How to Permanently Repair Pop-Up Nails in Drywall

After living in our home for ten years I began to notice small dimples forming beneath the surface of the drywall ceiling board. Over the next several months the number of these dimples increased and the original dimples were now more pronounced. It was not obvious to me what the problem was until one day on entering one of the rooms experiencing this problem I happened to notice a small quantity of paint flakes on the floor. Looking up at the ceiling I could see that one of the dimpled spots no longer was covered by the drywall paper layer or by the paint that had covered it. In place of the dimple I now could see a nail head protruding 1/8 of an inch above the surface of the ceiling board. It then dawned on me that the other dimples I was observing in the ceiling board were in fact nail heads that were gradually working their way out of the ceiling joists under the weight of the ceiling board.

To verify my assumption I scrapped the paint from a second dimpled spot and there found another nail head raised above the surface of the ceiling board.

In an attempt to repair what was becoming an ugly situation I uncovered all of the remaining dimples and using a nail set pounded the nails back into the joists and covered the nail heads with drywall mud. I then sanded the area smooth and painted.

This solved the immediate problem, but within ten months the dimples began to reappear in exactly the same spots. It was then obvious that the nails were no longer capable of securing the ceiling board to the joists. Experienced carpenters have told me that this becomes a problem once the nails under pressure from the weight of the drywall work themselves free. Once this occurs resetting the nail back into the same (and now enlarged) hole will not solve this problem.

On the advice of an old timer who had fought this battle over the years I learned that a permanent fix was both simple and effective. He advised me to purchase one box of two inch-long drywall screws and to use the screws to reattach the ceiling board to the ceiling joists.

The first step in this repair was to determine the direction of the ceiling joists. This was necessary to ensure that placement of the drywall screws was in a position to make solid contact with the center of the joists. To be certain of joist positioning I went into the attic and verified the direction.

I then used a nail set to drive each nail back into the joist with the nail head slightly below the surface of the ceiling board.

The next step was to use an electric drill to drill a 1/16-inch diameter hole as close to the nail head as close as I could position the drill bit and in line with the center of the joist beneath the ceiling board. I used masking tape wrapped around the drill bit to mark the thickness of the ceiling board, plus 1/8-inch. This would allow me to make a consistent hole into the joist 1/8-inch deep and immediately adjacent to the nail head.

I then used an electric drill to drive the two-inch drywall screw through the previously drilled hole and into the ceiling joist being careful to ensure that the head of the drywall screw overlapped the head of the adjacent nail locking it down. I drove the drywall screw down slightly below the surface of the ceiling board as I had done when setting the nail.

Next I filled the nail and screw indentation with drywall mud and sanded and painted the spot.

Three years later no nails have reappeared.

This solution appears not only to solve the problem of the originally protruding nails, but the added holding strength of the drywall screws relieves the pressure on other nails and prevents new protrusions.

I recommend this solution to anyone with this problem.