Spackle, And Filling A Hole Question

Hi,

Have a hole in plasterboard where some water pipes once fed thru. Probably about 6" x 6" or so.

Wish to fill up this opening with something compatible with the plasterboard.

Thought I'd lightly fasten some thin wood on the rear of the plasterboard to hold whatever type of "compound" I force into the opening. Would want the compound to set-up solid and hard.

Assuming I'll need several coats, applied one after the other, before I could smooth it for painting.

What is it I want to get from the hardware store. Haven't looked at this stuff in many a year.

Is it still "spackle" I want, or are there better types of products for these type of repairs nowdays ? Brand and product ID would be a big help.

Thanks, Bob

Reply to
Robert11
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I'm sure someone will be along with good advice, however when I needed to do this in the past I found a number of great web pages with pictures and step by step instructions on how to do a proper patch such as this, on the internet.

Reply to
G Henslee

No the usual solution for a 6x6 hole is to cut a piece of drywall something like 4X10. Butter one side of it with a good adhesive (even spackling compound will work) and hold it there until it sets. Next day cut a piece of drywall to fit the opening closely. Then use the same adhesive to secure it to the backer piece you already put in. Just tape and spackle the joint and you are done.

I have seen some tape stuff to tape the hole with and then spackle, but I have not tried it. It's too easy to do it a way I know works well.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Joseph,

I've used the same mehtod as your but with > Robert11 wrote:

Reply to
G Henslee

Reply to
G Henslee

I do a bit of both (belt and suspenders) I use a drywall screw to hold in place and allow for immediate patch. But I also use construction adhesive to spread out the force along the whole contact area, so that a hit to the wall doesn't put all the pressure on the drywall screw which could then pull through.

May not be necessary, but takes very little extra time and feels comfortably over-engineered.

Reply to
blueman

A couple of other tips...

  1. For backer, I often reuse old pieces of lathe which seems like a perfect choice given that my walls are old plaster over lathe

  1. For smaller holes (couple of inch diameter at most), rather than cutting a piece of drywall, I often plaster on fast-drying plaster patch over the wood backing mentioned above. This material dries fast and is super-super hard. So hard, that it is difficult to sand. As a result, I only fill it to just a hair's breadth below the surface. Then after waiting 15-30 minutes to dry, I cover it with a final thin coat of drywall compound or spackle which I can then sand smooth.

  2. The big box stores sell a simple thin patch which is a thin piece of aluminum with a sticky adhesive on one side and a fiberglass mesh on the other. You just stick it over the hole, push it down, and then cover with a thin coat of spackle or drywall compound.

I have never used it because intuitively it doesn't seem to me that a thin aluminum plate will give the same strength, solidness, and feel as a true drywall or plaster patch.

Have any people tried this approach? Is the result undetectable?

Reply to
blueman

I use a section of yard sign, with a couple of pieces of string through the corrugations. Then I put it behind the opening, and hold the string ends with a piece of wood in front. The mud sticks to the backing, after it dries I nip the strings and put on the next layer. Gently.

Reply to
Michael Baugh

A good method to put a backer piece into place is to run a drywall srcew partially into it to use for a handle while you work it into position. It can be used to pull outward on the backer piece to seat it for glueing or screwing. Remove after use.

RJ

Reply to
Backlash

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