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hough2012

Wet drywall - How concerned should I be?

hough2012
10 years ago

We've had a few hiccups in the build and are slowly moving forward. Brick is not yet complete, so siding and trim have not been installed. Drywall crew has been working on taping and mudding. Storms passed through yesterday and today. Found water on the floor and a wet spot on the ceiling. Contacted the site manager and he stated he will check it out. I assume the drywall and insulation would need to be replaced. Is that correct? Any thoughts are appreciated.....

This is a pic of the floor.

Comments (11)

  • hough2012
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here's a pic of the ceiling

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    Be very concerned. No matter what the exterior cladding might be, it's the waterproofing behind that cladding and the correct flashing that keep water out of your home. If the home isn't dried in, with windows, and roof completed correctly, then the builder shouldn't be doing insulation and drywall. So, you've either got a problem with the waterproofing, or you have a problem with the order of operations. Neither is good. But you need to find out which is the issue here.

  • hough2012
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The site manager said it's the flashing(or lack of?). It's leaking where the two walls come together. I questioned insulating and drywall before brick/siding/trim was complete and was assured it wouldn't be a problem. So am I correct in thinking that drywall and insulation should be replaced?

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    Absolutely it should be replaced and in my opinion he would go no further on anything in the interior until the house is completely weather tight!

  • virgilcarter
    10 years ago

    Laying brick (even veneer) can be slow and completing the exterior walls will take some time. I would ask the builder to replace all gyp board interiors that get wet before the house is enclosed. Looking at what's going on in the photo, chances are it may rain again before the house is enclosed!

    Good luck on your project.

  • GreenDesigns
    10 years ago

    Interior work shouldn't commence until the exterior is truly dried in. Replace the wet stuff, and halt work until the exterior IS dried in.

  • hough2012
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you everyone.

    I sent an email to the field operations manager questioning why flashing hadn't been installed and when would it be installed. Also asked when they would be replacing the drywall and insulation. Got the following reply, which does not address wet drywall and insulation:

    'It is common at times for rain water to come into the home prior to the completion fo the flashing and exterior caulking. The flashing is to be installed after all of the exterior brick is completed and exterior caulking to be installed after brick cleaning.'

    Ugg!!! Why must they make it so difficult????

  • virgilcarter
    10 years ago

    Simply respond in writing that when the house is fully enclosed you expect all wet drywall to be completely replaced and ask for his confirmation for this work at no expense to you.

    Depending on how often it rains in your area, you may expect additional water damage until the house is fully enclosed and weather tight.

    Why the contractor started interior work when the house is in such state is know only to him (probably trying to reduce the time for construction, but gambled and lost on the weather). But, as the owner, you have the right to require good workmanship and that all trades follow the standards for their trade--at no additional expense to you.

    These things happen, so don't get too torqued over them. That said, you should demand proper performance from the general contractor.

    Good luck on your project.

  • worthy
    10 years ago

    Ideally, all the exterior work should be done before drywall and insulation goes in. But in the real world that doesn't always happen.

    So I'm not as freaked out as the homeowner is. More things happen during construction than you'd care to know about with no deleterious outcome. (Like lots of surgery--but with far fewer if any fatal results.)

    If this were my project, I'd probably have the drywallers r&r the one piece of board to check out the insulation and replace it too, if it's still soaked. I've had much worse ceiling leaks in old home from amateur plumbing installs; cut out the wet section to dry the insulation, patch it and forget it.

  • renovator8
    10 years ago

    The contractor's easily avoidable errors are:
    1. He installed insulation and drywall before the house was made secure from the weather.
    2.He failed to lap the housewrap over the roofing step-flashing (water more likely to run down than up).
    3. Probably omitted flexible self-adhering flashing (Ice & Water Shield or Vycor) to the bare wall and roof sheathing. That should have occurred before the roofing underlayment was installed.

    These errors need to be discussed in a site meeting with someone making a careful record of the remedies proposed by the contractor. At the very least he should get some Vycor over the top of the metal step-flashing before it rains again.

    Whether you can make him tear it all apart and do it right depends on the contract documents. I wish you luck with that.

  • hough2012
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you everyone. Field manager will be going out tomorrow to look into this issue. Hoping to get resolved & move forward.

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