Just curious if anyone has had an issue with sheetrock bulging due to a nail plate? Obviously if it is not properly hammered in place I could see it happening. I am asking because a GC wants me to move a bundle of wires that are drilled centered through a stud because he says we cannot nail plate it. I've never had an issue nail plating and it made me wonder if it a common problem for some.

Never had an issue. Maybe the drywallers have a system they screw at a specific height, and you are at that height?

Yes, nail plates can cause a bulge in the drywall. It's usually not visible unless it is at the top or bottom of a wall, or directly adjacent to a corner.

If the bundle is a pain to move, maybe you can notch the drywall an 1/8" with a planer so that it sits flush with the face of the stud.

Nah, its not gonna be a problem to move. I just never had an issue and was wondering if others had issues before. The bundle is drilled across about waist high in the middle of the room, not in the corner. It's easier to just go move it then argue with the guy.

Never had a problem. I wonder if he is telling e plumbers that they can't use nail plates either.

Seems odd, doesn't it?

It's probably the height that will cause the problem.

Waist high you're most likely very close to the joint level which could create some problems with screwing the rock down..

Really depends on the ceiling height and the rock that's used.

Or... Maybe he's a typical moron who thought to himself "hey I bet that causes a bulge" and now he's decided that since he thought it up it must be true. Just move the bundle and pray he never makes it to public office.

no, i will almost guarantee that the homeowner has requested a level 4-5 drywall finish? if you dont know ask the GC out of curiousity.

This is the only reason i can imagine the GC doesnt want a nail plate. With a level 4-5 drywall finish they put high power halogen lamps against the surface and finish it to perfection. The only time they do this is when the customer requests that they use *High Gloss* paint. And a nail plate WILL show with high gloss

I pre-wired a small beach house and the customer wanted a level 5 finish. When we arrived to prewire the GC informed me that we couldn't use nail plates due to this.

I highly doubt that is the case in this circumstance. The house is a flip house in which profit is their only concern. It is in a low income town and the type of buyer for this house most likely will not be that demanding.

The GC actually told me that it would be a good thing to teach my guy to calculate for drywall screws, because he can't rely on his contractor to remember where not to screw.

Nail plates are code here, they aren't code where you are?

Also, the best practice is to center the holes in the depth of the framing, and also staple any runs to the center of the depth, so that you have the best shot of nothing puncturing them from either side.

Drywall screws shouldn't be an issue, but you never know when someone will want to lag in a bracket or use deck screws to hang a cleat for a bookcase or something.

BTW, top pro crews use a long straightedge at various angles to determine the high and low points of the framing on high end custom homes, especially when it's smooth coat plaster as stated above.

They plane down high points and shims out low points with card stock stapled to the face of the framing to plumb and level the surface of wall framing BEFORE the sheets go on.

The holes drilled were dead center. The issue is because they used 2x3, not 2x4 studs. The GC said because they are using 1 5/8" sheetrock screws, it will hit the wires if they screw there. I mentioned the fact that in order for a 1 5/8" screw to hit wires in a hole drilled 1 1/2" in, with 5/8" sheetrock, you'd have to pop the screw through the sheetrock. It all lands on deaf ears. Like I said its just easier to go move them. It's just some cable/phone/ethernet lines.

Never heard of 2x3 studs in anything but a trailer. might be easier to chisel out the depth of the nail plate. Could save you in the future from someone putting something too long in the stud and hitting your wires. Course, not sure how many studs need plates.

I am picturing a metal grommet that goes around the bundled wires where it passes through the framing that would act as a protector against nails. Maybe spring steel that would be usable in multiple sizes of holes and also keep it from falling out. Or a 2 piece design with flanges on each side that keep it together. Just a thought. Has anyone seen anything like this? I am sure I could find a dozen things that would work at HD.

Nail plates, snail plates. I once had left a mud ring in a wall, the side wall of a space about 20" deep at the side of a sink area in a bathroom, for a volume control. The drywallers totally ignored that it was there, and contoured the drywall around it. Around a 1/2" rise near the front of 20 inches!

Probably a class -3/4 finish there!

And yes, any kind of gloss on the wall will show how crappy the finish is. I saw this at a job where the CEO told the painter to put a semigloss on a vanilla shell buildout that made the main hall. He objected, was overruled, painted it, they took one look and said paint it flat. He did. For about a day and a half, it looked horrid.