A trick for fixing popped nails in old ceilings

I used to just hammer them back in and add more mud... but that never held for more than a year in my 1950s house. Now, I drill a small pilot hole right next to the nail, drive in a drywall screw, and then dimple it. The screw grabs fresh wood and the old nail can't back out. Has anyone found a better fix for these old plasterboard ceilings?

3 comments

3 Comments

jennys721mo agoProlific Poster

That's the sound of a house from the 50s slowly settling, one popped nail at a time. My ceiling looks like a connect-the-dots puzzle where the dots are trying to escape. Your screw trick is probably the only thing holding my dining room together. I'm just waiting for the day one finally wins and I have to explain the new skylight.

sarah5311mo agoMost Upvoted

Actually it's the drywall screws pulling away, not nails. My old place had maybe 30 of those little bumps before I fixed it. Ross.felix, if your landlord won't fix it, just use the smallest screws you can find and spackle over them, they'll never notice.

ross.felix1mo ago

Wait you have a dining room ceiling doing this too? I thought it was just my living room. How many of those popped nail dots are we talking, like a whole constellation? My landlord would have a fit if I started putting screws in the plaster but at this point maybe I should just do it. That skylight comment is way too real, I swear I heard a new crack just reading this.