry for mansplaining, but spackling correctly is an art, and apparently people (like my husband) don’t know how to do it correctly.. it’s not intuitive. We’ve restored 5 homes in around 6 years, and he’s a lovely man and very talented in design, and aesthetic, but can’t hang a wall for shit. I’m the husband who does that. Theres a “break in” period for knives and people do not let other people use them. For clean up, use a rag or paper towel to remove most of the spackle, soap and water, but you MUST fully dry or they’ll rust. I use steel wool, water and fully dry again if I forget to clean them, or just choose not to. Which… sometimes I’m up til 4am on a project, ain’t nobody got time to clean knives at 4 am.. Professionals oil and condition their knives. But, the 2 times a year I use them, I don’t mind removing rust when I need them. I have a 2” for the bucket, 3” and 4” for a project like this (think of it like using a cleaver to cut grapes. You use an appropriate sized tool for the job) , and a 12” for hanging fresh panels of drywall. Theres a hawk (like an easel, with a handle on the bottom) around here somewhere that holds a mound of joint compound or spackle, but that’s not needed here. We haven’t hung and taped a whole house in a while. You can get by with a 2” knife, and the tiny jars at Home Depot and a pack of drywall screens and screws. It’s like $30 all in. Just follow the directions. Take your time. And you want spackle, not joint compound. Joint compound is much softer, and made for skimming and smoothing an area. Spackle is hard an acts better as a “plug”. There is probably one that color shifts when it dries (pink to white, usually) get that one. It’s great for this kind of thing. This is an easy fix.