looking for some advice on my first job

[Woods]

I need to repair a severely water damaged ceiling box that hides some plumbing. The problem is that there are cable trays and wire conduit in the way. The box is dry lining with tape and mud. Yesterday I measured everything up. The area that is damaged is clear from obstructions, but to be fair, the water had spread to the entire gypsum board, so it's wavy as f**k. I can't replace the entire board, because then I run into issues with the cable trays obstructions.

So the idea is to just cut out the part that is most damaged up until the points where I can still reach freely to fill out the seams. But the problem is that I'm not sure the board is still flat enough to make the seams match up flat with the new board. It's kinda hard to explain.

The point where I would cut the existing board, it has detached from the profile. And my guess is that I won't be able to screw the board back in. It has a curve to it now, and the board is completely dry, so if I would try to screw it back in, I think the screws will just pull through the board.

I wish I had taken a better look up close before I accepted the job.

I have some pictures here. Advice is most welcome!

oh btw, the client doesn't expect it to be 100% flat. All they want is the damaged parts replaced and some new paint. It's for a grocery store, so they won't be looking at it with a magnifying glass

 

[Smudger1]

Where the new board will meet the curved old board, on the metal fixing point.
Can you get some electrical wide trunking to run over the join hiding it ?
Or get some 100mm x 12.5mm par timber and screw it up over join pulling it flat and fill fixings paint it ?

 

[Woods]

Can you get some electrical wide trunking to run over the join hiding it ?

yeah I thought of that as well, it's a good idea but I don't have enough clearance to make a cut there. I'd have to remove the cable tray and I'm not doing that.

the cable tray is just too close to the board I'm afraid (literally a couple of cm's). So me thinks, either I cut before the cable tray, or after. If I cut after the tray, I'm pretty sure the old board will be flat. So that could fix that issue.

Another issue: I have to deal with the corners of the box. I was thinking it would be safer to cut the board maybe 20cm away from the corner. That way I don't have to destroy the corner re-tape it. I took my level to it and it's only in the middle that the board has sagged 3cm's or so. Near the corners it's still flat enough.

Or would it be easier to take the board out as well as the corner and just apply some new corner tape?

Or get some 100mm x 12.5mm par timber and screw it up over join pulling it flat and fill fixings paint it ?

yeah I'll have to use butt boards here and there. It's just, I'm not sure I can straighten the old board. It's very stiff, I tried pushing it straight, but it's too stiff. I think a screw will just pull through, rather than straighten it.

 

[Smudger1]

Is there enough room to slip a wide piece of ply over and wind it up tight with some board props and leave them a good while for sagged board to sit back up where it can be fixed .
Tricky one with stuff in way so rip it all down and redo from scratch if all else fails, estimates should have " all unforseen works will be extra " .printed at bottom.

 

[Woods]

yeah I'll first try to cut before the tray and see if I can force the board flat against the joist using a board prop. Maybe I could wet the board a little to make it flexible? Or is that a horrible idea?

Then once it is pressed flat against the joist, I'll just stick a million screws in and hope that it holds when I remove the board prop. I don't have the luxury to leave the prop for a week because I have to work on Sundays because the store has to remain open throughout the week.

And yeah I'll tell the client that this is what I'll try first and if that works, he can pay the agreed upon sum. But if it doesn't work and it takes extra work, he should be flexible if he wants it properly fixed. I'll put in the contract too.

 

[Woods]

Also I guess, if it refuses to bend, I could just make a few perpendicular cuts in it, then screw it to the joist and then just fill out the joints.

Atho, I do think that if I gently wet the backside of it and give it some time to soak and then push it up against the joist with the prop, I think it should hold. Then screw and allow to dry so that it takes on its new shape.

 

[Woods]

ok just tried bending a piece of drywall and it worked by making it a little bit wet:


I'll use a couple of these guys to push the board flat again. I'll attach a straight wooden board to it, the length of the drywall and then push it up against the joist. I do think I'll have to leave it there until the end of the day to give the board time to dry. I'll try without water first, because if that works, I can finish the job quicker. But if water is needed, I'll need to let it dry before I screw it back in.

 

[Woods]

Is there enough room to slip a wide piece of ply over and wind it up tight with some board props and leave them a good while for sagged board to sit back up where it can be fixed .
Tricky one with stuff in way so rip it all down and redo from scratch if all else fails, estimates should have " all unforseen works will be extra " .printed at bottom.

So had a discussion with the client today; I hadn't given him an official estimate yet, just a verbal estimate couple weeks ago, but nothing legally binding. So today I told him if he would be okay with that clause "all unforseen works will be extra" and he wasn't happy at all. He suddenly became very defensive and started to indirectly insult me (yeah I'm not kidding).

Eventually I told him; look: best case it's gonna take 2 days and I can do it for the amount we agreed upon. But worst case it's gonna be 3 days. I'm not gonna work that third day for free. You need to guarantee me that if the third day is needed, you'll pay me for it.

He said he would let me know.

Feels like I dodged a bullet tbh. He seemed real nice in the beginning, but now I'm started to suspect he was just looking to get it fixed as cheaply as possible so he could make some profit off of what he got from the insurance company.

He kept telling me: if you can't stay below the amount the insurance gave me, I won't do it. So I asked him: okay so how much did you get? I asked him twice and he just didn't answer it. Lmao.

Yeah well, f**k that guy, f**k this job. I've been self employed since I was 20yo and I've let myself get exploited far too many times. I'm too old to allow them to f**k me over now. Good riddance

 

[Monkey Boy]

Send pictures to store hygenine standards agency