Nail popping in walls
Nail popping in walls
(OP)
I recently completed an inspection for a building owner whose primary complaint was nail popping in the walls. There is a wood truss type roof with 5/8" gyp board nailed directly to the bottom of the chords and wood framed walls with 1/2" gyp board. Nail patterns on the roof and walls are cooler nails with standard spacing. Does anyone have any thoughts as to why this problem keeps recurring.






RE: Nail popping in walls
You might also want to look at this thread.
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RE: Nail popping in walls
Some questions to answer that will help...
How old is the home?
When during the day is this occurring?
Anytime, or certain times?
Is it happening at a specific location, or all over the structure?
Unless you are reading some nails on the walls or ceiling, chances are the popping is at another location, like the ends of the trusses at a connector to the top plate in a slip joint?
Is there any GSB distress showing up at the ceiling to wall GSB intersection?
Don't rule out waterhammer either, but
Forget the popcorn...
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Nail popping in walls
Easiest fix I have found is to take a drywall screw and set it just adjacent to the nail such that the head of the screw "hits" and locks the nail down. If you just hammer the nail back in - it will most likely just pop back out - eventually.
OR remove the nail and replace with a screw. Either way - it's re-tape and re-paint!!.
RE: Nail popping in walls
-The nails are popping out of the drywall at the top of the wall
-It's a one year old structure
-The popping is in multiple units
-I'm not sure of the time of day
-It started earlier this year
-Occurs primarily at a partition wall where a mono-slope truss bears
I'm wondering if it can be the truss shrinking/swelling and pulling the whole wall back and forth with it? Does that sound feasible to anyone else?
Thanks for all the responses so far,
Brett Johnson
RE: Nail popping in walls
The usual method of installation even if using screws is to partially nail the wall boards until the remainer is screwed.
RE: Nail popping in walls
If these have been installed and the nails driven too much as to not allow easy vertical movement, that could be where the popping is coming from too.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Nail popping in walls
Have you ruled out foundation movement?
RE: Nail popping in walls
Nail pops are commonly attributed to shrinkage stresses of the wood framing that push the nail out of the lumber, causing the head of the fastener to "pop" or protrude away from the surface of the paper face of the gypsum board. A longer nail shank will exacerbate this phenomenon. Screws and ring shank nails offer more withdrawal resistance, and are less likely to be problematic. In the case of ceilings, when too few fasteners are used to attach the gypsum board to the ceiling framing, the weight of the gypsum board may cause the fastener head to slightly crush the gypsum, causing a slight indentation. Other workmanship and material issues may also be exacerbating factors in these surface imperfections. Nail pops are not an indication of slab or foundation movements, and are considered minor cosmetic distress.
RE: Nail popping in walls
That sounds like exactly what we are looking at. Foundation movement was ruled out due to this only occurring on the top floor where the monoslope truss bears. It's good to have some consensus on the matter. Thanks to all for your input on this.
Brett Johnson
RE: Nail popping in walls
It is not plausible that foundation movements could possibly cause internal forces within a wood-framed wall that would cause a nail to withdraw, much less a ceiling. The same can be said about a lot of finish issues. Especially if there is little in the way of distress that CAN be easily linked to foundation movements, like step cracks in CMU for example. I look at houses where there are almost no cracks in the exterior stucco cladding, but they think any problem with their interior finish IS related to foundation movements. Its a bit nonsensical, at least to a structural engineer.