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In our home, like millions of other
homes, we get cracks at the corners of our windows and doorways. A
quick retaping of the
drywall might last a few years, but the crack will inevitably
reappear. Since my wife wanted our living room wall to look good
for more than two years, I decided to permanently fix this problem.
The permanent solution involves cutting the drywall back to the
nearest studs on each side of the crack and placing a new piece so
there is no joint at the corner of the window. In the picture on the
right, you can see the crack that forms at the corner below the
window. The crack occurs where two pieces of drywall meet.
>This procedure will allow you to permanently fix
this crack. Also, this procedure can be used to repair large holes in
drywall. To repair small doorknob sized holes, see the
small hole repair procedure.
Need to repair a popcorn textured drywall ceiling or wall? See this Popcorn Drywall Texture Repair page.
NEW! Watch a 10-part
Video Series of a
Drywall Repair Similar To This!
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Click On Photo To Enlarge |
| Step 1
- Remove the drywall on each side of the crack to the nearest stud on
each side and a height of 42". I chose the height of 42" so I could
cut off the recessed edges of the 48" sheet. You may need to remove
window and floor trim before removing this piece. |
Click On Photo To Enlarge |
| Cut the
drywall so it is flush with the nearest stud as shown on the pictures
at the right and below. Use a utility knife or a saw set to a shallow
depth. Do not use a saw that cuts beyond the depth of the drywall
since you may cut an electrical wire! What you will then do is attach
2" by 2" blocking to the studs and then the patch piece will attach to
the blocking. This leaves the existing drywall securely attached
to the existing studs.
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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Click On Photo To Enlarge
Click On Photo To Enlarge |
| Step 2
- Attach 2x2 blocking to the studs so the patch piece will lie level
with the existing drywall. Attach plywood behind the horizontal edge.
The patch piece will then attach to this plywood.
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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Click On Photo To Enlarge |
| Step 3
- This is a good time to add a new outlet or replace the insulation.
If adding a new electrical outlet or doing other electrical
modifications, hire a qualified electrician if you are not qualified
to do these tasks. In the photo shown on the right, I replaced the old
matted down rock wool insulation I had with new fiberglass battes and
also placed a vapor barrier over the top. |
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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| Step 4
- Cut out a single piece of drywall to fit your space. Match flat
edges with the flat edges of your wall. I cut off the recessed
edges so the top of my piece would be flush with the horizontal edge
of the existing piece. You don't want to match a recessed edge
with your flat existing edge. Fasten the drywall in place, placing
screws about 8" apart. Make sure the screw head sit slightly below the
surface. Check by running a taping knife over the top - if it
touches a screw, then use a regular phillips head screw driver to
slightly drive the screw in a bit so the head is below the surface. |
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Step 5 - Place joint compound over the joints and then place
precut pieces of paper tape on. It is very helpful to quickly pass the
tape through a bucket of water before putting it on. Use a 4" or
4.5" knife to imbed the tape. Press the knife at an angle as you
"squeeze" out the excess joint compound. The excess compound
will shoot out the sides.
More info on taping is given here. After applying the tape, use
leftover compound to fill in screw depressions. Allow all of this to
dry thoroughly before proceeding to the next step. |
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| Step 6
- Before doing anything, use your taping knife to scrape off any
compound sticking up. The surface must be level for the next
coat to go on properly. Place a coat of compound over the taped joints
out to a width of about 8". Use a 10" knife, held at an angle to
draw off the excess, leaving a level coat over the tape. Use leftover
compound to coat any remaining screw depressions. Let this thoroughly
dry before proceeding.
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Click On Photo To Enlarge
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| Step 7
- Before doing anything, use your taping knife to scrape off any
compound sticking up. The surface must be level and free of
bumps or ridges. Since this is a
butt joint, place a 6-8"
wide coat of compound on each side of the tape. Draw the coat
down with your taping knife, leaving a thin tapered coat on each side
of the tape. You will then place a middle coat in the next step. Use
leftover compound to coat any remaining screw depressions. Let this
thoroughly dry before proceeding. |
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| Step 8
- Before doing anything, use your taping knife to scrape off any
compound sticking up. The surface must be level and free of
bumps or ridges. Place a coat of mud over the middle region that
overlaps on to the previous two side coats. Draw the coat down with
your taping knife, leaving a thin tapered overlapping the two coats of
the previous step. Let this thoroughly dry before proceeding. If you
see the need, repeat Steps 7 and 8 to widen this joint out a bit more.
In my case, I was able to progress to the next step. |
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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| Step 9
- Scrape down your surface level with your taping knife. Then use a
trouble light or household lamp with the shade removed to cast a low
angle light on your surface. This low angle light will show you
where there are small recesses or drag marks. Place fairly small
amounts of thinned compound in recesses or depressions and use your 4
1/2" or 10" knife to draw off the excess, just filling the recesses.
Also, you can place a very light coat to blend in the edges of two
coats if needed. Apply sufficient pressure so you are not coating the
drywall so much but rather filling in low spots or drag marks. Allow
this to thoroughly dry and repeat this step if needed. |
Click On Photo To Enlarge
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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| Step 10
- Scrape down your surface level with your taping knife. If your
inspection light, held at a low angle, does not show any depressions
or drag marks, then you are ready to sand. Use a fine 220 or 250
grit paper on a 8" or 10" by 3.5" sanding block. Very lightly sand
using a circular random motion. This is just one final step to level
your surface. You should not be taking any significant amounts of
compound off with this sanding. Inspect the surface again with
the light. If it shows no defects with the light, clean the surface of
dust, prime, and paint. Note that if you do not prime, your patched
area may have a different finish from the rest of your wall. In fact,
for the most uniform finish, prime and paint a section of the wall up
to a nearby corner or doorway. Several
pictures of the finished wall are shown on the right. |
Click On Photo To Enlarge
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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