It
sounds like you have "nail pops" in your drywall. This
is a very common problem when drywall is installed with nails, but
it can also happen with screws.
Nails hold simply by the friction
between them and the wood. So over time the nails can back out,
and, if the nail is holding drywall in place it will push away the
little plug of drywall joint compound used to fill the dimple. If
the circle of paint/plaster that is raised up is about the size of
a silver dollar, then it must be a nail underneath. If the
circle is smaller than a dime, or if it is sort of
cone-shaped, it might be a screw underneath.
Either way, the fastener must be
driven back in a little tighter, and the hole filled with patching
compound or joint compound, and then primed and painted. That
actually is a lot of hassle for a few nail pops, and I don't blame
you if you delay the entire process until a future time when you
repaint the room. And the nails could pop again in a few years.
To tackle this problem, peel away
the loose paint and joint compound and look for a Phillips screw
head buried in plaster. If it's a screw, drive it in a little
tighter by hand. If it's a nail, use a nail set and a hammer to
drive it about 1/8 inch deeper. Push on the wall to see if it
flexes. The drywall could have separated from the studs. If so,
you can drive in some 1-1/4" or 1-5/8" drywall screws,
above and below the nail pop, to better secure the drywall.
Then fill the holes with a "setting"
type of drywall patching material. That means it will be in powder
form, to be mixed with water to a creamy consistency. I use 20
minute setting-type drywall joint compound, which I buy in large
bags because I am frequently doing drywall work. But you might be
best served with a small package of plaster/drywall patching
compound. The setting types harden quicker and shrink much less
than the "pre-mixed" joint or patching compounds. But
there is the added effort of mixing.
You may have to apply a second
(or even a third) coating of compound. Use a putty knife about
twice as wide as the hole's diameter. After it has hardened, you
can sand the patch smooth.
To finish the patch, you really
need to apply primer before painting. You can certainly use a
latex primer for this, and you can also use PVA drywall primer,
which is probably the least expensive paint product available. I
recommend that every homeowner have at least a quart of
good quality latex primer, such as Zinsser's Bulls Eye 1-2-3 or
Kilz Total One. If you do a lot of work around the house, buy a
gallon. Both of these products seem to have a good shelf life.
And of course, ALL home owners
keep their old partial cans of paint around for touching up
patches...right? And they label the cans so the next home owner
knows which cans belong to which room, right? If the room is
painted in a light color, you may be able to leave the patch
primed but not painted, and the next time you paint the room
everything will be back to normal.
Why Does This Happen?
So what exactly causes these nail
pops? Possibly the seasonal changes in humidity, which causes the
wood to expand and contract slightly. But since nails hold by
friction, they can lose their grip when something vibrates or
shakes the house framing. Over time a house will experience
"racking" or flexing of the structure, primarily by wind
but also by seismic activity such as the shaking caused by large
trucks on nearby roads. This flexing will cause nails to loosen
slightly. Another source of vibration is loud music. I have
personally accomplished this. When I was a college student I lived
in my parent's house, in a basement bedroom that had been recently
remodeled. I listened to some pretty loud music. After a few years
I noticed that there were many nails popping out of the drywall.
Since the walls were protected by the concrete basement
foundation, I doubt that ordinary flexing caused those nail pops.
Generally, drywall that is
installed with screws is far less prone to this problem than
drywall that is nailed in place. Many drywallers glue AND screw
their wallboard to the framing.
I hope this long-winded
explanation helps you understand and fix the problem. If your
drywall is fastened with nails, you will probably continue to
experience these drywall pops until someday when the drywall is
removed and new wallboard is installed with screws.
Bruce W. Maki, Editor.
