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Drywall & Plastering/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Wall finish repair | 4/3/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: My interior walls are drywall with a sand finish in need of repair. Problems include numerous areas ... A: I think I would use a heavy grit of sandpaper first to try to knock off some of the sand first, and ... | ||
| Drip marks on painted drywall | 4/3/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Maurice, I'm hoping you have run into something like this before. I live in Chicago in a 5-story ... A: I would use a stain killing sealer over some of the spots and see if this stops the water marks from ... | ||
| Dark image of fibreglass image reflecting through gyprock ceiling | 3/27/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I attach the photo. Home is well maintained and clean. No evidence of mould or dampness in roof ... A: Its sounds like a good mystery to me also. Here in the states, that usually means heat/ cold ... | ||
| Settlement cracks | 3/25/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: We had our art studios constructed two Summers ago. We now have vertical and horizontal cracks ... A: I hope these are in the corners, and not anywhere else. Cracking is normal, to a degree, and should ... | ||
| Dark image of fibreglass image reflecting through gyprock ceiling | 3/19/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I attach the photo. Home is well maintained and clean. No evidence of mould or dampness in roof ... A: This is caused by a lack of a vapor barrier at the ceilings, and not enough insulation in the attic. ... | ||
| Tape - Self Adhesive vs. Paper | 3/8/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Have seen various opinions re self-adhesive mesh vs. paper tape. Would appreciate your ... A: I use both types, depending on what I'm doing. What dictates the use is what type of compound I'm ... | ||
| plastering | 3/8/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: We have a 1 1/2 storey house (175+ years). The roof slope in one of the rooms has a large hole ... A: You can just remove the loose area, and add a piece of drywall over the lath, tape, and finish to ... | ||
| noise from above | 3/8/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I rent an apt in NY and the neighbors upstairs have 2 kids and they are running and jumping on top ... A: I would move since you rent, but I suppose finding another apt. in New York isn't that easy. If you ... | ||
| plaster | 3/7/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: hi i would like to know if plasterboard can be plaster on any side (can the paperside be plaster or ... A: The short answer is it can be plastered on both sides, but it's not right to do so. The face paper ... | ||
| putting sheetrock on a solid wood ceiling | 3/1/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I have a house that was built somewhere between the late '50s and maybe '75, the ceiling and the ... A: Yes, apply the sheetrock over the wood. This makes fastening easy, as you have solid backing ... | ||
| Painting Damaged Drywall | 2/28/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: While trying to remove wallpaper, I took off large areas of drywall. I spackled the areas but now ... A: The areas should have been prepped prior with a bonder, and then by cutting out the bubbled areas. ... | ||
| Ceiling repair | 2/24/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I have a ceiling in my bathroom that had textured paint on it. There is an exhaust fan that is used ... A: You are going to have to remove anything that is loose, and re-patch those areas, spot prime, and ... | ||
| drywall joint with taper meeting non-tapered edge? | 2/24/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I need to replace drywall on, roughly, the bottom 4 feet of one wall. Seems to make sense to lay ... A: You would treat this like a butt joint. I would first pre- fill the seam, so there isn't such a ... | ||
| popcorn ceiling | 2/22/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I'm considering removing my painted popcorn ceiling but see on your site that some may contain ... A: The only way to know for positive is to take a sample and have it analyzed. One of the ways I check ... | ||
| Filling pin head sized holes | 2/21/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: we have recently purchased a house and I am preparing the wallpapered wall for paining. After ... A: Depending on the type of wall paper, you should be able to fix the worst ones, and the sizing and ... | ||
| Cracks 45 deg angle interior door | 2/18/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Have a master suite - the bathroom is next to the exteroir wall (Door jam is about (1) foot from ... A: Has this door always been there, or is it an after-thought? If the wall is bearing weight from the ... | ||
| Durock/Tiling around window in bathroom | 2/13/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I am in the process of remodeling my bathroom, and to get some sunlight in and improve ventilation, ... A: This is kind of a sticky situation. Normally, you wouldn't put a fully cased window in this ... | ||
| Drywall Plaster | 2/9/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I've never worked with drywall plaster and was wondering if you could answer some question. Well ... A: Yes, taping compound will stick just fine, and you can apply it just like you were thinking. It will ... | ||
| Panel Alignment | 2/9/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Maurice - your previous response was very helpful. One moreWhen installing drywall ceiling panels, ... A: Sorry about the delay. You should always stagger the butt joints because they are the harder of the ... | ||
| sanding a spackled and painted wall | 2/7/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: The powder room ceiling was painted before the new spackle was sanded. It looks like oatmeal. What ... A: I would use a fairly course sandpaper and try to sand it as much as possible, without damaging the ... | ||
| ceiling leaking | 2/7/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I put up dry wall over my paneling in my kitchen...I now have a leak in my ceiling...I have a ... A: My question would be if you had the problem before with just the paneling? Drywall would condensate ... | ||
