Today, using screws are now very common when installing drywalls. However, in some areas, nails are still used for this kind of job. If you have drywalls in your home that was installed using nails, then you may encounter some problems with it. There will be a time where the nails may come loose and can pop through the surface. Not only that this is unattractive, but it is also dangerous as your body may get snagged on the loose nail and cause injuries.
If you inspect your home closely, you may find some popped nails around the edge of ceilings and also on external walls where temperatures can get extreme. You have to remember that extreme temperatures can have different effects on metal and the surrounding wood.
The head of the nails may get a small amount of condensation, which can lead to rust discoloring. This can cause the head of the nail to fall of entirely, which is what you dont want to happen. This is very common on older houses and on some cases the nails may pop out if the house has settled somewhat over time.
If you think that your house has settled too much or too quickly, you have to contact a home inspector in order for you to find out what caused it. It may mean that structural repairs may be needed, which means that it will be of no use addressing to the cosmetic issues of popped nails.
When it comes to popped nails on drywalls, you have to remember that you cannot fix it by tapping the nail back in the wood. The cause of making the hole where the nail used to be to become slightly larger than the nail cannot be fixed and the nail you tap back in will eventually move again some time later.
If you want to hold the nail securely, you can do this by simply tapping in another nail. To make sure that the new nail will go in to the wood behind, you can drive a drywall nail next to the popped nail. This will enable the new nail head to overlap the popped nail. After doing this, you have to drive the nails to a slight dimple. You can test if the nails are driven in far enough with the use of metal putty knife by dragging this tool across it. When you feel that the nail heads are dragging, drive them in a bit more.
Filling the dimple that you made is also a lot easier thanks to color changing fillers. The bright pink is a popular choice as it turns to white when it dries.
With this, you will be able to finish the job with two or three coats and a light sanding between applications will ensure a smooth finish.
As you can see, repairing popped nails on your drywall is very easy. Just follow these tips and you will be able to get your drywall looking great again and also prevent the nails from popping out again.