Asked on May 31, 2014

A new piece of drywall in my bathroom re-do isn't attached to anything

Louise
by Louise
at the edge of the tile and if I push on it, it moves inward approx 1/4 inch. The drywall at the top of the tile is the original and it's fine, but the new piece that had to be installed at the bottom of the wall since some plumbing repairs were made is the one that has the 1/4 inch "give."
The guy who's doing this for me is in Spain until Wednesday and I wanted to paint the wall before he returns so the toilet and new vanity can be installed. He disappeared for a month just after starting this job so I'm really anxious to have the bathroom usable again. I emailed him about the drywall and he gave two options: 1) The closest stud is 6" to the left of the tile. Once painted, a bead of silicon will prevent deflection. 2) Remove 6" of drywall and attach a backing plate and then reattach the drywall and patch the cut.
Seems to me option 2 is the better one. Would a bead of silicon hold the drywall back as much as it should be? If option 2 IS better, what, exactly, is a backplate and can I do that myself? I'm no carpenter but have some stuff here and there. Precisely would need to be done?
Here are pix, but I don't know if you can make sense of them. 1st pix is the top where the old drywall is. Second and third show the new. Sorta hard to tell in the 2nd and 3rd how much less of the edge of the tile shows, but in the 3rd one, you can see the darker area between the green drywall and tile that shows that it's not attached tightly.
  9 answers
  • Peggie Love Peggie Love on May 31, 2014
    go to Lowes or HomeDepot and have these pictures with. Im thinking going with #2
  • Barbara Turner Barbara Turner on May 31, 2014
    OMG! He did that totally wrong! That whole thing needs to come out and be PROPERLY done by a qualified licensed KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING Plumber! Did he even think of putting Concrete backer board in there? Good LORD! You are going to have mold, collapse and bugs and leakage all over the place and the wood rot underneath. WOW! FIRE HIM immediately and get a Pro! Good luck, let us know how it turns out! I HOPE you didn't pay him the entire bill! Never pay over 1/3 up front and get everything in writing (like I did on all my estimates) exactly what is going to be done - start to finish!
  • Louise Louise on May 31, 2014
    He's a friend who's done a zillion things for me for over 5 yrs and everything has been great. What should have been done? Haven't paid him anything yet. The piece he put in there isn't regular drywall. I don't remember what it's called but it's green and not white. He said regular drywall shouldn't be used there.
    • Ray Phillips Ray Phillips on Feb 05, 2015
      @Louise The green is called M.R. sheetrock and it should be used in all places where water will be, all bathrooms. If you cut out a piece , then add a1/4 " spacer of any kind of wood to take up the space, then you wll have to tape and mud the joint.
  • Moxie Moxie on May 31, 2014
    How far above the floor does this condition exist?
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Jun 01, 2014
    I would be very skeptical of this situation in a place involving water! If he is a trusted worker, he may not have been through with this job when he left and intends to fix it right when he returns. I am not a carpenter, but I would talk this over with him and take into consideration all suggestions he may have. If you have had good experiences with him, you may not want to lose him. Work with him. If it is a small area, I would think some simple bracing could be put in to which this sheetrock could be screwed to hold it firm.
  • Louise Louise on Jun 01, 2014
    I sorta think he got in a hurry and forgot the backer plate because now that I think about this job, I remember his saying one was needed, so when he returns this week, I'm going to have him put the backer plate on so the drywall can be securely attached. He's never messed up anything he's done for me. He's been having some serious domestic issues, so maybe he was just distracted. I just read up on green drywall and found that it's to be used in bathrooms, but not in shower or tub areas, so he's used the right thing. This is behind the toilet.
  • Jean Adams Jean Adams on Jun 02, 2014
    You are exactly right. A simple 2x4 will fix that traveling wall.
  • Darla Darla on Jul 16, 2014
    It's easy to put on a backer plate. Google "handyman+repair drywall" and there is a great article with pictures. Basically you cut out the piece, put a thin piece of wood overlapping in back of the hole, secure it with drywall screws, replace the drywall piece and tape the edges.
  • James Reeves James Reeves on Mar 19, 2015
    As a taper since 1978, 37 years in the business option # 2 is only good option l know this is a year latter hope was ok in the end was a rush job these days seems to be the problem