Window Treatment Debacle
October 5, 2017 12:11 PM Subscribe
I have to drill new holes directly above mistake holes for curtain hardware. What is the strongest filler for drywall, for small hole repairs? Joint compound or a certain type of spackling?
Round one of drilling was a fail, and new holes will need to be drilled directly above the first holes which were drilled too low. What is the best product to use here, to prevent the repaired holes from causing the new holes to fail/the hardware to fall out of the wall? Because the new holes will be directly above and possibly partly IN the old holes, whatever filler I use needs to be strong. Because of aesthetics I can't just move the hardware to a new location, so a repair must be done and new screw holes must be made directly above the messed up ones. I bought DAP Vinyl spackling and the reviews are awful, people are saying it runs down walls like ketchup. I'm thinking of buying wallboard joint compound instead and stuffing the mistake holes with it in increments to let it dry and shrink, and cure. Any advice would be great
Round one of drilling was a fail, and new holes will need to be drilled directly above the first holes which were drilled too low. What is the best product to use here, to prevent the repaired holes from causing the new holes to fail/the hardware to fall out of the wall? Because the new holes will be directly above and possibly partly IN the old holes, whatever filler I use needs to be strong. Because of aesthetics I can't just move the hardware to a new location, so a repair must be done and new screw holes must be made directly above the messed up ones. I bought DAP Vinyl spackling and the reviews are awful, people are saying it runs down walls like ketchup. I'm thinking of buying wallboard joint compound instead and stuffing the mistake holes with it in increments to let it dry and shrink, and cure. Any advice would be great
I would use an acrylic or poly spackle, definitely not joint compound. You want some reinforcement in there, which you can achieve with a little bit of mesh made for drywall patching (just a few threads).
Consider your anchor for the holes directly above. Can you use an anchor that will spread the load out? A butterfly bolt would do that.
But really, unless the load is heavy, filler with reinforcement should be plenty strong.
posted by ssg at 12:40 PM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Consider your anchor for the holes directly above. Can you use an anchor that will spread the load out? A butterfly bolt would do that.
But really, unless the load is heavy, filler with reinforcement should be plenty strong.
posted by ssg at 12:40 PM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have found Zinssers patching compound to work really well in this context.
posted by Karaage at 12:52 PM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Karaage at 12:52 PM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: What is an acrylic or poly spackle? Examples of brands or names would be helpful. I really have no idea what I'm doing. I bought the vinyl spackle because it said heavy duty on it lol. Also there was tape above the spackle at Lowe's. Is that what you're talking about in terms of reinforcement? How do you get mesh to stick to the wall?
posted by Avosunspin at 1:10 PM on October 5, 2017
posted by Avosunspin at 1:10 PM on October 5, 2017
Hi, i'm a construction professional. Spackle is garbage - it dries softer than joint compound and it doesn't take primer and paint as well.
Use larger anchors - you won't get enough material into your small drill holes to make a structural difference in what you're trying to do. Predrill with a very small drill bit first for precise placement before you start drilling the larger hole for your anchor.
posted by girl Mark at 1:17 PM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Use larger anchors - you won't get enough material into your small drill holes to make a structural difference in what you're trying to do. Predrill with a very small drill bit first for precise placement before you start drilling the larger hole for your anchor.
posted by girl Mark at 1:17 PM on October 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Zinnser would be a good choice. Yes, the mesh tape. Just cut off a little bit of the mesh tape and shove it in the hole. You want spackle with mesh embedded in it.
Alternately, just use a butterfly bolt and you won't be putting any stress on the hole and can patch it with anything.
How close is right above?
posted by ssg at 1:17 PM on October 5, 2017
Alternately, just use a butterfly bolt and you won't be putting any stress on the hole and can patch it with anything.
How close is right above?
posted by ssg at 1:17 PM on October 5, 2017
Also joint tape is for reinforcing larger cracks and missing drywall areas - not for what you're doing. You'll have a hell of a time trying to either stuff into your old drill holes, or covering it smoothly if you apply it to the surface. With all due respect to the poster who suggested this, their advice is not realistic.
posted by girl Mark at 1:19 PM on October 5, 2017
posted by girl Mark at 1:19 PM on October 5, 2017
Are there no studs above your window?
