We’ve covered the patching of small holes on Ali Does It before, but this one’s a bit of a doozy. When we moved in to the Tower we discovered that the previous tenants had built a shelf in the garage that attached to the wall. It was huge, and it stuck out so far that our teeny tiny car would not fit inside the garage. So we had to take it out. The previous tenants had built this shelf, however, with more enthusiasm than carpentry knowledge, and the 4″ decking screws they had used everywhere were all stripped and nearly impossible to remove. Finally we had to yank the shelf out of the wall and twist it to be able to saw through the last one, and that’s why we have this giant big hole. It was the only way.
Now keep in mind that this hole is about the size of my outstretched hand, and that’s about as big as I would go when fixing using this technique. Anything larger and you’re probably better off replacing the drywall instead so you don’t weaken the structure.
Not to fret, though, because we can fix it easily.
First you need to clean it up. Get rid of all the little bits and pieces that are sticking out and smooth everything down. Use a knife.
Add a bit of crumpled newspaper as back fill (this is really only necessary on big holes). Pack it in there nice and firm so it doesn’t want to come back out again. It’s going to give you something to push against when you’re laying on the spackle.
Then you use this nifty adhesive mesh tape to cover over the hole and give yourself a surface to work with.
Mine wasn’t very adhesive as it’s pretty old so I had to use strips that were a little longer so I had more traction.
Then you grab your trusty spackle and a putty knife.
I love that this stuff is pink when wet and dries white. I love it.
Now when you’re patching a big hole like this you want to start from the edges so the tape is well and truly stuck down.
Don’t worry about getting it perfect on the first go-round – if you press too much on the mesh you’ll just push all your spackle through the holes and that’s not very good. Let that dry for a while.
All ready for round two. It’s so pretty.
Lightly sand off all the little protuberances. I like a sanding block for this because it’s easier to hold but you can use sandpaper.
Now more spackle. Don’t be as generous as last time.
Try to get the layers on as thinly as possible but still covering up the imperfections. If this were my living room wall I would be more careful but as it’s the garage I’m not too concerned if it’s perfect or not.
These little lines can be easily sanded off when it’s dry.
Now you just need to wait!
I’m not going to leave you with a picture of dried plaster to end this boringly-photographed post, so you get a picture of a happy Gren instead.