| Drywall Ceiling in Unfinished Basement | 2/6/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Planning to install sheetrock (1/2")in an area of my unfinished basement (approx. 12'x 20'). Floor ... A: If there were just a couple that were low, you could use a hand held power planner to shave them ... | ||
| Drywall Ceiling in Unfinished Basement | 2/4/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Planning to install sheetrock (1/2")in an area of my unfinished basement (approx. 12'x 20'). Floor ... A: I would just fasten directly to the floor joists. The 1/2" drywall will be just fine on the 16" ... | ||
| seam tape separating all over the house | 2/2/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Hey Maurice, We our house has popcorn ceilings and the seam tape is separating all over the house in ... A: Hopefully the leak is now fixed so you won't get any more of this going on. Part of the problem is ... | ||
| repair of holes in plater walls | 2/1/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: WE recently moved into an older townhouse a(9 years old) and have been left with several rooms where ... A: I would use a good latex caulk and mix some of the paint color in with it, and rub the mix into the ... | ||
| homasote drywall | 1/31/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I have an old house built en 1910. It looks like they used homasote for the walls. It has been ... A: I would really consider over-laying new drywall over what you have, for a new surface and best ... | ||
| wall refinishing | 1/31/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: We have walls in our house (built in the 50's) that may be plaster (not sure). My main problem is ... A: The best way would be to use a heavy grit sandpaper and try to sand the high points off, and then ... | ||
| Matching the old color of structolite | 1/27/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I have a house finished inside with a textured structolite in the original peachy color. I have had ... A: The only thing you can do is to try to match the color with paint, and mix some in with the plaster. ... | ||
| tape lift, textured ceiling | 1/26/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: My bathroom is 14X14 with a 12 ft ceiling that comes to a peak like a pyramid. The surface of the ... A: Just about anything can be repaired with great results if done correctly. Its takes a skilled ... | ||
| ceiling repair | 1/25/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: when repairing a plaster or sheet rocked ceiling I find the repair looks more smooth than the ... A: Being that plaster is brittle, a screw would tend to crush the plaster under it, and therefore would ... | ||
| Using Mud Hopper on walls. | 1/25/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Maurice, I am at the stage of my basement project in that I am ready to shoot the Knockdown onto the ... A: There is just too many variables for a basic formula. Thickness or viscosity of the texture Amount ... | ||
| Shower Curtain Rod Drywall repair | 1/21/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I bought my wife a curved nickle plated shower curtain rod several years ago and installed it in ... A: Unfortunately, the shower rod is a perfect place to hang wet clothes, and the temptation was just ... | ||
| Plaster finish over ceiling tiles | 1/21/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I just purchased a home built in 1940 and all the ceilings are covered with ceiling tiles. Can ... A: It could possibly be done, but I would not recommend it. Most of the time, removal is more work than ... | ||
| Textured wall corners | 1/19/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Maurice, I am finishing a basement and I am about to texture the walls with an air hopper. My ... A: The corners will take care of themselves with no added attention. Practice your spray pattern on a ... | ||
| Ceiling soundproofing | 1/15/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: My basement ceiling is unfinished; you can see the joists etc. They painted it all black and put in ... A: Yes, that would help a lot. There is rock wool insulation that works the best for sound, as it is ... | ||
| ceiling repair | 1/11/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: when repairing a plaster or sheet rocked ceiling I find the repair looks more smooth than the ... A: If you have a sand finish( feels like sandpaper) use some #30 silica sand and mix in with some ... | ||
| Drywall | 1/10/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: I have a small part in my drywall that the paint is peeled off thanks to a child putting packaging ... A: I would use spackle for such a small repair, lightly sand, then paint. If the wall was textured, you ... | ||
| Use of propane heat on job site | 1/10/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Is is an accepted industry practice that the drywall contractor supplies the heat (usually propane ... A: Depending on how contracts are written, the general contractor is responsible to have heat, water, ... | ||
| wall prep | 1/5/2010 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: Could you tell me what prep is necessary on semi gloss painted walls before I texture them. Thank ... A: You should at the very least wash the wall with Tri- Sodium Phosphate (TSP)- This will soften the ... | ||
| Moisture plaster walls | 12/30/2009 | Maurice A. Schouvillier |
| Q: We have a house that was built in 1958 and it has plaster walls. The exterior wall that faces West ... A: Depending on where you are at, you should have insulation from 58'- If not, the warm air and the ... | ||
Maurice A. Schouvillier
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer all questions pertaining to all phases of drywall construction, plastering, stucco, and dryvit. Hanging, taping, texturing, painting, metal stud framing, insulation,and sound proofing as in home theaters, offices, and condos
Experience
35 years in the trade. Was senior estimator and project manager for a large company for 13 yrs. Currently own and operate GTX Industries, Inc. Started out packing sheetrock and worked my way up.
Education/Credentials
high school diploma
course in Good Sense construction practices
Awards and Honors
Businessman of the year, 2001
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