Walls and Ceilings - Bathroom drywall mud/tape and screws showing due to steam. Pics attached.

This is on a new construction spec home. After we shower (with the vent fan on of course), the steam makes all the drywall tape and screws visible. I had the drywall guy out and he said the painters didn't prime. Is that common? I can only assume they didn't prime the entire house. What should I ask the GC to do to remedy the situation? Should I ask them to prime and paint only the bathrooms? Or will I have problems with the whole house?

Edit: I just talked to the painters, and they said they primed everything. They're coming out tomorrow to take a look. It's just very odd.

Thanks,
Nick

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I couldn't really tell much by the pictures:o

You need to ask if the ceiling was painted. Often the drywallers will add a little paint to the joint compound they use to apply the stomp ceiling. This is ok but not so good for a bath with shower. The bath ceilings should be painted.

The bath rm walls should have an enamel on them - any sheen is fine. Enamel helps the walls resist obsorbing any moisture.

I don't know what your painter's contract with the builder specifies. Some builders don't pay extra [to the painter] for painting ceilings or switching to an enamel paint in the bath rms.

What kind of siding do you have and do the spots especially the nail spots disappear again after the air dries out?

What part of the country do you live in?
Are the studs 2X4 or 2X6? Wood or steel?
Does this happen in the summer as well as winter?

I looked at the pictures again. Is this worse on the outside walls?

Do you know for sure your fan outlet is open and not plugged up?

The ceiling's not the problem. Can you not see the dark spots in the picture where the drywall screws are?

Anyway, the wall paint is just your standard flat latex I think. Maybe they'll just paint over it in an eggshell or satin.

Thanks for the response,
Nick

What kind of siding do you have and do the spots especially the nail spots disappear again after the air dries out?

What part of the country do you live in?
Are the studs 2X4 or 2X6? Wood or steel?
Does this happen in the summer as well as winter?

Yes, they disappear after it dries. We live in Wichita, Kansas. The exterior is 50-year painted hardiboard I think. Framing is 2x4 wood studs (that's what the basement is anyway).

Don't know about summer since we've only been living here since late October, but it happened right away. We have a humidifier on the furnace, and keep is just high enough so we don't get shocks when removing coats.

I looked at the pictures again. Is this worse on the outside walls?

Do you know for sure your fan outlet is open and not plugged up?

There is little if any difference between interior and exterior walls. I will double check that the fan outlet is open, but this happens even with the bathroom door wide open, so it's not like it's a sauna in there.

It sounds like repainting with a latex enamel is the main thing that needs to be done.

Before I looked at the pictures again I thought maybe what was happening was condensation at the nails or screws. Steel, being a better conductor of heat than lumber will conduct heat out of the room and moisture will condense on the screws or nails a little sooner and in a little more quantity than on the surrounding drywall where there is only wood to conduct heat away. I think I detect a little line where the studs are as well as the nail spots. Since this is on interior walls I don't think that theory is a good one but I don't have a better idea. Narrower studs put the conductive point of the nail closer to the outside air than wider ones but again, that is happening on all the walls.

Is the bathroom cold when not in use?

I'm running out of ideas.

Is the bathroom cold when not in use?



We don't keep the house super warm (around 68 degrees) but like you said, it's on interior walls as well. Very odd. The painter is supposed to stop by in the morning so I'll post back then.

Flat latex is a bad choice for a bathroom because it is very porous. I suspect it is absorbing the water and becomes semitransparent(like a white shirt does in the rain). It may be exacerbated by thin mud over the screws and a poor primer coat. Once the moisture evaporates the screws should become invisible again.

I usually use at least a semi-gloss for a bathroom or kitchen. Repainting including a good primer coat is advisable.



tightcoat, your temperature differential hypothesis is an interesting theory. After seeing infrared images of studs on exterior walls, I could see it playing a role during the winter.