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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce
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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

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"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.


I have seen this a couple of times over the years.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this?


No.

The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.


The landfill charge difference would be negligible. It is probably due simply
to a shoddy "rocker" too lazy to collect the myriad small pieces and walk them
out to the dumpster.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.


I NEVER thought of that but you are right on. That would surely be a PITA.
--

JR
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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:27:40 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce


You got it in 1. Easier and cheaper. The space above my basement
stairs is almost completely filled with offcuts. I discovered it when
doing some remodeling. Doesn't really hurt anything, but can be a
pain as you said. And it sure confused the stud finder I was using.

After rough calculating how many trash cans the heap would fill, I
left mine right where they were.

Paul F.


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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

On Aug 17, 7:27 pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce


If they're unpainted, bust them up and feed them to the lawn.
They're a great source of magnesium. In fact, magnesium
supplements (i.e. "claybreaker") are usually made from
recycled drywall.

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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

On Aug 17, 8:26 pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:27:40 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"

wrote:
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.


Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.


I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.


Perce


You got it in 1. Easier and cheaper. The space above my basement
stairs is almost completely filled with offcuts. I discovered it when
doing some remodeling. Doesn't really hurt anything, but can be a
pain as you said. And it sure confused the stud finder I was using.

After rough calculating how many trash cans the heap would fill, I
left mine right where they were.

Paul F.


What would be the impact if there was a fire? Better that the pieces
are there, worse that the pieces are there, or no measureable impact?



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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in
:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that
many of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of
sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble
of carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce



In one wall in a house I had built 20 yrs ago the builders gave me a
funny look when I came in with a bunch of empty egg cartons and filled
one of the stud cavities.

The soil pipe from upstairs came down a wall between the kitchen and
dining room. Never did hear anything going through it.
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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

On Aug 17, 6:05 pm, Father Haskell wrote:
On Aug 17, 7:27 pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.


Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.


I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.


Perce


If they're unpainted, bust them up and feed them to the lawn.
They're a great source of magnesium. In fact, magnesium
supplements (i.e. "claybreaker") are usually made from
recycled drywall.


Nope. Not that simple. I tried the "throw it on the garden and till
it in". Doesnt' work for crap. I was till tilling up chunks several
years later.

I tried the "feed them to the chipper' method" Works great but you
won't see the chipper after the first piece hits it and that stuff is
_very_ corrosive. Ran a hose on it after I finished and it was still
running white when it died from all the water. Haven't tried to start
it since.

Harry K

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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

more to fall on the firefighters heads when they tear the ceiling down.


"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
ups.com...

What would be the impact if there was a fire? Better that the pieces
are there, worse that the pieces are there, or no measureable impact?



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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of carting
the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.



Thats it Percy. Some "dumps" won't even let you dispose of drywall there
anymore. Those that do often charge more $$


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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces


"Rudy" wrote


Thats it Percy. Some "dumps" won't even let you dispose of drywall there
anymore. Those that do often charge more $$


Hoo boy, don't know about where you're at, but dump rates here in Las Vegas
has skyrocketed. And all sorts of limitations, like no piece of concrete
bigger than a foot.

We did a remodel, and we were using our bill as a free pass to dump there.
If you get service, you can dump household stuff for free. There was a
snippy dyke there who took offense at some real or perceived injustice, and
wouldn't let me dump one day. Said I was making too many trips.

Off to the office I go. Told them the story. She said that the attendant
had the right to turn in an inquiry to management to red flag me because
some guys do commercial work, and then use their driver's licenses to dump
the refuse for free. They told me to go dump, and that they would send an
inspector to our house, and see if we were REALLY doing a remodel. They
came, they saw. After that, Bobbi was always very cordial. I imagine she
got chewed on a bit.

But, geez. Now you have to have a net, they just about crawl around inside
the bed of your truck looking for who knows what, and they had to add a
bigger sign saying what they will and won't take.

Reminds me of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant", and the dump closed on
Thanksgiving. They're open here in Vegas every day of the year, but in
Utah, dumping at a public dump on Sunday ain't gonna happen, pardner.
They're closed.

Steve




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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:27:40 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce


The builder of my house threw a lot of unused building material in the
front yard, then covered it up. Ten years later I have a sinking
front lawn and broken concrete driveway.
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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:11:47 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:

On Aug 17, 8:26 pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:27:40 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"

wrote:
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.


Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.


I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.


Perce


You got it in 1. Easier and cheaper. The space above my basement
stairs is almost completely filled with offcuts. I discovered it when
doing some remodeling. Doesn't really hurt anything, but can be a
pain as you said. And it sure confused the stud finder I was using.

After rough calculating how many trash cans the heap would fill, I
left mine right where they were.

Paul F.


What would be the impact if there was a fire? Better that the pieces
are there, worse that the pieces are there, or no measureable impact?


I'm guessing here. Drywall is relatively non-flammable, and even acts
to retard fire spread for a while, so I'd think it would be better, at
least than open space or a flammable material such as lumber.


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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

if that is all you found in the cavities between the wall, you are lucky!
i am use to finding all sorts of crap....................ie: beer cans
nailed to the 2x4 etc.







"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many of
the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I want
to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do not
remove the sheetrock.

Perce



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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

Phisherman wrote in
:

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:27:40 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that
many of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of
sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble
of carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce


The builder of my house threw a lot of unused building material in the
front yard, then covered it up. Ten years later I have a sinking
front lawn and broken concrete driveway.



