Making Patches in Sheetrock

Accidents happen and your sheetrock walls are the victims of such accidents. Whether your sheetrock has been ruined by a vehicular accident or by a run in with your neighbor's golf ball, you will want to make repairs as soon as possible.

If you wish to do repairs on your damaged sheetrock you have two options for the fix-up: You can either purchase wall patches or wooden boards that will support large amounts of new sheetrock. Your decision regarding how to replace your sheetrock can be determined by the size of the existing hole. Use a measuring tape or ruler and measure the diameter of the hole. If your hole is oblong you will want to measure it along the longest width.

If your hole is relatively small and can be patched with patch sheetrock then you will want to purchase a size of sheetrock that is approximately the same size as the hole. Hold your new piece of sheetrock over the damaged wall and trace with a lead pencil or wax pencil so that you can get the proper size of patch. Carefully follow your tracing, use a utility knife to cut out your sheetrock patch smoothly and easily.

Cut several 2 x 4 studs to prop and hang your sheetrock patch. Hang the studs inside the damaged hole with sheetrock nails. Sheetrock nails are generally an appropriate size for avoiding plumbing and wiring that can be damaged by the nails. If you know that you can avoid wiring or plumbing, you may use longer nails if you so desire. A power screwdriver or drill with drill bits may also be used to secure the studs.

Now it is time to apply your sheetrock patch. Hold up the patch in front of your support studs and secure the patch with sheetrock nails. This process may require several sheetrock nails so that the new patch is properly secured. To smooth out the wall you can use wall putty and a knife. You may then wish to repaint your sheetrock so that you can cover your project. You may want to annually check your repairs so that you can maintain them and avoid having to do more repairs in the future.

Although this process seems rigorous, you will be grateful for the money that you saved in the process and grateful that you have your wall back up to par. Your friends and family will be sure to seek you out for advice on how to fix their damaged walls.