The other day I was looking around in my attic, I stepped off the 3/4 inch plywood and onto a rafter beam. Well my clumsy self slipped off the beam and my foot went through the ceiling. Ho do I repair the hole?
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The other day I was looking around in my attic, I stepped off the 3/4 inch plywood and onto a rafter beam. Well my clumsy self slipped off the beam and my foot went through the ceiling. Ho do I repair the hole?
There are repair kits at home improvement centers, but personally, I do it this way:
Cut the whole with a drywall saw so that it's cleanly-shaped (usually rectangular) and so that you can easily cut a piece of new drywall that will fit close to the size of the hole. Cut some 1x3s that will fit along the edges of the joint. While holding each 1x3 in place, drive drywall screws through the old drywall into the board. Two or three screws will be sufficient to hold the boards in place.
Take a new piece of drywall the same thickness as the old drywall. Try to cut it as closely as possible to the size/shape of the hole you're trying to patch. Drive screws through this piece of drywall into the 1x3s that you just mounted.
Get some premixed drywall mud and a drywall knife (6 to 8 inches wide is probably best. You can use a 3 or 4 inch blade for this job). With the drywall knife, fill the gap with drywall mud. Because of the 1x3 holding the drywall together, you really don't need drywall tape (this may be controversial), but if you wish, you can put drywall tape over the seam.
To tape, put a thin coat of drywall mud over the seam and push paper tape into the mud. With your drywall knife, squeeze out the excess mud from the sides, until the drywall tape is sitting firmly against the drywall. Put another coat of drywall mud over the top of the tape and with a drywall knife, smooth it while extending the mud out far enough to make the tape not noticeable.
When the drywall mud has dried, sand it smooth and put on a second very thin coat of drywall mud to smooth out the imperfections. When the second coat has dried, sand lightly, prime with a sealing primer (it doesn't need to be oil-based), and paint the wall. If the wall isn't smooth enough after the second coat of mud, you can put on a third, fourth, etc. Since you're inexperienced, you'll probably need at least three coats of mud.
The hardest part of all of this is trying to match the paint. :mad:
I agree with this approach, skip the kits and just buy a whole or half sheet of the same thickness drywall. The last, and only time I did this, I fell squarely on a joist one leg on each side. I talked with a sweak for a week.
Ouch!
I used work a larger piece of drywall through the hole and glue it to the back of the existing drywall (drill a hole through the backer piece and hold it in place with a string until the glue set), and then glue a filler piece in on the top of it. But the glue always caused thickness problems and the wood cleats were so much simpler.
Make cleats 6'' to 8'' longer then opening. This way u can set cleats on old s/r ceiling against beam. Holding cleat against beam put 2 screws into old s/r on each side. Put 2 or 3 screws through cleat into beam. Then install s/r.
If u don't use tape where new and old s/r meet, the compound will crack over time.
Good luck
Chuck
Hey guys!, this is was I do.. first tarp below maybe even a garbage bucket if it is blown insulation ( best to push it out of the way from the attic first.. k.. Now you can locate the ceiling joists you intend to cut to using this method.. any rotor tool with a drywall cutting bit is fine.. set it about 3/4 and zip it from the broken hole across till you hit the joist.. do this again to get your four points.. use a 4 ft level or stright edge needed to pencil line adjacent the ceiling beam.. zip along,across as needed.. now you can measure for your cutout a piece of sheet rock of same thickness.. use some 1x3 screwed flush with the joist for your nailer.. try not making your sheet piece tight.. I cut about a 1/4 less than the opening and rasp the edges if need with a sheetrock rasp tool.. screw or use threaded dry wall nails every 10 " .. now you are ready for your first spackle and tape use a 6 inch blade.. let dry over night.. you can sponge sand or use a pad sander ( my vaccum pad sander works excellent) second coat should cover tape using a 10 " blade to widen the spackle coat.. sand it after a day or so.. third coat should extend further as needed to get it really smooth so that little if any sanding is necessary.. should only need a little circular wet sponging to get it finished for paint priming ! Gl!
Crea, from my experience , I like paper tape and not that fiber mesh as the paper tape is much stronger.. especially on ceilings and inside corners.Quote:
Originally Posted by creahands
Hi Jon
I have found that mesh tape on inside corners is easier. It is self adhering which make for smoother corner and not as much work as paper.
Most DIYers do not have the skills for compounding and the easier the better.
Chuck
I've seen and used a few different types of tapes.. I do like the old paper for overall strength.. the adhesives work well for a ceiling system steps in that you finish all the taping making it easier just doing the spackling. That is the only advantage in my book. The disadvantage of fiber mesh is that it frays and is not nearly as durable for inside outside corners. Of coarse I use corner bead.. I also like the prefeated sticky paper tape but, that is expensive compared to regular paper tape. Each has its own little feature and all can be used as primary
While I know you have ceiling damage, here's a simplified, step-by-step how-to article on how to repair a drywall hole in no time that is offered by a handyman site, which you may apply towards to your ceiling damage situation:
Here's a simplified, step-by-step how-to article on howt to repair your drywall hole in no time that is offered by a handyman site:
http://yourhandymanzone.com/Your_Han..._Wallboard.htm
This should help!
Cre,hope all is well! Agree first , mesh tape is easier however, I have had fiber mesh break over1/2 " drywall on new milled wet lumber.. after shrinkage the paper tape is stronger less prone to split.. it all depends on what the application/job calls for.. new work/ new lumber shrinks over a period of weeks if not months and along with I found mesh more likely to split. Having experienced this, I now opt for good old strong paper tape and wider heavier spackling makes for a better job. Cheers!Quote:
Originally Posted by creahands
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