Water Damaged Drywall Repair & Replacement

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Repairing Water Damaged Drywall

One of the worst experiences you can have as a homeowner or renter, is suddenly having water seeping through your ceiling or walls. Even if it doesn’t actually begin raining down, any indication of a water issue behind your walls or ceiling can leave you feeling helpless. When there’s an internal leak causing your drywall to have water damage, where do you even begin?

discolored drywall from water damage

How Do You Know If Your Drywall Has Water Damage?

The first step is to determine whether water is the cause of your damaged sheetrock. In many cases, this is very obvious. Coming home and having several inches of water on your floor, or watching water drip down from your ceiling are both pretty fairly easy to diagnose. 

Other red flags are ceilings that are bubbling like a water balloon and surfaces that are wet to the touch. Often areas can be spongy, or less dense than the surrounding surfaces. 

One of the most common signs of moisture issues are a discoloration on walls or ceilings. Usually, this is an ugly brown color, especially on white painted surfaces. While these discolorations are a good indicator of previous moisture issues, they don’t necessarily mean that there is an ongoing issue. If an upstairs neighbor overfilled their bathtub, the cause of the problem was probably resolved right away. 

The length of time that the interior areas were exposed to water, as well as the amount, will determine the necessary steps to resolve the issue. If the leak was quickly resolved, it may not be necessary to completely demo and replace the ceiling. Ongoing issues that may not have been noticed right away, such as a leaky roof or AC condensation dripping, could cause much larger internal issues, even if the water spots on your drywall are small.

drywall bubbling in ceiling from flood

Finding the Source of the Moisture

The first thing to do once you’ve established that your drywall damage was caused by water, is finding out the cause of the leak. 

Often, the source is very obvious, such as:

  • Upstairs Sink or Tub Overflow 
  • Burst Plumbing 
  • Condensation Around Air Conditioner Vents
 

Other times, it’s not so easy. Some of the more difficult leaks to pinpoint are:

  • Roof Leaks
  • Improperly Installed Windows or Doors
  • Air Conditioner Condensate Pipe 
 

If your water leak is coming from a roof, window, or HVAC system, your only real indication could be discolored drywall on either a wall or ceiling. One of the benefits of using drywall in your interior is that whenever there is any moisture penetrating, it will show up pretty quickly. Oftentimes the drywall will bubble out if there is a large amount of water. With smaller leaks, such as a clogged AC condensate drainage pipe, continuous dripping will cause the drywall to turn a brownish color. 

While this is very unsightly, discolored drywall is an immediate red flag that there is water leaking through. This means that you should act as soon as possible to find out and fix the cause of the leak before it causes more damage. 

Generally, if a leak is found and repaired quickly, the only real damage would be to the drywall, and possibly, the insulation. If the source of the water is not addressed for months or even years, you can have much larger issues like mold and rotting wood, which can greatly affect the value, safety, look, and comfort level in the home.

Once the cause of the water damaged drywall has been found, what comes next? 

Depending on the issue, a specialist would need to be called to address the main issue, before the drywall can be repaired. If the cause is a roof leak, there are many roofing companies that will provide free estimates, which can help you find and repair the section of the damaged roof. Often, roof replacement and repairs are covered by homeowners insurance.

If it’s a plumbing or HVAC issue, you would need someone who specializes in these areas to come evaluate and complete any repairs. If a leak around a door or window is causing drywall damage, a drywall repair company may be able to help, since this type of leak is usually caused by improper installation. If the leak was caused by a faulty door or window, replacement would most likely be necessary.

Removing the Damaged Drywall

Once the cause of the water damage has been resolved, then it’s time to demo. The amount of drywall that needs to be removed often depends on how long before the problem was addressed. In the case of an overflowing bathtub, the issue may have been resolved immediately. This often results in water stains on the ceiling below, where the drywall joints were. 

water damage in drywall joints

If this is the case, drywall surface repairs may be sufficient. This means that only the top layer of drywall would need to be removed, instead of a full ceiling demo. After that, the areas that were removed would get taped and floated, retextured, primed, and painted. Often there may be a combination of surface repairs and demolition required, where parts of the drywall were more saturated than others. A reputable drywall company can help you determine which sections need to be replaced and which can be simply repaired. This can save time and money, while creating less of a mess in your home, and less garbage in the landfill.

Do You Need Water Remediation?

