My daughter-units had a sleep-over where the pack were having too much fun and not enough supervision. The result: a doorknob-sized hole in my bathroom wall. There's not enough drywall left to pull it back through and patch it.
I'd like to enhance the structure at this point. Is there a way of supporting it beyond a simple cross-piece attached from the back?
Many thanks.
The Ranger
Hello Ranger,
Rather than the simple cross piece from the back that you don't want to do, take the knife and cut it to the studs on each side and remud the works...Then buy a good floor mounted door stopper.Jim
Not sure what you mean by "cross-piece attached from the back." You take a piece of wood about 6" longer than the hole, insert it in, and attach with a drywall screw or two on each side from the front. Then screw a door knob-sized piece of drywall to the wood.
As a landlord, the easiest fix for that is one of these:
The problem is solved forever.
Done this several times. Cut a piece of stiff screen slightly bigger than the hole. Attach a thin wire or paper clip to the center, mud the screen up with 5 minute mud and push it through the hole and center it. Wait a couple minutes till the mud sets a bit to hold itself then cut the wire flush. Then mix some more mud just to fill the hole and let it set up. Then sand it flush and use a finishing mud, let it set, sand and flare it then paint. Put a good door stop on to prevent another hole.
--> Doorknob hole in bathroom drywall As a landlord, the easiest fix for that is one of these:
I showed this to my wife, agreeing with you that this would indeed solve the problem forever. She was not as enthusiastic towards its installation, preferring something more conservative (conventional). Looks like I'll continue fixing these the old fashioned way...
The Ranger
Thanks! I happen to have some nice steel mesh that will fill this requirement. I also have a brass door stop that I'll be sure to install prior to opening the bathroom back up to my Hunnish Hordes.
The Ranger
Another alternative is that someone makes a hard rubber adhesive backed round pad that can just cover the hole. They are like 5 inches in diameter and made specifically for this. I think that Rubbermaid may make them but I'm not sure. It's a cheap quick fix and they don't look bad either. My GF and I have 5 kids living with us so drywall repair has become an expertise of mine :)
Cover the hole with a nice 8"x8" piece of 1x finished wood, and screw a door knob bumper to it.
Re that door stop...
The proper place to locate it is 2/3 of the way out from the hinges to the outer edge of the door. You may want to cut the door stop down in length so that the door isn't stopped TOO far out from the wall.
Why 2/3 of the way out?
Because that's the "center of percussion" for something (of constant density) rotating around one edge, so there's less reaction on the hinges when the door hits the stop. Think of it like striking a baseball with the "sweet spot" of the bat.
If it's a hollow door it won't have constant density, but it's close enough for gummint work.
It'd be ideal to locate the stop on the wall half way up the height of the door too, but that'd look plain silly.
Jeff (Who fully expects everyone to say, "Who gives a s**te about that." )
Was working on a nightclub refurb a few years ago. Do a shitload of work during the day and then clean up for the club to open that night. Every day, seven days a week for about three months.
One of the mens' washrooms had to have a replacement door once- half-hour fire rated, very heavy. There was a hot air hand drier behind the door which the door would strike if it opened too far, so we had to fix a doorstop to the floor to stop this. If the doorstop had been placed in the correct position it would have constituted a trip hazard, so I had to set it one third of the door from the hinges.
I told the contractor that it wasn't a good idea and someone (ie the architect) should specify some other way of doing things vis a vis the door.
The next day, the door was off its hinges. And the next, and the next, and the next. There was even a pneumatic door closer on the door which had to be replaced a number of times, having occasionally been torn from the doorframe when the hinges were uprooted.
I left the job before it was finished and moved on to another, but I still wonder if that door gets wrecked as often as it did when I was working there :-)
Seems it would have been a lot simpler and better to move the )(*^%@!!! hand dryer that was put in the wrong place to begin with.
Just had my home replumbed and that is exactly how the dry wall guys replaced the sheet rock that the plumbers had to cut out. (except for the 6" longer part, but of course they weren't trying to reinforce)
Yes, well that's predicated on the ideal that there's still the whole piece left and not a bunch of crumble and powder still held in place because there happens to be some backing paper still attached.
Imagine a hole, the size of the standard bathroom handle (exactly
2" in diameter) where anodized steel punch through 1/2" sheet rock, leaving nothing larger than 1/4" chunks. That's what's wrong with using the 6" longer part attached from behind; there's nothing left to attach to the backer. And the last I checked, "pieces" of drywall were not being sold at Lowe's, Home Despot or my local ACE hardware store; only 4'X8' sheets. While I have the storage abilities to keep such a piece, that seems a little extreme for my current needs.I used the idea of cutting out an over-sized circle of stiff mesh and then closing the hole with compound. It took two full days to dry, sand, touch-up, and finish off but it looks *good*. I also added a brass floor stop which has already paid for itself. (There's nothing like the shock of a temper-throwing preteen having the door bound back at her to give the idea that trashing something that's not hers is uncool.)
The Ranger
Find a piece of smooth-finish plywood or hardwood the same thickness as the rock, and cut in a patch from stud to stud. After you mud the crack and paint, it will vanish. Used to hang sinks like that.
aem sends....
Glad you used my idea. Guess what I did today? Bathroom gutted, re-plumbed, re-drywall, replace tub and vanity sink with freestanding unit, replaced tileboard, wainscoting, mouldings shower panel insert, bigger medicine cabinet, new light bar, replaced outlets and switch.
Took me 12 hours but I did it myself and even ran to the supply store twice. My girlfriend's house heh. She wanted me to just replace the shower panels, valve and filler and shower head but the old drywall behind the old shower panels were shot where drywall met tub. Also had to replace a couple 2x3's that were rotted out and that had some former termite damage. What a can of worms but it is done now and she's elated with her one day bathroom renovation. Me, I'm sore. Age is sneaking up on me slowly but surly.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.