Drywall is a staple in homes and offices all across America. If properly maintained, drywall lasts a long time and helps keep interior spaces insulated. That said, drywall isn’t impervious. In many ways, moisture is drywall’s Kryptonite, quickly spreading and weakening its structure from the inside out. If you notice spotting, streaking, and discoloration in your residential painting or commercial painting job, there’s a good chance that moisture intrusion is to blame. What can you do when moisture begins to intrude on the drywall of your home or office? Let’s take it step by step.
Addressing the Issue
Before you can fix your drywall, you need to address the underlying problem. Otherwise, you’ll just run into more water damage down the road. A number of factors can cause moisture intrusion in your home or workplace. Leaky pipes, malfunctioning appliances, and poor insulation are just a few of the most common causes. If you don’t know where to begin identifying the root cause and you’re nervous about making the problem worse, reach out to an expert who specializes in drywall repair and moisture intrusion in particular.
Repairing or Replacing Your Drywall
Once you’ve discovered the issue and fixed it, it’s time to take care of your drywall. How you go forward will depend on the severity of the damage. If the water damage was relatively isolated, you may only need to replace that one section of drywall. However, if the damage spread across the majority of your wall, you may need to replace the whole thing. In either case, your drywall repair contractors will help you determine the right course of action.
In most cases, drywall repairs can get done in just a day (not including interior painting). Experienced contractors will cut away the necessary parts of damaged drywall and fit these empty spaces with new drywall by attaching them to furring strips. Then, they will apply joint mesh tape and joint compound and let the material dry before applying a second coat of joint compound. Then, they’ll sand the surface for a smooth, seamless finish.
Priming and Painting: Finishing the Job
Of course, the job isn’t complete until the wall has been primed and painted. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this part on your own, get help from interior painting contractors. Your painters will want to know the color, sheen, and type of paint used on the wall to match it properly. If you don’t have this information, they may need to utilize a color matching service to find the right fit. With the right paint at the ready, your professional painters can take it from there. All that’s left for you to do is maintain your newly repaired wall and make sure moisture stays away from the merchandise.
The best-case scenario? Find a contractor who can address the moisture problem, fix your drywall, and paint it. All American Painting Plus has the people, equipment, and experience for every part of this project so you don’t have to hire multiple companies for one problem. To learn more about all that we can do for our clients in Northern Virginia, give us a call at (703)-620-5563!
