School me: Drywall repair.

[Aerovette]

Just like bodywork, this is something that I just don't have a knack for. It is less "mechanical" and more "artistic" to me. Getting all the seems to disappear, getting it supported sufficiently, taping, mudding, texture, etc. all take me about 10x longer than it should.

This past weekend, while trying to disconnect the washing machine, I snapped the CPVC pipe leading to the shutoff and managed to get about 5 gallons of water loose before I could get outside and turn it off. So, I cut the wall open from the middle of one stud to the middle of the next. I fixed the plumbing and now had to patch the wall. I bought the mud, the drywall, paper tape and screws. Right out of the gates it gets stupid.

Problems:

1. Studs are not "exactly" parallel, so using a carpenter's square became useless. Instead I used a piece of posterboard to make a template and fine tuned it to fit.

2. So little of the stud is exposed that driving screws in at the corners resulted in a light "snap" and a break in the repair piece. I used it anyway

3. EVERY time I have patched a wall, the new piece steps back into the wall from the old piece. It's as if builders use thicker drywall than the big box guys sell.

4. To soak or not to soak? I wet the drywall tape enough to get it to stick to the mud I put down on the seam. Then I went over it with mud. The tape will ALWAYS stick out further that the undamaged wall surface so that edge barely gets and mud on it. Sure enough, the tape started to lift away. Screw it, I cut about an inch off and put on more mud. Internet is 50/50 on soaking.

5. Layers; Jeemeny crimany ! I had to mud, dry, sand, repeat about 5 times WTF? To thick and it will crack, too thin and there is a step.

6. Texture; thank god. nuff said.

Here is the end result of waaaaaaay too much time spent. There is a bad shadow from the shelf, but there is no sign of the repair. I did in a day, what a pro could do in about 15 minutes.

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af289/Aerovette1/2013-03-17_19-58-13_723_zps434cca89.jpg




WTF? I am not retarded and am mechanically inclined, but none-the-less, CLUELESS about the "right way" to do this.


PS. Photobucket has reached and all new and improved level of SUCK. What a POS.

[FasterTraffic]

It is an art, methinks. I'm not Tim Taylor around the house but I have gotten pretty good with drywall repair. We had the cheap-ass toilet paper holders that were recessed into the wall and I made it like they were never there.

Home Depot does sell different thicknesses of drywall, by the way.

[simpleman68]

Problems:

1. Studs are not "exactly" parallel, so using a carpenter's square became useless. Instead I used a piece of posterboard to make a template and fine tuned it to fit.

2. So little of the stud is exposed that driving screws in at the corners resulted in a light "snap" and a break in the repair piece. I used it anyway

3. EVERY time I have patched a wall, the new piece steps back into the wall from the old piece. It's as if builders use thicker drywall than the big box guys sell.

4. To soak or not to soak? I wet the drywall tape enough to get it to stick to the mud I put down on the seem. Then I went over it with mud. The tape will ALWAYS stick out further that the undamaged wall surface so that edge barely gets and mud on it. Sure enough, the tape started to lift away. Screw it, I cut about an inch off and put on more mud. Internet is 50/50 on soaking.

5. Layers; Jeemeny crimany ! I had to mud, dry, sand, repeat about 5 times WTF? To thick and it will crack, too thin and there is a step.


#1 You can screw a sister joist to the existing one and dremel the stud (if the hole isn't too big)
Or you can shave some off the back of the new drywall piece going in.

#2 This is where sistering another piece is golden. I often use a leftover piece of OSB to bridge the gap of the hole and screw through the existing drywall with a 1 5/8" - 2" screw to attach the OSB to it from behind.

#3 The extra height of the existing drywall is from layers of old spackle (if it's a seam) contractor sprayed primer and multiple layers of paint

#4 Is vastly prefer the fiberglas tape with adhesive backing.
Stronger, self sticking and gives me a guide to sanding the "mud" when I'm getting too close to the drywall

And yes, it always takes me 4-5 coats or more of mud to get a proper feather that won't show lines or dimples when I'm ready to paint.
It is an art form of sorts, but you get better with LOTS or practice.

