DIY: ALL patches for Walls; Featuring the "Pop Patch"

The Problem:
Big, nasty, gaping hole in our bedroom wall adjacent to the nursery...and all the sound effects from the other room that come with that.

Further Complicating the Problem:
The hole limits access to the studs because of the electrical work. This means screwing a piece of drywall directly to the studs becomes trickier.

The Solution: The Pop Patch.

Here's a similar hole after completion:



You'll notice I left it unpainted so you can see where the hole was and the ultimate vision for the finish.

About drywall aka sheetrock:

Drywall comes in standard sized sheets of 8' x 4', but is also available in smaller "patch" sizes. It comes in various thicknesses, such as 1/2", 1/4", and 3/8" thick. I generally use 1/2" because it's a bit stronger and gives more meat to hang onto for hooks and such later when decorating. However, it is much heavier and more cumbersome to work with. In either case, don't try to do this by yourself because just manipulating such a big piece is tricky (especially when going up and down narrow Pittsburgh basement stairs! You know what I'm talking about, alls yins!). You can also invest in mold and moisture resistant sheetrock, usually green or purple in color. I found a yellow product at Lowe's and they no longer carry it. The paper was stronger than the green board. Ugh. But, green/purple board really is designed for wet areas like bathrooms and basements, so regular drywall would be fine in a bedroom.

The drywall has a layer of paper on both the front and back side. It adheres to the drywall filling with tiny, hair-like tentacles that is easily torn apart. Hence the Pop Patch! Our goal is to separate the drywall from the front layer of paper just enough for the paper to overlap the edge of the hole and the chunck of drywall in the middle to "pop" into the hole.

Here is a picture below of the prepared drywall for a pop patch:



Note: Is the pop patch right for your project?

Different sized holes determine the best approach for patching:

1. If the hole is about a dibbit to a quarter in size, just using some spackle from your local improvement store is sufficient. Take your knife (I call it a spatula, since that's all it really is), and spread the spackle into the hole. Be sure to spread the spackle over the edges of the hole, directly onto the surrounding wall. Sand it smooth and paint touch up. To ensure a smooth sanding, shine a flood light on the wall from the side and look for shadow from bumps. No shadows? Ready to paint. Shadows? Keep sanding until the shadow disappears. Paint touch-up? A sponge brush will blend with the texture better than a brush.

2. If the hole is the size of a golf ball to a baseball, use mesh tape to cover the hole immediately before spreading joint compound over the entire area, overlapping with the wall surrounding the hole. You can buy small containers of pre-mixed joint compound at your local home improvement store. Apply a thin layer with a 4" knife and let dry overnight. 24 hours later, apply a second thin coat with a 6" knife. Repeat 24 hours later with a 10" knife if necessary, again continuing with thin coats. See above for sanding and painting tips.

3. If the hole is the size of a grapefruit, see the "Pop Patch" below.

4. If the hole is massive:

Using a sharp utility blade, score the wall surrounding the hole along the studs (use a stud finder on drywall, or use a nail on plaster walls to locate studs. A nail that sticks hits stud, vs a nail that pounds right through like air hits nothing). Cut a piece of drywall to fit, overlap drywall piece 1/2" over stud. Using a screw gun with a drywall bit (this will have a countersink set on it, allowing you to set screws just barely below surface of drywall), screw drywall into studs. Lay mesh tape over all seems and apply joint compound to seems, following the same steps at option #2.

Pop Patch: Tools You'll Need for this project:

Drywall
Joint compound (aka "mud")
utility blade
ruler
pen
4", 6", and 10" knife
Joint compound tray
key hole saw


Here's How To:

Prep: WARNING! Please don't be like me, and forget that your basket of clean laundry is directly underneath the hole. A chunk of joint compound plunged into the depths of my underwear before I put it together. Also, lay a tarp, since even just cutting the drywall leaves dust and little debris.

1. Make the hole a square or rectangle if it is not already so. You can easily do this with a key hole saw. It looks like a gun with a long, thin serrated blade instead of a shaft.



2. Measure the height and width of hole.

3. Obtain a piece of drywall (I have a ton of left-over pieces from when I drywalled my entire basement). Cut it at least 2" larger than the hole. For example, if the hole is 6" x 6", cut the drywall 8" x 8".

Cutting the drywall: Use a sharp utility blade to score the drywall. After three good scores, you can snap the drywall and it will break along the scored line quite easily.




4. There is a front and a back side to all drywall, the smoother of these being the front. They also usually have brand logos on the back, but not in all cases (ie: backer board). On the back side of the drywall, draw the dimensions of the hole using a straight edge.



5. Using a sharp utility blade, score the drywall being extremely careful not to puncture the paper on the front of the drywall. When you're done with this step, the drywall piece should look like the image below.




6. Using your 4" knife, apply semi-liberally to the 2" surrounding the hole on the wall. This is how the patch will adhere to the wall. Then, after scraping your knife clean, place the drywall piece into the wall, ensuring that the larger paper is on the outside and overlaps the seems of the hole and the wall. Run your clean knife over the patch to eliminate bubbles and get it flush to the wall.



7. Apply another thin coat of joint compound to the seems of the paper and the wall, fanning the mud as you go. To fan, bring handle of knife closer to the wall as you spread. Allow to dry overnight.

8. Repeat step #7 with a 6" knife. Wait another 24 hours.

9. Repeat step #7 with a 10" knife. Wait to dry. Follow above described sanding and paint touch-up instructions.

Snow Solutions

Over the weekend, Pittsburgh received somewhere between 2 and 3 feet of snow, snow bounding many locals and forcing some ingenuity. Our block was a favorite spot to get stuck for the possessed drivers who dared challenge Mother Nature. Most neighbors just stayed outside with their kids, shovels in hand, ready to do whatever needed to be done (and biting our lip when we know that driver shouldn't have tried to drive on that road to begin with, yet here we are helping them out... 6 cars, 7, 8...)




Meanwhile, there's only so much cold, wet bum one can handle before needing to go back inside and make the most of one's cabin fever.

Inspired by a Little Bear episode, in which he and all his friends and family are snow bound themselves, they make something called "Snow Creme". The ingredients are snow, creme, and honey. I will be sure to try this out and play with the right proportions. But for now, this was our version:

"Snow Shake"

How to:

Ingredients:

Today we did the following:

3/4 cups berries
1 1/2 cups snow
1/2 yogurt
2 tablespoons of milk
opt: 1/2 cup sugar or honey

Use whatever proportions suit your fancy.

It's what we had on hand, and it made for a healthy snack that is fun to make. We harvested what Mother Nature generously offered and had what Hazel deemed ,"Beau-i-ful drink! Magic trick! Mommy make baby beau-i-ful drink."

Nuff said.