Large area drywall repairs require replacing the damaged area.
Large areas of drywall are usually only problematic in that 1/2-inch 4- by 8-foot wall sheets weigh 50 pounds, and 5/8-inch ceiling sheets weigh 75 pounds. Scrapes or holes can be covered with mesh tape and compound applied over the top, but if holes are bigger than thumb-size, or scrapes are wider than two inches, generally it is best to replace the drywall. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. First, measure the entire damaged drywall; if it is bigger than an 8- by 4-foot area, more than one piece of drywall will be needed. Run a stud finder against the drywall and mark the center of the studs/ceiling joists on both sides of the damage. Then run pencil marks along the drywall where the centers of the studs exist; this will result in two parallel lines. Now join the two lines at the top and bottom of the damaged area with two more pencil lines, at least 6 inches above and below the damage--you will now have either a square or oblong penciled area.
2. Put on safety goggles or other eye protection. Run a tradesman's knife several times over all the pencil lines, until the drywall is completely cut through. Using a hammer, carefully knock out the damaged area--you will probably need to work on small sections at a time. Then remove any nails/screws that are still stuck into the bare studs/ceiling joists.
3. Measure the hole you now have in the drywall, and cut a new piece of drywall to that size--use the tradesman's knife and a drywall saw to cut it out of the new sheet. Now place the new piece in the hole, and use 1 5/8-inch drywall nails to nail it to the walls studs, or 1 5/8-inch drywall screws for the ceiling--install the nails/screws 8 inches apart. If the piece is very large--such as an entire 4- by 8-foot sheet, cut it in half and install one piece, and then the other.
4. Apply mesh tape over all drywall joints. Now pour some drywall compound into a drywall tray, and using a 6-inch drywall knife, apply a layer of compound over all the mesh tape and nail/screw heads. Feather the compound away from the tape--in other words, smear compound past the edge of the tape onto the drywall, making the compound layer thinner as you go. This will help disguise that the compound on the mesh tape is thicker than on the surrounding area.
5. Wait for the compound to dry overnight. Then sand all the dried compound, making the areas smooth and free of ridges--use fine sandpaper. If you can still see screw/nail heads or mesh tape, apply another layer of compound, wait for it to dry, and sand a second time. The area is now ready to prime and paint.
Tags: mesh tape, 8-inch drywall, bigger than, ceiling joists, damaged area
