soft-drywall-paint-nicks-easily-in-new-home-construction

Questions & AnswersCategory: Enviromental Painting Questions and Concernssoft-drywall-paint-nicks-easily-in-new-home-construction
Lori asked 7 years ago

We have a new home construction (1 yr old) and whenever I lightly hit a wall with my fingernail, etc. the paint comes off right down to the drywall.  I am concerned, as the paint seems very thin and the drywall seems soft after a full year.  What could cause this problem?  We have standard drywall, a thin, stucco type texture finish and Sherwin Williams paint that was airsprayed throughout the entire home.  If our texture crew thinned out the texture with too much water while applying, and then the paint went on too soon, could that be the problem?  There was a LARGE amount of texture product left over and the buckets of texture the crew was applying seemed thin?  Don\\\\\\\’t know, but would like to have a better understanding before I talk to the builder.  Thanks so very much!

2 Answers
MagicDave answered.

Generally, Real Texture Paint is applied with a special roller cover, made from wire-like material and is easily available at paint stores… texture paint is anything from “thin” but rather thick as “hell” … applying it with a spray unit would not work without thinning first and this is where things go “wrong”… we never use anything but a roller and brush! I would guess your problem stems from the method of application, and if a contractor is doing wrong there, then likely he/she is “cutting corners” elsewhere buy using “cheap” materials and labor, just to mention a few… I would contact Legal Help now a see where it goes … Good Luck!

Lori answered.

Hi Dave,
I think I may have been confusing in my original explanation.  (I think you thought we were using texture paint.  We did not use texture paint, just standard contractor grade Sherwin Williams).  Our construction (new home) builder’s drywall crew applied a stucco texture instead of standard orange peel on our newly installed sheetrock (my request).  Instead of a heavy stucco texture look per my example,  when I came back the crews had reduced the wall texture to a light stucco look.  I noticed the drywall  texture product in the buckets was thinned down considerably with water and a large quantity of drywall texture product was leftover.  If they had sprayed orange peel there would have probably been much more used.  After the texture dried,  the painters came in and painted the entire home (airspray/standard construction style).  Now, a year later, the paint and drywall finish seem ‘soft’.  It gouges very easily and even an accidental finger nail flick pulls off the paint down to the actual sheetrock.  I painted a bathroom wall an accent color the other day and when I went to rub off an area with a damp sponge I accidentally painted, the paint came off down to the drywall and left an indentation.  So, my concern is, I have a new home with ‘soft’ drywall that gouges very easily.  It is through the entire home, and it is not a moisture problem.  Do you have any ideas on what caused the original issue?  Thanks so very much!