Drywall – What are the implications of driving a drywall screw too far into the sheet

drywallscrews

I'm not gonna lie. The early stages of my very first home improvement project completely smacks of novice DIY'er. I did so many things wrong that I've since learned from, but the first mistakes are still glaringly obvious, one of which being how I drove screws too far into drywall. Some do more than break the paper and actually sink into the sheet by as much as 1/8".

I've read that this can keep the wall from being stable. Will I need to pull all these sunken screws out and drive new ones in over an inch or so? The fact that I have a double layer of type x drywall hanging — suspended, actually — like this makes me wonder if I need to tear it all down and do it right this time.

Best Answer

The paper is a key part of the drywall structure. Just as when you cut the paper on the drywall it's easy to snap, when you screw past the paper it's easy to blow out the back. Plaster and paper are a lot like concrete and rebar, the plaster based core of drywall resists compression, while the paper resists tension.

It's not essential to pull the old screws, the damage has already been done and will be mudded over. But you should add a second screw a few inches away anywhere you went too deep. This is a critical repair for drywall on the ceiling, and a very good idea for drywall mounted on the wall. I wouldn't go through any added effort to tear down the drywall, since it's still perfectly good. Just add the extra screws and be happy you caught the problem before experiencing a collapse.


Update: From your new photos, those screws are too deep. Once the paper has been torn, you lose strength at that screw location. You should never be able to see plaster around the screw head, but you also should never be able to run a flat edge over the drywall and feel the screw head above the drywall. It's a fine line to walk, but a professional drywaller should be able to walk it with ease (we train amateurs to do this in under a hour).

Also, from those photos, it doesn't appear that the installers are using a drywall bit (we refer to them as mushroom bits because of their shape). They leave a distinct ring around each screw, making it easy to countersink the proper depth, and preventing you from going deeper (the bit will cam out when it hits the paper).