Ramsey, Minnesota
Certified Drywall in Ramsey, MN
Not every wet ceiling starts at the roof. Tall gable ends and wide second story walls stand over open river ground in Ramsey, so a hard rain comes at the house sideways instead of down. It gets in at siding seams, at outside corners and over window heads, and the first sign inside is a stain on the drywall below a sill or along a bedroom ceiling edge.
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The leak is in the wall, not the roof
Most of the stock here was built around 1996 or later, which means OSB sheathing, housewrap and fiberglass batts behind half inch board. Water that gets past a siding seam does not run out. It wets the batt, the paper face, the bottom plate and the drywall from the back, and by the time the paint bubbles the cavity has been damp for a while. So we open the wall wider than the stain, pull the wet batt, look at the housewrap laps and the flashing over the window head, and let it dry before anything closes. Patching only the visible spot on a two story gable wall means doing it again next spring. If the head flashing is the failure, the fix may involve window replacement rather than another bead of caulk at the top of the trim.
Drywall in Ramsey
What a wind driven rain leak needs
Stains under windows traced properly
A stain below a sill is rarely the window itself leaking. It is usually water that got in above the head flashing and ran down the framing. We open enough wall to see which, and say so plainly.
Housewrap laps read from inside
With the wall open we can see whether the wrap was lapped over the flashing or tucked behind it. That detail decides whether the leak comes back, and it is invisible once siding is on.
Corners and butt joints that hold
Outside corner beads and butt joints on a tall wall crack first when the framing moves. We back butt joints, set bead in compound instead of shooting it dry, and float the seam wide.
Townhome walls at the COR
Townhomes and apartments in that district share walls and ceilings with the next unit. Repairs there have to respect the separation assembly and the association's process, which is a different job from a single family house.
Trim, sills and stools rebuilt
Water at a window head takes the casing, the stool and the apron with it. We pull that trim, replace what is soft, and reset it so the drywall returns and the casing meet the way they did.
Ceiling edges at the top plate
On a two story, sideways rain that gets behind the siding often shows first where the upstairs ceiling meets the outside wall. That corner gets opened, dried and retaped rather than just repainted.
How we approach a wall leak here
We open it in front of you
The first cut gets made while you are standing there, so you see the batt, the sheathing and the framing yourself before any decision about scope gets made.
Siding and interior on one schedule
Because we do siding and windows as well as drywall, the outside repair and the inside repair get booked as one job instead of two trades pointing at each other.
We wait for a dry reading
The wall stays open until a meter says the framing and sheathing are dry. After a long wind driven rain that takes longer than most people expect, and it is not worth rushing.
We work with your association
In townhomes at the COR the association usually wants to know what is being opened and who is responsible for the exterior side. We put that in writing before starting.
Tall walls get proper staging
Full height second floor walls and open entries put the damage well off the floor. We build staging inside rather than taping overhead from a ladder, because that is where wavy finishes come from.
What people near Ramsey say
Fantastic guys to work with, did an excellent job of fixing our siding. You can tell it’s a high integrity company. Definitely recommend.
Carolyn MillerSiding repair The crew arrived early and spread tarps all around the house to capture every bit of debris. By 3:00 PM, my entire roof was completely finished.
Hazel JamesRoof replacement, Minneapolis, MN Orange Exteriors fixed a minor leak that involved replacing flashing and a few shingles blown off our roof. Timely, quality work. Great ideas to keep our roof going long term.
Jim ThomasStorm damage repair
About wall repair in Ramsey
What people in Ramsey ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
The stain is under a Ramsey window, not on the ceiling. Is that a roof problem?
Probably not. Out here the wind pushes rain flat against tall gable walls, and it gets in at siding seams, corners and window heads rather than over the top of the roof. The way to tell is to open a small area of wall and look at the flashing above the opening. That is a short visit, not a project.
How long does the wall stay open before you close it up?
Until it reads dry, which depends on how long it was leaking and how much insulation held water. A cavity caught early can be a couple of days with air moving. One that soaked through a whole spring takes longer, and it may need the sheathing looked at. We meter it rather than guessing.
Do you repair drywall in townhomes at the COR in Ramsey?
Yes. Those units sit on smaller lots with shared walls, so the work looks different: the association usually needs to know what is being opened, the exterior side may not be yours to fix, and the wall between units is an assembly we do not casually cut into. We sort that out before demo day.
Find out where that water got in
If a stain showed up under a window or along an upstairs ceiling edge, we will come look at the wall and the siding above it and put a free estimate in writing.
Get Your Free Exterior Estimate
Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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Rated 5.0 from 217 Google reviews