Curtains can inadvertently exert considerable force on their anchors, and I think I'd like mine to be screwed into wood just in case -- and then you could just fill in the holes you've already drilled with the best cosmetic treatment.
posted by jamjam at 1:28 PM on October 5, 2017
Curtains can inadvertently exert considerable force on their anchors, and I think I'd like mine to be screwed into wood just in case -- and then you could just fill in the holes you've already drilled with the best cosmetic treatment.
posted by jamjam at 1:28 PM on October 5, 2017
Response by poster: Looking at the size of the mistake holes, I'm realizing that the "new" holes that I need to drill above the mistake holes will be half inside the mistake holes, and half above that in fresh drywall. So basically I need to drill partly into the repaired holes. Which is why whatever I stuff the holes with needs to be strong :|
posted by Avosunspin at 1:57 PM on October 5, 2017
posted by Avosunspin at 1:57 PM on October 5, 2017
Use larger anchors? (That are still designed for the size screw you require)
posted by wierdo at 3:10 PM on October 5, 2017
posted by wierdo at 3:10 PM on October 5, 2017
I'm no expert, but straight-up plaster dries plenty hard.
Since your new holes are overlapping the old, you might have trouble drilling after your patch is set. It stands a decent chance of just cracking/crumbling/destroying the patch, I'd guess. One wild thought: don't fill the old hole at first, but drill the new hole, fill the large combined hole with plaster, and set the anchors in there while it's still wet. I imagine that will give you the most integrity in the patch material, as it won't be disturbed after setting.
I'm still no expert, though, so that might be a terrible idea.
So another option, that I'm pretty sure is more likely to work, though it's also just more work, is to cut out a rectangular section of drywall around the hole that's there, patch in a new piece of drywall matching the hole, and drill your holes in that new, structurally sound drywall. You could even make sure there is some wood behind the drywall where your holes will go, so any screw has something more solid to grab.
Youtube will give you lots of tutorials on how to patch a large hole in drywall like that. Because you need the patch to support some weight, you'd probably want to use a method that involves screwing some furring strips around/behind the patch so it has a stronger connection to the surrounding drywall than just joint compound. (For example, see around 1:30 in this Lowe's video - and there are tons more on youtube.) Like I said, though, it's more work.
The good(?) thing is that you can always do the cut-out-and-replace thing even if you've royally screwed up some other fix. So maybe try something simpler first, and if it doesn't work, go the more intensive but more likely to work route.
posted by whatnotever at 4:41 PM on October 5, 2017
Since your new holes are overlapping the old, you might have trouble drilling after your patch is set. It stands a decent chance of just cracking/crumbling/destroying the patch, I'd guess. One wild thought: don't fill the old hole at first, but drill the new hole, fill the large combined hole with plaster, and set the anchors in there while it's still wet. I imagine that will give you the most integrity in the patch material, as it won't be disturbed after setting.
I'm still no expert, though, so that might be a terrible idea.
So another option, that I'm pretty sure is more likely to work, though it's also just more work, is to cut out a rectangular section of drywall around the hole that's there, patch in a new piece of drywall matching the hole, and drill your holes in that new, structurally sound drywall. You could even make sure there is some wood behind the drywall where your holes will go, so any screw has something more solid to grab.
Youtube will give you lots of tutorials on how to patch a large hole in drywall like that. Because you need the patch to support some weight, you'd probably want to use a method that involves screwing some furring strips around/behind the patch so it has a stronger connection to the surrounding drywall than just joint compound. (For example, see around 1:30 in this Lowe's video - and there are tons more on youtube.) Like I said, though, it's more work.
The good(?) thing is that you can always do the cut-out-and-replace thing even if you've royally screwed up some other fix. So maybe try something simpler first, and if it doesn't work, go the more intensive but more likely to work route.
posted by whatnotever at 4:41 PM on October 5, 2017
How large are your "small" holes (and how precise your curtain rod location) that being out of place by half the diameter of your holes is a problem?
posted by misterbrandt at 10:57 AM on October 6, 2017
posted by misterbrandt at 10:57 AM on October 6, 2017
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I would use regular spackle, and use a big drywall anchor. The big anchor should make up for any weakness you've introduced in the wall.
posted by gregr at 12:38 PM on October 5, 2017