Replies

1. 
   calvin | Jul 14, 2006 09:39pm | #1

   I'm assuming you have a pc. of sheetrock cut out between two studs.  You propose nailing 2x4's to the sides of the studs as a nailer.  That will work.  If wiring, insulation, siding nails or something else will hamper you, use a 2x2 or 1x3 as the nailer.  Place the nailer perfect so the patch is in the proper plane to the existing drywall.

   A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   Quittin' Time

    

2. 
   wrudiger | Jul 14, 2006 10:33pm | #2

   If you don't have a nail gun then screw, not nail, that blocking in.  All the pounding can cause more problems - don't ask me how I know :-)

3. 
   JohnSprung | Jul 14, 2006 10:56pm | #3

   Take care to get rid of any fuzzy bits of paper on all the edges.  Put your nailers in so the patch is anything from exactly even with the rest of the wall to just a hair deep. 

   Use a straightedge bigger than the patch to screed off the mud in exactly the same plane with the rest of the wall.  That's the main secret to the magic trick of making a patch nobody will ever notice. 

    

    

   -- J.S.

    

4. 
   woodway | Jul 15, 2006 12:46am | #4

   If you have a screw gun...use 1 1/4 inch sheetrock screws and do the following:
   Cut out the existing hole to a square shape of convenient size, say 6 x6 or 8 x 11 then cut a similar size piece of sheetrock from a fresh piece of same thickness. Take four pieces of 2 x 2 inch wood (can be any size of nominal lumber really) about 8 inches long and mount two pieces of wood at the top edge and two at the bottom edge of the wall opening, inside the wall and on the back side of the old sheetrock. Leave about three inches of the wood exposed inside the hole on each of the four wood pieces. Place the new piece of sheetrock inside the hole, resting on the four wood strips and screw the new piece of sheetrock to the exposed ends of the wood strips. Using press-on sheetrock tape, apply the tape to all four edges and then mud a thin layer of material to the tape and let dry. Prep as you would any other tape job and your done.

   Are you confused yet?

1. 
   calvin | Jul 15, 2006 03:10am | #5

   a big cut out from drywall as wide as width of stub,16".A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   Quittin' Time

    

2. 
   DonCanDo | Jul 15, 2006 04:40am | #6

   This is also what I do and it works well.  Just to make things even easier, I usually just span the opening with my backer strips and use screws to attach the backer strip to the existing drywall on either side of the hole.  When I spackle the patch, I'll hit these new screw heads also.

   Also, I cut my patch just a little bigger than the hole and then hold it in place and trace around it.  Then I enlarge the hole to the line.  Voila, perfect fit.  It works particularly well for irregular patches.  Just for fun, I've experimented with circular patches, but they're harder to blend in.

   One big difference, however, is that most of the homes I work on have been built using studs, but the OP mentioned stubs.  I guess those must be really short 2X4's :-)

   Here's one more repair technique: http://www.jasongraphix.com/archive/doityourself/.  I don't happen to favor this one and for large holes it may not provide sufficient support, but it's good to know about it in case you don't happen to have any backer strips handy.

   -Don

1. 
   DanH | Jul 15, 2006 05:19am | #7

   Yeah, that's my favorite way (the referenced URL, that is) to do small holes, though the trick of stripping the paper off the wall around the opening isn't something I'd thought of.

   What I sometimes do (if the wallboard is cooperative) is make the flange extra-wide and then carefully tear it in such a way that a feather edge results.  Some papers will tear like this, others not.

    

   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

   Edited 7/14/2006 10:20 pm by DanH

2. 
   calvin | Jul 15, 2006 05:36am | #8

   don, that method (way more symplified than the link projects) works well on up to a footxfoot patch.  Buttering the edge of the patch so it welds to the edges of the hole is key.  Certainly don't need to measure, straightedge etc, just hack and whack.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   Quittin' Time

    

3. 
   woodway | Jul 15, 2006 07:52am | #9

   Yea, spanning the whole hole is a good idea. I haven't tried scribing around a slightly bigger patch but that sounds like a good way to get the job done though.

1. 
   30ALL | Jul 16, 2006 12:07am | #10

   Thank you all for great tips, I really appreciated.

1. 
   KirkG | Jul 16, 2006 12:54am | #11

   This is commonly referred to as a butterfly patch. Usually, you don't cut the paperon the board on the wall. When you don't it is like using drywall tape. When you do, you still have a un-taped splice. Probably will never be a problem.

5. 
   JeffBuck | Jul 20, 2006 01:49am | #12

   cut it out to the edge of the stud ...

   or find the stud first and mark carefully ...

    

   then ... make a plumb cut 3/4 inches from the side of the studs ... right down the middle of said studs ... so the existing and the new will split the stud.

   there ... blocking on both sides.

    

   now ... run a 3" or so piece of scrap wood along the top and bottom ... again ... splitting the wood around 1.5 inches ... and btw ... it'll be close to 14.5 inches wide in there ...

   screw thru the existing DW ... set the patch ... screw thru that ... done.

   Jeff

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