Drywall nail pops on new construction homes

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akirvine79

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Has anyone experienced drywall nail pops on new construction homes?

Since I moved into my new home (Irvine Pacific) back in June, I can find more and more drywall nail pops developed. It started after 2 months of move-in and now I can count around 25 drywall nail pops on a few visible areas.

When IP's service representative came to my house last year, he said it's pretty common and certainly expected as the new house settles and I could see more nail pops during 1st year.  At that time he pushed back warranty fix and mentioned he will fix them all later. (I assume "later" means before 1 year warranty runs out)

Has anyone experienced builder's warranty fix on drywall nail pops?  Does builder fasten/push nails, patch dry-wall and paint it again?
I'm just wondering how hassle to fix those and when is the best time to ask warranty fix.  It has been 7 months now and it seems nail popping stopped but I just don't want to see ugly walls for a few more months.  Thanks!
 
I've lived in my house for 2 years now and have not seen one nail head popping out of any drywall. If it's under warranty you should have them come out whenever you want. I wouldn't wait till the end cause shot can happen and you want as much time remaining the warranty just in case. I would have them come out now and if more nails pop out I would call them later as well.
 
I had to Google what this is and what it looks like. Never seen one before and I've been in multiple new construction homes. Just get it fixed esp if you have over 25. And find out if this is really "normal"?  25 seems like a lot.
 
This is weird, the nail is popping through the drywall and the texture?  Can you post a pic?

You must be in a really "shifty" area.
 
My ones are not excessive nail popping (since I can't see actual nail heads) but drywall surfaces are a little indented as the shape of nail heads.  (Attached picture is not mine but they're pretty much same shapes as the picture. I can post my ones once I get home)

It's certainly visible and doesn't look good, I'm not happy about that.
I was told that nail pops occur due to lumber shrinkage from its humid status. Unfortunately, when my house was built up, before drywall, my house had 3 days of consecutive heavy rain. Maybe that heavy rain made my lumbers moistured.  Or I should blame my builder. :(
 

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FYI...there is no one year warranty on work (there may be for stuff like windows and appliances).

4 years is the amount of time you have to sue for patent (obvious) defects...10 years for latent ones.  You are required to allow for the builders to correct the issue before suing and there are no builders who would rather be sued than do the repairs.
 
For us non lawyers we refer to it as a one year fit and finish warranty.

That pic looks horrible. Can't imagine having over 25 of those. That shouldn't be happening.  Although I'm sure they will say that it's just like stucco and normal for it to crack.
 
I also lived in an IP home for about a year and I have not seem nor hear anything like this before.  I don't think it is common. 



 
I had one in almost two years of living in the house. Builder came out and patched and painted it. Was an easy fix. 25 seems like a defect in workmanship though. Good luck.
 
Unfortunately, I don't think builders use screws everywhere.  I see a lot of construction works are using nail guns when they construct roofs, frames and walls.  It's very common to hear nail gun sound like boom-boom-boom if you live near construction area.

If they used screws, yep, nail pop shouldn't happen but I doubt they spend more time to fasten a lot of screws at non-critical area.  I'll contact Irvine Pacific's customer support to see what they say this time.
 
Pry the offending part out and see if it's a nail or a screw.  If it's a nail...I dunno what to say.  I would expect builders to use drywall screws for hanging drywall.

Even if a nail will work, a screw will work better. 

...shit man, even my friends who built a skateboard ramp used tapping screws.
 
The description here is conflicting. You say the nail has "popped", which means it is sticking out of the wall. But then you say it is "indented" which means it is sinking into the wall. So, which one is it?? It is hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like an indentation to me.
 
Not uncommon to use nails, but I don't get the mindset.  You save so little, and risk pops that cost so much to fix...seems like you'll spend more than you saved just sending someone out to assess and fix, including patching and trying to match paint.  I've never used nails for drywall, and can't imagine there's any reduced labor.  Plus, screws have several times the holding power of nails.  Never seen a drywall screw pop out personally, just nails.  All drywall nails are put in by hammer, no nail guns allowed, as it is imperative the head not break through the paper.  It does beg the question though...if this really is due to the moisture in the wood when the home was built, does that then mean the framing too is also more prone to shifting/settling?  Almost all framing is done with nails.  Drywall is just cosmetic, but framing is structural.  It's probably OK, since building codes are generally based on very conservative assumptions.  Plus, I assume the roof was up and the wood stayed dry.  More of a concern if it rained heavily on the framing before they could get the roof underlayment in place.
 
SoCal said:
The description here is conflicting. You say the nail has "popped", which means it is sticking out of the wall. But then you say it is "indented" which means it is sinking into the wall. So, which one is it?? It is hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like an indentation to me.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the ambiguous expression. It's actually nails "popped out" and it breaks drywall and paint surface.
 
daedalus said:
Not uncommon to use nails, but I don't get the mindset.  You save so little, and risk pops that cost so much to fix...seems like you'll spend more than you saved just sending someone out to assess and fix, including patching and trying to match paint.  I've never used nails for drywall, and can't imagine there's any reduced labor.  Plus, screws have several times the holding power of nails.  Never seen a drywall screw pop out personally, just nails.  All drywall nails are put in by hammer, no nail guns allowed, as it is imperative the head not break through the paper.  It does beg the question though...if this really is due to the moisture in the wood when the home was built, does that then mean the framing too is also more prone to shifting/settling?  Almost all framing is done with nails.  Drywall is just cosmetic, but framing is structural.  It's probably OK, since building codes are generally based on very conservative assumptions.  Plus, I assume the roof was up and the wood stayed dry.  More of a concern if it rained heavily on the framing before they could get the roof underlayment in place.
Click to expand...

The rain/moisture scenario is a just my nonprofessional assumption.  It could be wrong. I'm not a building expert, so I don't know what actually caused these drywall nail pops. At the moment, I don't even know popping materials are nails or screws. I'm just assuming they're nails because of the shape of heads. I'll see when IP fixes the nail/screw pops.  I scheduled an appointment with Irvine Pacific next week, so they will inspect these nail pops and hopefully they fix them without big issues. 
 
I have bumps in my stucco and Im starting to see lines that look carved into the wall. I am assuming these are from the home still settling. I asked IP to address it.
 
I've always wondered whether stucco cracks are indeed normal or if people say that as an excuse for poor worksmanship. I'm not fully convinced that it is supposed to be normal.
 
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