Don’t Create Problems When There Aren’t Any

I received a phone call from a customer of mine the other day.  He’s been living in the home I built him for a year now.   The call was about two screw pops in the ceiling of the kitchen bay window.  He hadn’t noticed the two drywall screw heads showing before and was extremely worried that he had a roof leak.  After all, there must be a roof leak if there are two screw pops on the ceiling…right?  I tried explaining to him that a drywall nail or screw backing out of a new wood framed home is a normal part of the drying out process and that we can reset them and touch up the drywall.  He insisted that we pull the roof off of the bay window to make sure there was no leak.  I told him we would check all the flashing on the roof and everything above the roof to make sure there were no problems.  However, I let him know the roof would stay put.  Pulling the roof off because of a screw pop is like removing the engine on your car because it has a strange sound.

In addition to the roof flashing and siding, we checked the basement, first floor walls, floor and ceiling and found no evidence of any moisture (i.e. no stains, moisture, softness…etc.).  We also checked the roof for loose or missing shingles…and everything was installed as it should be.  So, we re-set the screws, repaired the drywall, and went on with our lives.

Hopefully, with the help of Armchair Builder, you will learn to recognize a real problem when you see it.  Building a quality home, on budget, and per your schedule is difficult enough so don’t create problems when there aren’t any.  For information on diagnosing and repairing common problems with your home check out our Troubleshooting Guide (for Homes) in our Estore.

Screw Pop

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