When I bought this house years ago (almost 30!), the previous owners had just redone the family room. And, they must have done a bang-up job because a small part of the wall was moldy. Fast-forward a few decades, and the wall was looking a little worse for wear, so I decided fixing it would be my winter project. In preparation, last summer, I redirected both of the downspouts at the front of the house away from the house and into the hedges to hopefully eliminate the water problem.
I was expecting a moldy mess when I opened up the wall, but it wasn’t too bad. All of the mold was confined to the drywall, and there was less than expected. The issue was caused by the plastic they installed between the insulation and the drywall, which is not how you’re supposed to do it. Water will condense between the two and cause mold problems. I removed two sections. One was about 2″ x 5″ and the other 1″ x 4″. I had to remove a little more than necessary because of the stud layout relative to the damaged drywall. I also got rid of the plastic in that area. Jake brought his truck in over the holidays, so we went to Home Depot for a sheet of drywall. I don’t know how else I would have been able to do that.
After replacing the drywall, I had to tape and mud it. And then prime and paint. Today was painting day. It took forever (over 5 hours)–it’s a fairly large room. I hate painting. I only ever do the one coat, so I have some spots that need to be touched up. I’m also almost out of paint, so I’m going to have to pick up another quart soon for future touchups. I did the same color that I painted the laundry and powder rooms last year. Anyway, I’m glad that job is done. I have a couple more projects I’d like to do this winter/spring, but they are shop projects, and it’s way too cold in there right now.