drywall question

[derekm]

Planning for bathroom remodel. If the drywall is wet, I suspect it is, is it best to replace the lower portion of it only or all of it?

If replacing all of it, when it was installed would the walls have normally been hung first then the ceiling? If the drywall is hung on the wall first do I have to tear down the ceilings as well or can it be worked into a gap?

So many questions but I don't want to hit an unexpected snag if possible.

Thanks,
Derek

 

[handyguys]

Most will say if the drywall is wet then replace it. Fear of mold mainly.

I would want to know why it was wet and where it is. If you have drywall in a shower then replace it with tile/backer or an enclosure. You should never have drywall in a shower. if its a wall in a normally dry area and got wet because of some unusual situation (pipe leak, etc) and that issue is fixed then I would just dry it out with fans and dehumidifiers. No sense making extra work in my opinion.

Ceilings are normally hung first. The wall board helps support the ceiling. If you are replacing drywall up to the ceiling then just use a utility knife and cut the transition from wall to ceiling. But the new against the ceiling and tape as normal.

If you have wet drywall only up from the floor a few inches (like from a basement flood) you can just remove a foot of drywall. You could also replace just half a wall. It all depends where you have an issue.

Let me know if I can help further. You can contact me via the site in my sig, below, or back here.

 

[derekm]

The faucet for the bathtub had developed a crack on the backside and was spraying a fine mist into the wall behind it I think.

I have not started demo work but have reason to believe I will find extensive water damage though the leak was fixed and from what is visible (probably not the part that counts) most of the moisture appears to have dried out.

I appreciate your response and when I start tearing things out, hopefully no more than two weeks from now, I will post more and pictures of what I find.

 

[derekm]

Well, the walls are torn out, mostly, and the interior walls are in fine shape. I just decided to go ahead and remove all the drywall in the room. That will be easier that trying to tear off the three layers of junk on them now.

I take it that green drywall is acceptable for the entire room? I'm thinking of using it except around the tub where I plan to tile the walls. 6 mil poly on the studs, cement backerboard then tile if I recall right.

 

[WrightWorks]

Green drywall is fine for the rest of the room. Be sure to let things dry out well before sealing it up again.

We use DensShield as a tile backer for most applications. It's lighter than other backers, cuts and installs much the way drywall does, and has a built-in vapor-barrier. We glue and screw it with galvanized or ss screws.

 

[derekm]

How about DensGuard? Apparently, I can't get DensShield around here.

Are there advantages of cementboard that make up for the extra weight?

 

[ChrWright]

DensGuard is basically the same thing, I believe. I'm not sure of the differences between the two but they serve the same purpose.

We use cement board in steam showers, but that's about it. The Dens materials offer great performance and much more ease of use.

 

[derekm]

may give it a try then. thx

 

[jonsongerry]

This has to be checked by the keeper it is important.
take care.all the best.