Say someone were to cut a hole for an electrical outlet in some drywall, but miss by an inch and have to expand the hole. How would one fill the unsightly gap -- just slather some Polyfilla in there, or is there a preferred technique?
-- "For it is only of the new one grows tired. Of the old one never tires."
-- Kierkegaard, _Repetition_
James Owens, Ottawa, Canada
Assuming this is a square hole for an outlet or switch, glue a piece of
1" x (whatever the height of the hole) sheetrock to the bad side with Carpenter's glue. Cut away any rough paper fibers at the cut seams on both the panel and the repair piece, apply glue to the 3 edges to be joined. Stick it in, making sure the faces are even. Let dry, and put a skim coat of joint compound over the repair. Sand to smooth.
We've all done that, isn't it aggravating? It's the ruler's fault.
Usual way is to cut a couple of pieces, one bigger than the gap and the other to fill the mistake nicely. The larger one tied with a piece of string is used as a backer and stuffed behind the gap and cemented in place with mud. After setting, cut off the string and fit the small one into the cavity and cement in with more mud. Setting type drywall compounds work better for these things because you don't have to wait so long for strength to develop by drying. Sand and surface as usual. HTH
Joe
Or you could install a double outlet. : )
Depends. If the hole is too big horizontally, consider installing a double box. If the goof is vertical, do what the other guys said.
Thanks for the good advice. I'll go with the string method because I'm not sure my aggravated re-cut is smooth enough for carpenter's glue.
-- "For it is only of the new one grows tired. Of the old one never tires."
-- Kierkegaard, _Repetition_
James Owens, Ottawa, Canada
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