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Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
Anyone ever heard of an unpatterned nail popping in walls occurring in multiple locations in an old residence after new vinyl windows were installed?

I could attribute it to a humidity change, due to the new windows, possibly related to the type of nails used, but it seems a stretch.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

It sounds to me like the new windows changed the stiffnesses of the walls. Now, as loads are hitting the structure (wind, temp. changes, settlement, etc.) the stresses are being resolved along new paths and revealing said paths with the popped nails.

No, I haven't specifically heard of such, per se, but it wouldn't surprise me. I've come to the conclusion that despite our best efforts, only the house itself truly knows the entirely of its load paths.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Archie makes a fantastic point. I would bet the old windows that were removed had the sills framed directly to the structure, i.e. no insulation gap. Once removed, that opening is not as stiff as it once was.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Mike - are the nail pops near the windows?
Did you replace old windows with new or are these new windows in walls that were previously without windows?
Did the existing wall have headers over the windows? (some very old carpentry I've seen didn't use headers of any significance)


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RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Mike...you're on the right track. Humidity reduction from better windows. Drywall shrinks...nails don't.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
JAE and Ron...

Thanks. The windows are new to existing openings. The structure was not changed. Crack appeared at one end of an 8 foot window, but not the other end.

Nail popping is random at both interior and exterior walls, leading me to the relative humidity issue.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
Relating to the crack at the window, it makes sense if the old window was framed tight to the underside of the header, but the new window was not. The header is now allowed to see more deflection. Hence end rotation in the header and rhe crack in the sheetrock..

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Good photos of wicked cracks are always fun to look at .... do you have any?

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RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

msquared48:

Did the installer flash the windows properly? Rain water could be entering the wall and causing "moisture problems". Very tricky to flash new windows without removing a lot of the cladding material.

Regards,

DB

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
JAE... yea, at work. I'll post it tomorrow.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
Here is one picture of the crack at the end of the 8 foot window header:

This shows the top condition...

The next post shows the condition at the bottom of the window. This implies an obvious shift in load with the possible crushing or load consolidation as there is no distress at the foundation seen, inside or out.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

I could see the upper one happening removing an old tightly framed window. I don't quite get the one at the bottom of the window. That to me means more load is on the bottom sill than used to be, I guess the new windows likely weigh significantly more than the old.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
...Unless the old window utilized a center load bearing mullion, but the new one does not, shifting load to the end, causing new consolidation.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

I would expect a dead vertical crack at the middle of the wall above the window then as the lintel sagged with removal of the mullion.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
True. I will check...

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
No crack noted midspan. HMMM...

If the header rotated down on the end of the cracking seen, then additional cracking should have been seen at the opposite end with a crack at the other end. That was not seen.

Gremlins, that has to be the answer...

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Jayrod12, thank you.

Msquared48, if I understood you correctly that the popped nails have appeared on both the inside and outside then I doubt it's a moisture issue.

When I redid the flooring in my house, when I pulled the baseboard off the floor in one room a large Z-shaped crack formed in the wall. Up to that point the baseboard had apparently been serving as some sort of tension tie on a volunteer basis. The crack is not causing any problems beyond being unsightly, but it wasn't caused by gremlins.

If the situation's no worse than what you've shown in those photos then I wouldn't give it another thought. However, if you want to address it one approach might be to give the situation a few months to allow whatever settlement that might occur to occur, then use a nail-setting punch to countersink the nails to whatever degree possible, then putty and paint. Remember: putty and paint make a carpenter (and structural engineer) what he ain't.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
Archie: I said on the inside and outside walls, true, but both locations were inside the structure.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Are you sure these are new nailpops? I often have people show me new cracks, nailpops, etc. that they just noticed for some reason, but were often times present for a long time. The crack looks like a common stress crack often seen at the top corners of windows or doors.

If these are new conditions, changes in humidity would be a likely cause.

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
They are all new.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

Did they use expanding spray insulation foam around the windows?

RE: Sheetrock damage - Nail popping

(OP)
I don't know. I'll have to find out.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


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