One of the most important considerations in any home within the area is the quality of the drywall. Sheetrock forms the basis of your walls and ceilings, as well as many other areas. If the drywall construction is lacking in quality, then it will show. Your walls might not be flat, or your corners might begin to pull away from the rest of the wall. Cracking sheetrock mud and hammer scars on the sheetrock will also be visible. How do you find high quality drywall construction?
Areas of Concern
The easiest way to spot subpar drywall construction is to look at a finished project. Looking for areas of concern while the drywall contractor is working is not an ideal solution, as it can be difficult to determine what will be a problem on finishing and what will be hidden away. However, there are things that you can do.
The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that the materials arriving at your home or construction site match what you ordered. You need to check the drywall thickness to ensure that you received the right product, and you also need to check the number of buckets of mud, the boxes of corner bead and other products ordered. Having the right materials on hand is a sign of a professional, and it is also a sign that you are getting what you paid for.
Watching the process of your contractor can also give you valuable clues. For instance, sheetrock should be stacked in smaller stacks, on risers – the average floor can only handle about 30 pounds per square foot of deadweight, so large stacks can damage a floor. The drywall installer should also move sheets into each room prior to installing them, standing them on their edges and allowing them to acclimatize to the room prior to putting them up.
When studying a finished wall section – once the final coating of mud has been applied and allowed to dry, the things to watch for include “nail pops,” cracked edging, visible seams between sheetrock sheets and sloppy work in general.
You might find it easier to look at the wall from an angle, rather than directly head on. Looking at an angle will show you indentations and extrusions that can be hidden in a head-on view. You will also be able to tell if the drywall bows outward, or if it is flush with the wall studs for the length of the wall.
Are you ready to start renovating? Take a look at eieihome’s directory of drywall contractors.
