Repairing large holes in sheet rock

[WaterFarmFan]

Greetings. I need to repair the ceiling in a few closets where I made large (8x8) holes for ventilation. I have done a little patch work with the mesh before, but never on such a large area. What is the best way? Many thanks!!!

WFF

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

get a dry wall knife and cut it out to the next stud... you can half the stud or you can add a piece of 2x4 to the stud make sure its flush... do that with the other side as well... then measure and cut your drywall to fit it...tape mud sand and prime

 

[hup234]

buy a 2'x2' piece from lowes or hd,screw backing along borders(1x4 or 2"x4")to hold new pieces,imbed paper tape w/all purpose mud (it has glue in it) after it dries(24hrs) skim w/light weight mud(plus 3 or proform lite) let dry,sand w/moist sponge,2nd coat w/light weight mud sand w/sponge .the sponge is more forgiving than sandpaper for firstimers and tends to fill in inperfections.cans of texture spray w/different patterns can be had just play around w/ them good luck...

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

If your hole is not backed by or adjacent to a stud, you can use strips of lathing, or 1" x 2"s, 1" x 3"s, or whatever you have, like tapered wood shims even. Depends on the size of the hole. Cut two strips of this wood to a length about six or eight inches longer than the hole is wide. Clean the dust from the upper surface of the ceiling drywall surrounding the hole where you will glue these wooden backing strips. Apply some wood glue or Liquid Nails to the last couple inches, on either end, on one side, of a wooden strip.

Now poke this piece of wood up through the hole and lay it flat, glue side down so that each end will adhere to the attic surface of your ceiling drywall. Do this with the other piece of wood so that you now have enough backing glued across the hole to attach your patch piece of drywall. When the glue has dried, you cut a piece of drywall to fit the hole and screw it to these backing strips. If the patch isn't too heavy you can glue it to the backing strips with a tacky adhesive like Liquid Nails.

When this patch is solidly attached, finish the job with tape and mud. If the surface was textured, you can dip a sponge or balled up rag into the drywall mud and dab it on the repaired surface to match and blend with the surrounding texture. These dabs can have sharp tops and you may have to let them firm up somewhat then gently smooth the surfaces down with a sponge until their roundness matches the surrounding texture.

 

[redbudduckfoot]

Edit.....I wrote up a whole post about the mesh patch and posted it. Went back and realized the OP already knew about them. I have used those mesh patches on holes as big as 10x10.

My suggestion is to just use a patch to fit the job.

RBDF

 

[WaterFarmFan]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the advice!

WFF

 

[mrheadie]

an easy quick fix is to just take a slightly larger piece of rock (10''x10'' for your 8''x8'')and trim edges back to the paper to the size of the hole needed (so you would have an 8x8 piece of rock with 1'' pieces of paper on the edges that will act as your tape), put it in the hole with the paper (backwards) acting as tape. coat with mud 3 times, sand, and paint. easiest way i've found to repair holes midwall (been a carpenter for many years and worked with some great drywall guys). no cutting back to studs or adding cross studs, easy as pie.

 

[WelderDan]

Here's a couple handy dandy tips to you DIYers regarding drywall (I've done both drywall hanging and finishing)

Use multiple thin layers of mud instead of one thick one. Mud shrinks when it dries, and thick layers tend to crack. Thick layers also have a tendency to sag. It's also a bitch to get rid of a layer that's too thick (easier to add to than remove). In the end, it saves time.

Instead of sanding with sandpaper, use a wet sponge. It doesn't damage the paper layer like sandpaper. It acts more like an eraser and lets you blend uneven surfaces much better.

 

[hup234]

an easy quick fix is to just take a slightly larger piece of rock (10''x10'' for your 8''x8'')and trim edges back to the paper to the size of the hole needed (so you would have an 8x8 piece of rock with 1'' pieces of paper on the edges that will act as your tape), put it in the hole with the paper (backwards) acting as tape. coat with mud 3 times, sand, and paint. easiest way i've found to repair holes midwall (been a carpenter for many years and worked with some great drywall guys). no cutting back to studs or adding cross studs, easy as pie.

we call them calli patches here in hawaii ,they tend to blow out the first time you push on them,that's not to say i haven't done a couple dozen in my time...

 

[FreezerBoy]

Mud sounds like a lot of work and difficult to match existing patterns. They make "cottage cheese" in a spray can (paint department) that may be easier to deal with.

 

[mrheadie]

we call them calli patches here in hawaii ,they tend to blow out the first time you push on them,that's not to say i haven't done a couple dozen in my time...

calli patches, i like it! gonna have to share that with the bros. what one of my main drywall guy does is tapers his cut on the inside and gets a nice tight fit, plus his ability to hide ANYTHING with mud helps allot. have seen blowouts doing it this way, but never any of his. i hear ya though, someone that isnt proficient with rock and mud may have a hard time.
peace

 

[cobcoop]

Mud sounds like a lot of work and difficult to match existing patterns. They make "cottage cheese" in a spray can (paint department) that may be easier to deal with.

You still gotta mud the seams regardless of the texture on the ceiling.

Lotta ways to skin the cat, and good advice from all the folks above. For a ceiling (gravity workin against you) area that size you def want to get some good screws sunk into the joists.

 

[JG's Ghost]

Get yourself a scrap piece of drywall. Cut 8" holes out of it. Go to Home Depot, and buy a 8' firring strip for $0.85 Cut the strip into 10" pieces slide them into the holes, and attach them with drywall screws. Take your holes from your scrap drywall, and attach those to the firring strip. Fill in the remaining edges with drywall filler, wait 24 hours, and sand to finish.

JG