When you choose a professional to check out your wet drywall, they will come up with two solutions: repair or replacement. In some cases, drywall is far too damaged to repair, so it must be redone from scratch. In other cases, the water damage is surface level or has only just begun, allowing an expert to save your walls.
Fix
Sheetrock cannot recover from water damage that’s fully sunk in. However, if you catch the problem early, a waterproofing expert may be able to halt and repair the damage with the use of fans and dehumidifiers. The idea is to extract the moisture as quickly as possible before it undermines the strength of the drywall itself. A local expert can also apply these measures to the other walls in your basement so they don’t later develop issues from contact with the damaged wall.
Depending on the extent of the damage, some walls may need to be replaced, while others can just be treated for issues that might develop as a result of being in contact with the damaged wall. This may include treating the area for mold and checking if there are any signs of staining, bowing, or mildew. If the water damage has had any effect on the structure of the basement, piers, or wall anchors may be necessary to help correct bowing, shifting, or sagging.
Prevent
Once the fix is in place and the home is dry again, the preventive stage will begin. This is designed to keep the issue from recurring but also has many other benefits. For example, encapsulating your basement and using insulation around plumbing can help lower electricity bills, keep out pests, and improve the air quality of your home.
A few basic measures will include the BasementGutterTM drainage system, a vapor barrier, and SafeDriTM sump pumps. Depending on what caused your wet drywall in the first place, it may also feature a dehumidifier and other measures that are custom-tuned to your home and its exact needs.