ADWill9

Hi everyone

Last week, while coming down the stairs, I tripped over my cat, crashed into the wall at the bottom of the stairs and left a sizeable dent in the wall. I guess the wall is made of sheetrock, I'm not entirely sure, but that's my best guess. I'm wondering if I need to replace the entire wall panel, or if I could fix this up with just some putty/spackle of some sort.

Thoughts? Thanks! I'm linking some pictures below:

TaskBoy

That darn cat! Sorry about your crash. You can fix the busted portion w/o having to do the whole wall. I just did some similar but slightly smaller fixes on a bath remodel. Just cut out the broken area as square as possible. Cut halfway onto the nearest stud if it is not far away (otherwise you'll be replacing more than needed). If a stud is obviously too far, just square cut enough to remove the broken part and then use some scrap wood to back-up the hole around several points for even anchoring. Attach it/them with drywall screws thru the good part of your wall. Cut a patch piece of DW to fit (doesn't need to be perfect fit--joint tape will cover) and then screw it onto the back-up wood. Tape and mud as normal feathering your mud out so you don't see or feel any lumps or dips. If you have texture on the wall, use some texture in a can to match. Prime and paint.

ADWill9

DRYWALL... that's what it's called

That seems like a very manageable repair, good thinking. I assume I'll need to get some sort of jigsaw or something that cuts a very shallow groove... I'd worry about cutting through electric cables or something. Maybe Home Depot can rent one to me. There does not appear to be a stud in the middle of the wall, which almost simplifies the whole process, I think.

Behind the drywall, there appears to be a thicker layer of cheap plywood or something.... should I reinforce the drywall in this way?

Thanks for the advice!!

-Andrew

PS, kitty is OK... although in this heat, for some reason, she refuses to bide her time ANYWHERE but on those bottom steps... as many times as she's been stepped on, you think she would learn!!

TaskBoy

Sheetrock is drywall but a name trademarked by US Gypsum, so you are correct. Guys in the trade typically call all DW Sheetrock or sometimes even Rock. You don't need a jigsaw. Get a manual drywall hand saw--it's prob. $10 or less. Looks like a pointy knife which allows it to poke thru DW w/o a pilot hole. Make your lines straight as it's easier to fit the new piece. Cut your repair piece with a utility knife. Just cut thru the paper on the good side of the DW and snap it. Then cut thru the other paper on the back. Back the repair piece with ply or any cheap wood--you only need it on a few edges not solid. You are wise being aware of stray cables. You might bust out some of the damaged area and feel around before cutting. There probably isn't any cable in there unless there is a switch on the wall or an outlet nearby but you never know. Blending the mud and feathering is more art than craft. If you do a web search on Installing or Patching Drywall, you find some pix that'll help you get a better idea of what's ahead.

ADWill9

Great success so far-- got a nice rectangular hole cut, out to a beam in the middle of the wall, and have already fitted a piece of 3/8" drywall in place. It looks like I'll need to get some 1/8' drywall to finish the job, though.... Home Depot doesn't seem to have any, I'm just looking around now for some other supplier

TaskBoy

Hmmm. 3/8? Sounds like your wall is 1/2 which is typical. They should have 1/2. the surface is supposed to be pretty flush with the mesh joint tape and mud over that fairly thin. You should be using 1/2 inch, they don't make 1/8 drywall.

ADWill9

Here are some updated pictures, showing the wall as it is right now, and a cross section of a piece of the wall from before. The first picture shows the corner that connects to the middle beam... this section would be flush if we had thicker drywall (instead of 3/8"), but in the second picture you'll see the metal corner piece that fits underneath the outer shell. Pictures 3 and 4 show the cross section... I'll admit, the big piece of drywall is closer to 1/2" than our 3/8", BUT, there is a layer of 1/8" SOMETHING on the exterior.

Thoughts?

Jimmy P

I know that this is an old thread, but I am surprised no one responded. I am an amature, but I can see a few things wrong here. Why did you cut out soo much of it? It looked like only a very small amount needed to be fixed. You also could of simply used plaster. Another thing I will mention, is that it looks like the drywall sheet you got wasn't as thick as what was originally in there.