A modern house has a number of utilities and construction materials that all work together to make a functioning home. The water and sewage pipes, the electrical utilities, the floorboards, air conditioning, and more are the homeowner’s responsibility to fix and replace whenever needed. This sometimes includes drywall too, and drywall is a part of the house that some may take for granted. Newer, younger homeowners may not even realize how many problems may go wrong with the drywall or the utilities behind it, but it’s never too late to hire contractors to fix it. More skilled homeowners can use power tools and power tool accessories to fix the drywall themselves, and they can even install an access panel right there into the wall. Having the right power tool accessories is a good idea for any home project, whether it be woodworking or drywall repair or drywall installation. If a homeowner plans to do a lot of DIY repairs, a local hardware store may have all the power tool accessories that they need. What is there to know about drywall and its maintenance?
The Drywall and Problems
Drywall is essential for making a complete wall or ceiling in the house, but a number of problems may occur with the drywall or utilities behind it. For example, a house may have thin or missing foam insulation, and this can seriously disrupt the heating and air conditioning utility. Some foam insulation may be found in the attic, while the rest is in the walls, typically behind the drywall. If foam insulation is missing, then warm air escapes the home in winter and cool air leaks out in summer, which forces the HVAC system to work overtime to compensate. This can use up a lot of extra electricity, and that will show up on the electric bill. Fixing or installing foam insulation often means breaking away a part of the drywall to reach this part of the home.
In other cases, water might be the issue. Pipes may be found in the house’s walls, behind the drywall, and they sometimes spring leaks. If a pipe is leaking, then not only is water being wasted, but the loose water can short out electrical components in the wall, and the water may also damage the drywall itself. There are distinctive visual cues for when water is damaging drywall, and this can compromise the wall and also look ugly. Water damage will require cutting out the affected area and replacing it. And finally, termites may attack drywall and damage it, and this results in ugly damage as well. What can be done about all these problems?
Repair Work
Whenever drywall is damaged, or if utilities behind it have suffered malfunctions, someone or other should be on the job and fix it. In some cases, as mentioned above, a homeowner may have the power tools, materials, and skills needed to effect these repairs alone. Someone who needs to update their tool kit can visit a nearby hardware store and get power tool accessories for an upcoming drywall job. What does this entail? If a section of drywall has suffered water damage or termite damage, that section of the wall can be cut away and removed (often in a square shape). Then, new drywall can be added, and adhesives can be used to seamlessly attach this fresh new patch of drywall.
Drywall replacement can also take the form of access hatches. That is, a piece of the drywall is cut out, and the replacement piece is on hinges rather than glued into place. It is a sort of trapdoor, and this hatch can be useful. An access panel allows the homeowner to easily reach the wall space behind the drywall without having to cut away material over and over. Most often, this is necessary when there are pipes, wires, or insulation behind the drywall that may need regular inspection or maintenance. These access panels can be installed by professional contractors, if need be. For some parts of the house, where major pipes or electrical utilities can be found, a contractor may recommend the installation of an access panel for this very reason. Once the panel is in place, repairs behind the wall become quicker and easier to carry out.
