BF2S Forums Drywall Help

Step 1 Find the stud that is closest to the hole and use a drywall knife or saw to cut out a rectangle of drywall around the hole, including half of the width of the stud.

Step 2 Roughen up the paint several inches all around the cut with sandpaper.

Step 3 Cut a new piece of drywall the same size as the one you removed. Use the cutout as a patch.

Step 4 Attach your new drywall patch to the stud using drywall screws or dry-wall nails, being careful to set the heads just below the surface, but not too deep - you don't want to break the paper.

Step 5 Using a wide putty knife, apply a thin spread of joint compound along the seams. Gently press paper joint tape into the joint compound with your putty knife. Be sure that the edges of the tape are embedded in the compound, but scrape any excess compound from the tape.

Step 6 After the joint compound is dry, spread two or three additional thin coats of compound over the tape, extending 4 to 8 inches on each side of the seam to blend in with the surrounding wall. Sand lightly between coats.

Step 7 Paint primer over the new patch. If the seams are still visible after it dries, apply more joint compound before final painting.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4150_patch-hole-drywall.html

Larger hole patching is the second half of that video.

Last edited by ebug9 (2008-07-12 12:00:37)

Got a drywall saw?  Basicly its a very course toothed saw, prefferably with a narow tapered blade.
Cut the hole from stud to stud...about 16 inches on average, tho I have seen 24 inches as well.  The heigth of your hole matters not, so make it just large enough to encompass the entire damaged area.
Once you have the wall cut away, get a utility knife and cut back on the stud edges aprox. 1/2 inch.  This will give your replacement peice somewhere to "land" and a solid backing to run your screws into.  Going back to the utility knife, bevel the edges of the rough opening.  This will clean up the paper hanging everywhere, and give your drywall mud a place to go and bond with both the existing drywall, and your replacement peice.
Once you have your hole cleaned up, measure it for heigth and width.  Subtract 1/8th to 3/32 of an inch when cutting your piece, this will alow the mud to creep completely into the repair seam.

*note: drywall tape is NOT reccomended for a repair of this nature, as it creates a topograhicly raised area around the repair.  Mud only in cases such as this.

Fit your piece first.  Ensure that it fits cleanly and flush to the cut out areas on the studs.  Secure your replacement peice with 11/4 inch drywall screws.  Sink them just below the surface of the paper, but not so deep as to break the paper and expose the gypsum inside.  Failing to countersink the screws will again result in a raised area easily identified as a raised area where the screws are.  When working drywall, all things must be flush

You are now ready to apply your first layer of drywall mud.  Do this with as wide a putty knife as you possibly can.  No less than 4inches, prefferably 6inches.
Apply 1 coat, paying carefull attention to how smmoth your application is.  The smoother the mud drys, the less you will have to sand.
Let this first coat dry a minimum of 12 hours.  I dont care what the "box" says that your mud came in.  Trust me.  It takes a long time sometimes.  Temp and humidity count in this.
Once you have allowed ot to dry properly, sand it using a drywall sanding screen.  Sandpaper will get loaded and be almost useless.

Once its sanded, take a *damp* t-shirt and wipe away any remaining dust from the sanding.
Check your smoothness.  If its uniform, and smooth, you are done.  Paint the area in question and voila
If its not smooth enough for you, point sand and raised areas, and apply another layer of mud.  Allow to dry...sand...rewipe...recheck...

Do nat apply too many coats of mud, as it will again creat a raised area that will stand out like a sore thumb.

Long advise, I know.  But these are the basic drywall repair steps.
Goodluck mate


*edit:  The repair demo'd in tha video will leave a raised area, however slight, on your wall.  Depending on paint color and paint finish, lighting, and light angle, the repair shown will stick out like the aforementioned sore thumb.  Trust me on this.  I'm a painter by trade.

Last edited by TC.Troy (2008-07-12 12:13:04)

God Save the Queen wrote:

sticky this thread.  Ive got a hole in the wall that Im going to attempt to fix today or tomorrow.

OR you could bookmark it!

OrangeHound wrote:

TC.Troy wrote:

Got a drywall saw?  Basicly its a very course toothed saw, prefferably with a narow tapered blade.
Cut the hole from stud to stud...about 16 inches on average, tho I have seen 24 inches as well.  The heigth of your hole matters not, so make it just large enough to encompass the entire damaged area.

Unless you know what is behind the wall, I would suggest NOT using a drywall saw but rather a utility knife.  Otherwise, you might find yourself cutting through live electrical wire or plastic water supply pipes ...

Stuff like that is either A: exposed as to be seen thru the damaged are, or B: makes bundles of noise when you get near it with the saw, its not as big a risk as you might think.  If in doubt, run your hand back in the hole, feel from stud to stud.  No biggie.

BTW, so is MINE...jesus...
I think I'm done with this place...it gets worse everyday...and the other one is boring as hell.
later.

Last edited by TC.Troy (2008-07-12 13:22:53)

Use it to your advantage... if you catch my drift.

http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?id=103747