Lots of tricks along the way as well. Stirring the spackle is very important as the water rises to the top from settling.
The cheaper small container spackles are crap and shrink/crack almost everytime.

That's all I got off the top.
Scott

[Jeff '79]

Just paint it a different color.....:seasix:

[Aerovette]

#1 You can screw a sister joist to the existing one...


THIS ^ is the exact moment in reading where I wanted to kick my own ASS for not seeing the obvious. :leaving:

Thank you. :seasix:

I know NOW !

[Grey Ghost]

I think most of us have had to use a scrap pc. of wood attached to the stud to make it wide enough. I use the premix mud. Thin coats thoroughly dry. Keep it smooth when applying it. Use the cross-hatch/diagonal sanding method (just like with bondo).

[78SA]

Get phone book, call repair guy, pay repair guy after he fixes it. :cert:

[Datawiz]

#1 You can screw a sister joist to the existing one...


THIS ^ is the exact moment in reading where I wanted to kick my own ASS for not seeing the obvious. :leaving:

Thank you. :seasix:

I know NOW !

:rofl:

[DukeAllen]

I redid our entire cellar after we had to have the lower half of all the walls knocked due to flooding and mold. An hour or so every night. For SIX months. Started out OK but the longer it took the more tired I got of it and the more I rushed. You can see the workmanship go downhill from one end of the cellar to the other :lol:
But it's just for us, I can re-sand and paint to make it look better if we sell, and the basement is warm again :seasix:
I used the premixed mud but had bad luck with the self adhesive tape and went old school.

[lspencer534]

I don't want to come across as a know-it-all here, but you folks having trouble with sheetrock are making it sound way too hard. First of all, sister studs for repairs are actually better then cutting the old sheetrock along the center of the stud. The 3/4" you have left by cutting aliong the center of the studs is bound to crack when you put the screw in to attach the new piece. (Always use 1 1/4" screws instead of nails, and always score the sheetrock from the front side before breaking it.)

Don't soak the tape. Just wet it by running it under the faucet or by spraying it with a mister. It has glue in it, you know; don't wash it off. Plain old paper, not fiberglass, is easier for the novice to use. Use plenty of mud to fill the gap between the pieces, apply wet tape, then more mud, and smooth it with a blade. 12" wide plastic blades are easier for the novice to use rather than a rigid metal blade.

The excess mud you put on to fill the gap can be smoothed and compressed with the blade to give a pretty flat joint about 6" wide. Let it dry overnight, sand the joint, and make another thin application of mud about 9" wide. Let it dry again, sand again. The before and after the 3rd and last application of mud, vacuum or wipe down the wall to eliminate dust particle build-up (makes for a better paint job).

Sheetrock mud can work miracles for levelling uneven walls (where the studs are causing an irregular wall surface, or "depression" in the wall). If the irregularity is 32" wide, use a 48" piece of lumber. Aply about 1/8" of mud, screed it with the lumber, then float it. Come back the next day and apply mud daily until the low spot if filled. It's a permanent fix.

[Aerovette]

I don't want to come across as a know-it-all here, but you folks having trouble with sheetrock are making it sound way too hard. First of all, sister studs for repairs are actually better then cutting the old sheetrock along the center of the stud. The 3/4" you have left by cutting aliong the center of the studs is bound to crack when you put the screw in to attach the new piece. (Always use 1 1/4" screws instead of nails, and always score the sheetrock from the front side before breaking it.)

Don't soak the tape. Just wet it by running it under the faucet or by spraying it with a mister. It has glue in it, you know; don't wash it off. Plain old paper, not fiberglass, is easier for the novice to use. Use plenty of mud to fill the gap between the pieces, apply wet tape, then more mud, and smooth it with a blade. 12" wide plastic blades are easier for the novice to use rather than a rigid metal blade.

