Sheetrock Repair

How to repair a large hole in sheetrock or plaster.

Recently we noticed a water leak under the house and discovered that we had a leaky tub in the guest room. The only way to access the plumbing was to cut a hole in the plaster. We needed room to work once we got in there so we ended up cutting a fair sized hole in the wall(see picture to the right). When we cut the hole we gave no thought to repairing it as this was irrelevant at the time. Now that it is time to repair the hole we must make it ready to receive a patch. In order to patch this properly you must provide a place to fasten at least two opposing sides of the patch to the framework of the wall.

The first step is to locate the wall stud on one side of the patch and using a straight edge mark a vertical line down the approximate center of the stud. Next take a razor knife and cut along this line to remove the excess sheetrock and expose half of the wall stud along the entire length of this side of the patch. Now move to the opposing side and repeat this procedure.

The next step is to cut a piece of sheetrock that will fit in the hole without having to force it(a little to small is better than a little to big). Place the piece in the hole and fasten it to the studs on both sides with drywall nails or drywall screws(do not use any other type of fastener). Once you have accomplished this simply follow the same steps (tape/bed/skim/sand) that were explained on the how to repair a crack page.

How to repair different problems.

1. Return to sheetrock repair home page.
2. Repairing cracks in sheetrock or plaster.
3. Repair a small hole.
4. Repair a large hole.(you are here)
5. What we did in the living room.
6. Project cost
7. Go to the Home Repair sitemap.

Check back tomorrow.
Or better yet, go check out The Garden

If we did not explain this to your satisfaction or if you disagree with the way things are being done, please join our forum to ask a question or to offer advice.

copyright© J and L constr.