Drywall Repair for Beginners
April 30, 2022 4:03 PM Subscribe
I hired an electrician to install some extra outlets in the basement apartment of my house, and now I have drywall repair to do, something I've only done a few times, so brace yourselves for a newbie question.
There are a total of six holes in the ceiling, all roughly 4" in diameter, and the electrician helpfully saved the discs of drywall that he removed for me, but I don't know how to secure the discs in place because there's nothing to screw them into, and in some cases there's not really much room above the drywall to accommodate my inserting anything into the space above the disc, i.e., there's a pipe running above it. How do I secure the discs?
There are a total of six holes in the ceiling, all roughly 4" in diameter, and the electrician helpfully saved the discs of drywall that he removed for me, but I don't know how to secure the discs in place because there's nothing to screw them into, and in some cases there's not really much room above the drywall to accommodate my inserting anything into the space above the disc, i.e., there's a pipe running above it. How do I secure the discs?
Best answer: I should mention, in cases where I didn't have a lot of room and it was a section of drywall that I didn't need to be super strong (like a random spot on the ceiling), I've used a paint stirrer stick as the wood backer behind a patch. That might be low-profile enough to fit.
posted by katieinshoes at 4:51 PM on April 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by katieinshoes at 4:51 PM on April 30, 2022 [6 favorites]
How good do you want it to look?
Is your existing ceiling textured or smooth?
In any case I recommend a DIY book from the library, but if you want it to look good and your ceiling is smooth, that you hire someone.
posted by flimflam at 5:52 PM on April 30, 2022
Is your existing ceiling textured or smooth?
In any case I recommend a DIY book from the library, but if you want it to look good and your ceiling is smooth, that you hire someone.
posted by flimflam at 5:52 PM on April 30, 2022
It partly depends upon how fussy you are about how smooth you want the ceiling to look.
Standard Renovation 4" hole fix was using approx 2" x 7" plywood scrap to back it (paint stirrers often tended to crack when screwed in). If you have pipes behind the ceiling then you need short drywall screws and be really darn careful.
Alternately: The helpfully saved cut-out discs are a saw-blades-width smaller than fits in the holes. If you are patient, you can cut out the very-exact-width disk in thin plywood or scrap drywall and tightly wedge it in without screws. It's gotta be jammed in firmly exactly level or a tiny bit less, not more. Patience.
posted by ovvl at 6:45 PM on April 30, 2022
Standard Renovation 4" hole fix was using approx 2" x 7" plywood scrap to back it (paint stirrers often tended to crack when screwed in). If you have pipes behind the ceiling then you need short drywall screws and be really darn careful.
Alternately: The helpfully saved cut-out discs are a saw-blades-width smaller than fits in the holes. If you are patient, you can cut out the very-exact-width disk in thin plywood or scrap drywall and tightly wedge it in without screws. It's gotta be jammed in firmly exactly level or a tiny bit less, not more. Patience.
posted by ovvl at 6:45 PM on April 30, 2022
If you care a lot about the appearance of the patches, hire a pro. Your first-time DIY job is not going to be flawless no matter how many YouTube videos you watch. I speak from experience (glances up at ceiling).
You'll want not just one paint stirrer, but enough to connect the disc to the surrounding drywall at least every 90 degrees. The more connection points, the more flush the disc is going to be with the ceiling. Use drywall screws with a drywall screwdriver bit (prevents the screws from sinking too deep).
With a circular patch, you can't really use drywall tape for the gap. But here's a cool idea that might work.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:46 PM on April 30, 2022
You'll want not just one paint stirrer, but enough to connect the disc to the surrounding drywall at least every 90 degrees. The more connection points, the more flush the disc is going to be with the ceiling. Use drywall screws with a drywall screwdriver bit (prevents the screws from sinking too deep).
With a circular patch, you can't really use drywall tape for the gap. But here's a cool idea that might work.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:46 PM on April 30, 2022
The presto patch looks to be just bit too small, but there are other patches that would work. They're just thin metal or plastic sheets with adhesive on the back. You stick them on then cover the whole thing with sparkle, let it dry and sand it, then do another coat covering more surface area so as to feather it. I like using a damp sponge rather than sandpaper for the final smoothing before I paint.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:59 PM on April 30, 2022
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:59 PM on April 30, 2022
There are already some other good ideas here, so (as someone who has patched, hung, mudded a *ton* of drywall), here are some other considerations I don't yet see covered:
1) You can get a small piece of drywall (usually 2'x2') to practice with at a big hardware store.
2) You'll want a bucket of joint compound and a small-ish drywall knife (looks like a wide putty knife). Or if you already have a 3"-6" putty knife that's metal and smooth, use that.
3) If your ceiling is textured, you may need a can of spray texture.
4) Depending on how rough the edges are, you may want to cut back the paper on the inside of the hole and the outside of the scrap so that there's a small V where they meet. Otherwise the rough standing-up paper around the edge will show.
5) I'll tend to "butter" the hole with joint compound a bit. But not the plug. Then when you push it in there's some joint compound between the two.
6) Depending on how textured your ceiling is, be mindful of how you spread the joint compound. Example: we have some walls that are textured with coarse sand, and someone was spackling some very small nail holes and spread the spackle out too far and it looks like crap because it's a huge smooth spot where everything else is rough. Orange peel texture is a good bit more forgiving.
posted by MonsieurBon at 6:48 AM on May 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
1) You can get a small piece of drywall (usually 2'x2') to practice with at a big hardware store.
2) You'll want a bucket of joint compound and a small-ish drywall knife (looks like a wide putty knife). Or if you already have a 3"-6" putty knife that's metal and smooth, use that.
3) If your ceiling is textured, you may need a can of spray texture.
4) Depending on how rough the edges are, you may want to cut back the paper on the inside of the hole and the outside of the scrap so that there's a small V where they meet. Otherwise the rough standing-up paper around the edge will show.
5) I'll tend to "butter" the hole with joint compound a bit. But not the plug. Then when you push it in there's some joint compound between the two.
6) Depending on how textured your ceiling is, be mindful of how you spread the joint compound. Example: we have some walls that are textured with coarse sand, and someone was spackling some very small nail holes and spread the spackle out too far and it looks like crap because it's a huge smooth spot where everything else is rough. Orange peel texture is a good bit more forgiving.
posted by MonsieurBon at 6:48 AM on May 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Note that drywall comes in 3 common thicknesses - in USA, in inches: 3/8, 4/8 (1/2) and 5/8.
If you buy a piece that's too thin, you can make it work with a lot of extra spackling paste and drying time, but if you buy a piece that's too thick, that won't work.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 7:42 AM on May 1, 2022
If you buy a piece that's too thin, you can make it work with a lot of extra spackling paste and drying time, but if you buy a piece that's too thick, that won't work.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 7:42 AM on May 1, 2022
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That said, DAP makes a circular drywall patch product called Presto Patch that might be a perfect fit for your circular holes.
posted by katieinshoes at 4:42 PM on April 30, 2022 [2 favorites]