Nails popping in bath drywall ceiling.

[Eplebnista]

My bath ceiling was nailed to the joists. After 20+ years of humidity, the nail heads have rusted, swelled and popped out. My plan is to put galvanized or coated screws in, pull the nails and then fill and finish.

Anybody have any comments on this plan or other suggestions?

Thanks

[radhak]

I have no experience in this, but an observation - looks like the joists must have swelled with moisture to pop the nails out, right?

So should you examine them (the joists) for replacement (or repair) before you replace the nails?

[BigguyZ]

Is your bathroom properly vented? If not, that may explain the moisture issue. Otherwise, I'd review how it's vented and make sure that the duct is sealed and that the fan works properly.

[capncarl]

I had the same problem with the ceiling in a carport, a small amount of moisture and the caustic properties of drywall and latex paint.
I installed ss decking screws instead of drywall screws, and found that I could not pull the old nail out without destrying the drywall, so I just drove them in with a punch, filled in the hole and finished.

capncarl

[JimD]

I questioned my builder on the local practice of using nails around the outside and screws in the field. I thought I wanted screws all around for holding power. My builder pointed out that even smooth nails would not pull out before drywall would fail. I doubted it but tried it and he is right.

I also agree with the other comments about humidity (seems to have been too high due to no fan or unused fan) and checking the ceiling joists (their swelling would explain the nail pops). The easiest way to check would be to pull down the drywall after moving the insulation. If the ceiling joists are OK, I'd replace the ceiling with green board. It is only a little more resistant to moisture than regular but it only costs a little bit more too. I would further use the dry setting type drywall mud. It is a little more trouble to mix up than to use pre-mix out of buckets but the type you buy dry has a couple advantages. The biggest one for bathrooms is that it is also moisture resistant. The other advantage is it dries quicker - in as little as an hour. I buy the 90 minute type that is ready to sand in about 3 hours - I want the additional working time. I keep it around the house for patch jobs. It keeps indefinitely (unlike the pre-mix which gets moldy but can still be used).

Jim

[Eplebnista]

Thanks everybody. The bathroom was vented with the smallest and noisiest contractor grade fan available. It has been replaced and upgraded and the new fan does a much better job of clearing the humidity. The joists are fine, they are in the attic and I had to go up there to remove the old fan.

The nails didn't really pop as much as just swell and form pimples. Nonetheless, they don't have ring shanks and come out without a lot of persuading.

[Rich P]

Don't ask me why but here in Santa Clara county green board is not allowed for ceilings unless the joists are closer (I think 12" OC) than standard framing. This was as of 5 or 6 years ago.

[herb fellows]

Don't ask me why but here in Santa Clara county green board is not allowed for ceilings unless the joists are closer (I think 12" OC) than standard framing. This was as of 5 or 6 years ago.

I remember reading somewhere that green board was not a good choice for ceilings. I can't recall the article, but I think it made sense to me at the time because I've retained that 'bit of wisdom'.
Maybe just check that out before you do it if you're thinking of going that way.