Whether or not the drywall needs to be completely removed, or only needs repair work, the next step is drying out the area. Depending on the severity, this may require a specialized water remediation company. They can bring in specialized fans and thermal imaging sensors to ensure that all areas are completely dry within walls and ceilings.

Sometimes, if a water remediation team is necessary, they will remove the water damaged drywall, insulation, baseboard, and trim themselves. They’ll then install fans to dry the area for a specified time period. Once that’s completed, they will return and test to make sure everything is dried. After that, you can have a separate company come in and replace the insulation, drywall, baseboard, wall texture, and paint.

If the water damages are small, you probably don’t need water remediation. If a leak is small and stopped right away, there’s a good chance that the overall saturation will be limited to that immediate area. Walls and ceilings with small water damages may even dry out on their own, however the sheetrock would need to be repaired or resurfaced before being painted.

Internal Mold Growth

One of the biggest concerns with any interior water leak is the possibility of mold. Even the slightest potential of mold growing should be addressed by a professional. If mold is visible on any walls or ceilings, there may be a much larger issue below the surfaces. 

So how do you ensure there will be no mold after a water issue? 

Ensuring that any water damaged drywall is repaired by a reputable and professional company is the best way to ensure you’re not creating an environment where mold can grow. 

It’s very important to make sure that any areas on the interior of the home are completely dried out before reinstalling drywall. Sealing up the area while there is moisture inside can create an ideal environment for mold to grow unabated for years. Then, once it becomes noticeable, the potential for damages is extremely high. 

Whether or not you can physically see mold growing, it’s very important to take steps to kill and prevent it from potentially damaging your home.

Flooding Throughout the Home

So what happens when there is major flooding in the home? This can be caused by nature, a burst pipe in the walls, a vacationing neighbor, or some other major leak that happens when no one is home. 

Unfortunately, this is something that happens very often and can be potentially devastating. After the initial panic, your first step will be to contact your homeowners insurance carrier (we discuss this further below). Once that happens, a water remediation company will come by and remove most or all of the lower portion of any walls that were saturated. This can include drywall, baseboards, fiberglass or spray foam insulation, doors, cabinets, and flooring.

The water remediation company will then set up several fans throughout the home and dry everything out, leaving you with an uncarpeted home with an open section at the bottom of all of your walls. 

This is when it’s beneficial to find an experienced drywall repair company that has experience working with major water damages. 

It’s usually unnecessary to replace the entire wall after a home is flooded, and an insurance company certainly won’t pay to have that done unless they have to. Working with a professional drywall company that can repair water damaged drywall with perfect texture matching is going to ensure that there will be no evidence that any work was done.

Dealing with Insurance After Water Damage

Depending on your specific insurance company and policy details, this could be fairly painless, or a months long process. Flood insurance in particular is generally not included in homeowners’ insurance, and must be purchased separately. Furthermore, some causes of water damages may not be covered at all, such as an overflowing bathtub or condensation from an air conditioner. 

If the insurance company does agree to pay for damages, please be aware that they may not initially offer enough to actually cover damages. Many insurance companies will initially offer much less than what it would cost for professional repairs in your area. Often, the homeowner has the right to seek out estimates for the work before accepting a payout amount. 

Please note, most insurance companies will not offer this information in hopes that you accept their initial, and often low, offer. Then you will be stuck paying any additional repair costs, hiring a cheaper drywall repair company that may not be as reputable, or having to complete the repairs yourself.

Finding a Reputable Drywall Repair Company

After enduring a major accident in your home, the last thing you want to deal with is a shady contractor. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to know where to look for a company to help restore your home after water damage. 

If you’ve had a contractor that you’ve worked with in the past, asking them for help or a referral is a good idea. Also, reaching out to friends and family for referrals is a good way to go. 

If you don’t have access to a good drywall contractor already, a quick search on Google Maps can provide a list of companies in your area. You’ll also get a star rating and Google reviews to look over, which can help weed out less than reliable contractors. 

Online reviews can be one of your best sources of information when choosing a company to help with water damages, but not all reviews are the same. Some companies like Yelp charge businesses to show positive reviews and hide negative reviews. Alternatively, if a company does not want to pay for Yelp’s services, they will still be listed, but their positive reviews will often be hidden.

It’s also important to look at a contractor’s specific areas of experience before hiring them to repair your damaged sheetrock. They may experienced in installing new drywall, but not know how to only repair specific areas and perfectly match your drywall texture. Using good judgement and doing your research first can help you find the best drywall repair company to help with your water damages.