The excess mud you put on to fill the gap can be smoothed and compressed with the blade to give a pretty flat joint about 6" wide. Let it dry overnight, sand the joint, and make another thin application of mud about 9" wide. Let it dry again, sand again. The before and after the 3rd and last application of mud, vacuum or wipe down the wall to eliminate dust particle build-up (makes for a better paint job).

Sheetrock mud can work miracles for levelling uneven walls (where the studs are causing an irregular wall surface, or "depression" in the wall). If the irregularity is 32" wide, use a 48" piece of lumber. Aply about 1/8" of mud, screed it with the lumber, then float it. Come back the next day and apply mud daily until the low spot if filled. It's a permanent fix.

The "mechanics" of it all are simple, but the finesse or art of the finish is not. Like bodywork. I know what to do, but the result will be less than pretty. :D

[simpleman68]

I don't want to come across as a know-it-all here, but you folks having trouble with sheetrock are making it sound way too hard. First of all, sister studs for repairs are actually better then cutting the old sheetrock along the center of the stud. The 3/4" you have left by cutting aliong the center of the studs is bound to crack when you put the screw in to attach the new piece. (Always use 1 1/4" screws instead of nails, and always score the sheetrock from the front side before breaking it.)

Don't soak the tape. Just wet it by running it under the faucet or by spraying it with a mister. It has glue in it, you know; don't wash it off. Plain old paper, not fiberglass, is easier for the novice to use. Use plenty of mud to fill the gap between the pieces, apply wet tape, then more mud, and smooth it with a blade. 12" wide plastic blades are easier for the novice to use rather than a rigid metal blade.

The excess mud you put on to fill the gap can be smoothed and compressed with the blade to give a pretty flat joint about 6" wide. Let it dry overnight, sand the joint, and make another thin application of mud about 9" wide. Let it dry again, sand again. The before and after the 3rd and last application of mud, vacuum or wipe down the wall to eliminate dust particle build-up (makes for a better paint job).

Sheetrock mud can work miracles for levelling uneven walls (where the studs are causing an irregular wall surface, or "depression" in the wall). If the irregularity is 32" wide, use a 48" piece of lumber. Aply about 1/8" of mud, screed it with the lumber, then float it. Come back the next day and apply mud daily until the low spot if filled. It's a permanent fix.

Some good tips for the novice in there, but I still think the fibreglas tape is easier to apply and work with. It also gives better feedback as to when you are sanding too closely to the rock.

I almost never complete a proper seam with 3 coats only. Even with properly stirred mud and adequate dry times, I find it takes 3 coats to get proper level/height. The final coat or two is for feathering and filling pinholes.

Which brings me to another issue. I do NOT sand the first coat of mud and often not the 2nd. Even with a good tack cloth I still get residual grains in the final/feather coat.

Of course, this may just be what works best for me. Then again, I've been hanging drywall regularly for 20+ years. :cert:
Scott

[Aerovette]

Surfing the net, I found more saying to stay away from anything other than paper tape. Interesting. I have used the fiberglass before and "adhesive backed" is grossly over stated. I didn't have luck with it sticking. I used old school paper on this project with not perfect, but better results. I guess the end justifies the means. It looks great and only I am aware of what it took to get there. :seasix:

Thanks to all for the input.

[Kerrmudgeon]

...get the tape that's already sticky on one side with the waffle weave pattern. Put that on first, mud sticks real good to it, should have to mud only twice sanding between. done. piece of cake.....you can also screw anything to the stud so you can screw the board to it. When I patch a hole between studs I just cut small pieces of half by two or whatever I have and make a frame around the hole on the back side and cut a small chunk of sheet rock to fit. BTW wear a mask when sanding, that stuff clogs up your lungs quick. :thumbs:

[Fastguy]

#1 You can screw a sister joist to the existing one...


THIS ^ is the exact moment in reading where I wanted to kick my own ASS for not seeing the obvious. :leaving:

Thank you. :seasix:

I know NOW !

Sorry man, but that is the first thing I thought of.