Digging a hole and tossing material in it is/was common. They would burn
it though. Common term - burnhole. Failure to burn it results in what
you got :-(
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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

You are lucky. I know of someone who bought a new house that developed an
awful smell. They identified a wall area and broke open the sheetrock and
discovered to large bags of garbage that were sheetrocked over. It was an
item in their lawsuit. By the way the victim was a nazi camp survivor. The
builder settled.


"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many of
the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I want
to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do not
remove the sheetrock.

Perce





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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

That is why it is called gypsum. But it must be filled with glue, etc.


"Father Haskell" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 17, 7:27 pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce


If they're unpainted, bust them up and feed them to the lawn.
They're a great source of magnesium. In fact, magnesium
supplements (i.e. "claybreaker") are usually made from
recycled drywall.



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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

The one good thing Toll Brothers does is use a metal pipe there for noise
purposes.


"Al Bundy" wrote in message
...
"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in
:

I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that
many of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of
sheetrock.

Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble
of carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.

I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.

Perce



In one wall in a house I had built 20 yrs ago the builders gave me a
funny look when I came in with a bunch of empty egg cartons and filled
one of the stud cavities.

The soil pipe from upstairs came down a wall between the kitchen and
dining room. Never did hear anything going through it.



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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces


"readandpostrosie" wrote in message
...
if that is all you found in the cavities between the wall, you are lucky!
i am use to finding all sorts of crap....................ie: beer cans
nailed to the 2x4 etc.



Now THAT is an old construction-site tradition, related to the name and year
written on the back side of a rafter or something. A hammer-swinger's Kilroy
Was Here. I've found name and year notes from as long ago as 1915. (I always
favored name and year scratched into the freshly poured footers, in a spot
like the crawlspace where they might be found.)

aem sends....


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On Sat, 18 Aug 2007 20:27:45 GMT, "aemeijers"
wrote:


"readandpostrosie" wrote in message
.. .
if that is all you found in the cavities between the wall, you are lucky!
i am use to finding all sorts of crap....................ie: beer cans
nailed to the 2x4 etc.



Now THAT is an old construction-site tradition, related to the name and year
written on the back side of a rafter or something. A hammer-swinger's Kilroy
Was Here. I've found name and year notes from as long ago as 1915. (I always
favored name and year scratched into the freshly poured footers, in a spot
like the crawlspace where they might be found.)

aem sends....


I like it when tools are a found I just signed the back piece of
wood flooring going on glue (never seen again), but heck it was fun.

I know in the '70s sheet rock was often thrown into the cavity. If
you have a house that old around Disney in Orlando - chances are you
will find some in the walls. I'm guilty of doing it.

--
Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."
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"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 17, 8:26 pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:27:40 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"

wrote:
I took down a couple of pieces of beat-up sheetrock and found that many
of the cavities were almost completely full of pieces of sheetrock.


Any good reason why a builder (or remodeler, perhaps) would have done
this? The only thing I can think of is that it saved them the trouble of
carting the offcuts away and perhaps paying to dump them.


I suppose they haven't been doing any harm, but they are a pest if I
want to install an old-work outlet box in a section of wall where I do
not remove the sheetrock.


Perce


You got it in 1. Easier and cheaper. The space above my basement
stairs is almost completely filled with offcuts. I discovered it when
doing some remodeling. Doesn't really hurt anything, but can be a
pain as you said. And it sure confused the stud finder I was using.

After rough calculating how many trash cans the heap would fill, I
left mine right where they were.

Paul F.


What would be the impact if there was a fire? Better that the pieces
are there, worse that the pieces are there, or no measureable impact?


When we hang for fire walls and do not have 5/8 board we double up on the
1/2". The paper is flammable, but the calcium is not.




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Default Wall cavity full of sheetrock pieces

aemeijers wrote:

"readandpostrosie" wrote in message
...

if that is all you found in the cavities between the wall, you are lucky!
i am use to finding all sorts of crap....................ie: beer cans
nailed to the 2x4 etc.




Now THAT is an old construction-site tradition, related to the name and year
written on the back side of a rafter or something. A hammer-swinger's Kilroy
Was Here. I've found name and year notes from as long ago as 1915. (I always
favored name and year scratched into the freshly poured footers, in a spot
like the crawlspace where they might be found.)

aem sends....



What we do is leave something in the walls for people to find.
We always try to leave a series of coins (penny, nickel,
dime, quarter) that are the current year. That should give
whoever finds it a clue as to when the work was done. If we
come up with anything cool or unusual, we will leave that in
there too. We will write our names and how much we are making
per hour on a board and leave it in the wall, too. This comes
from finding evidence of this in walls, written on studs and
such. My favorite was from an old house here in Austin where
a carpenter had figured his hours for the week. He had 37
hours at 32 cents per hour. Paycheck for the week was $11.84
before taxes, although that may have been before income tax
was started.

This last project we left a bent tri-square and a couple of
matchbox cars that we found in the street by the jobsite.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX
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On Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:05:29 GMT, Robert Allison
wrote:

We always try to leave a series of coins (penny, nickel,
dime, quarter) that are the current year.


This was described about older tradesmen; from years ago. They left
small denomination coins.

The show: _If Walls Could Talk_ tells; stories of blueprints and
photographs being found and how they left coins for the future.
One bottle of wine could not be consumed, but it was stored in the
wall/attic space.

--
Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."
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