Water damaged drywall and framing in basement
#1
01-11-14, 07:06 AM
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Water damaged drywall and framing in basement
Me and my wife purchased our first home, it is a hud home. One side of the basement was halfway finished (framing & drywall). In most cases with hud homes they turn off the electricity which caused the sump to be powerless and the basement to flood. I am not sure how many times the basement has flooded, but I know of at least once.
I have taken some pictures of the worst looking wood in the basement and wanted peoples opinions on if the framing will need to be ripped out. We are already planning on taking out the bottom half of the dry wall, as you can see in most pictures it is discolored and warped.
I believe there is some mold growth, I decided to touch on a few of these spots and today I have a sore throat, ugh!
Here are the pictures.
wall - Imgur
I have taken some pictures of the worst looking wood in the basement and wanted peoples opinions on if the framing will need to be ripped out. We are already planning on taking out the bottom half of the dry wall, as you can see in most pictures it is discolored and warped.
I believe there is some mold growth, I decided to touch on a few of these spots and today I have a sore throat, ugh!
Here are the pictures.
wall - Imgur
#2
01-11-14, 08:09 AM
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Welcome to the forums!
While the wood is discolored, it does not look like there is any rot and would likely be just fine. I would cut the bottom 2' or 4' of drywall (to utilize new sheets efficiently) and pull it off. Then with the walls open, you can remove any insulation and treat the mold with a bleach/water solution.. Then put it back together.
While the wood is discolored, it does not look like there is any rot and would likely be just fine. I would cut the bottom 2' or 4' of drywall (to utilize new sheets efficiently) and pull it off. Then with the walls open, you can remove any insulation and treat the mold with a bleach/water solution.. Then put it back together.
#3
01-11-14, 08:45 AM
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#4
01-11-14, 01:35 PM
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The stains on the wood are no big deal, but if there is any fiberglass insulation in any of the walls, the fiberglass stays wet a lot longer and can sometimes encourage mold growth.
Rather than ripping all the drywall off, maybe a first step would be to take a 4" hole saw and make a few inspection holes here and there (near the floor) that you can shine a flashlight into. Save the 4" scrap that you cut out, since you can insert a short 1x4 into the hole, put a few screws through the drywall to suck it tight behind the hole, then screw that 4" cutout right back on. Repairing the hole will be simple that way. If you make the holes RIGHT next to the floor, a tall piece of baseboard (if baseboard would ever be installed in the future) would cover up the hole and you might not even need to repair it.
If you don't find any fiberglass insulation, and you don't see any signs of an abundance of mold on the paper backing of the drywall, I would say there is no reason to rip off any drywall.
However, if you find anything disturbing, then you could do as Tolyn suggested and remove maybe 2' or 4' of drywall. Removing 4' may use up twice the drywall but taping it is certainly easier, since you don't have to bend so far over to tape and finish it.
The main reason drywall is ripped off after a flood is to dry things out as quickly as possible so as to reduce the chances for mold. If it's already dry, I'd say there's no problem there.
As far as wood being "warped" the pictures don't show that and it's hard to say whether it was warped from day one... whether it's warped from no drywall being on it... etc. Even new houses have warped studs, so... I'm just guessing what you are calling "warped" is not a show-stopper.
Rather than ripping all the drywall off, maybe a first step would be to take a 4" hole saw and make a few inspection holes here and there (near the floor) that you can shine a flashlight into. Save the 4" scrap that you cut out, since you can insert a short 1x4 into the hole, put a few screws through the drywall to suck it tight behind the hole, then screw that 4" cutout right back on. Repairing the hole will be simple that way. If you make the holes RIGHT next to the floor, a tall piece of baseboard (if baseboard would ever be installed in the future) would cover up the hole and you might not even need to repair it.
If you don't find any fiberglass insulation, and you don't see any signs of an abundance of mold on the paper backing of the drywall, I would say there is no reason to rip off any drywall.
However, if you find anything disturbing, then you could do as Tolyn suggested and remove maybe 2' or 4' of drywall. Removing 4' may use up twice the drywall but taping it is certainly easier, since you don't have to bend so far over to tape and finish it.
The main reason drywall is ripped off after a flood is to dry things out as quickly as possible so as to reduce the chances for mold. If it's already dry, I'd say there's no problem there.
As far as wood being "warped" the pictures don't show that and it's hard to say whether it was warped from day one... whether it's warped from no drywall being on it... etc. Even new houses have warped studs, so... I'm just guessing what you are calling "warped" is not a show-stopper.
