Sheetrock woes

Q: The Sheetrock on the ceiling in my hallway has nail heads poking down through the sprayed ceiling textured paint surface. How do I repair it so that the nails don’t poke through again? — Rod G., via e-mail

A: Nails popping through Sheetrock (or wallboard) is a fairly common occurrence in homes. As the framing lumber of the house dries over a period of several years, the nails holding Sheetrock to wall studs often pop away from the wood and poke through the paint.

Making repairs is fairly easy, and in fact, the Sheetrock will be fastened much more securely than before, so you won’t have to deal with this problem again. The trick is to use wallboard screws instead of nails, because the threaded screws bite into the wood and are much less likely to pop out under pressure. The other items needed for this project are an electric drill, wallboard compound, sandpaper and paint.

Locate the stud either visually or with a stud finder (if several nails along the same piece of timber have popped out, it will be easy to find). Press the Sheetrock tightly against the stud and select the first popped nail. Now, mark a spot about 2 inches from the nail along the stud. This spot is where you will drive the replacement wallboard screw. Drive the screw in, but be careful not to countersink it too deeply: the strength of the Sheetrock depends upon its paper skin, so set the screw head about 1/16 inch below the Sheetrock surface, being careful not to tear the paper. Repeat this step with all the popped nails.

Next, carefully tap the popped nails in so they are also slightly indented, being careful not to dent or damage the Sheetrock. Fill in the nail and screw indentations with wallboard compound, smooth until the compound is flush with the surface, and sand smooth if necessary once the compound is dry.

At this point, the usual step is to paint the patched areas to match the rest of the ceiling’s color. But you have a spray-on textured paint, and the patched areas may be noticeable. Rather than having the whole area re-sprayed, try faking it. While the compound is still wet, use a small putty knife or your finger to contour the material so it approximates the texture of your ceiling. Then let it dry, and touch up with paint to match the ceiling color.

Home Tips: Check your home’s Sheetrock walls and ceilings frequently for small but noticeable problems, such as popped nails, sagging panels or water damage. Repairing these as quickly as possible will extend the life of the Sheetrock — and the cash in your wallet.