Repairing drywall is definitely an art. Sure, it’s always easy to cut through drywall to get access to a leaking pipe or run new wiring, perhaps for the new ceiling fan you’re getting ready to install. But repairing holes in drywall where access was made is a bit more difficult than making the hole in the first place.
Not long ago, I was forced to cut a hole in the drywall of my kitchen. I had a water leak in one of the copper pipes and there was a puddle of water forming in the basement. It took a bit a research and finally found the leak coming from one of the pipes going behind the toilet.
Anyway, cutting the hole and fixing the section of pipe that cracked was easier than I thought it would be. In fact, even the drywall repair went really well – I marked the drywall with a pencil where I wanted to cut the hole. I used an exacto knife to cut the line half way thru the drywall and then I used a drywall saw to finish the cut. I like to use the exacto knife first to create a clean smooth cut so when it comes time to fill the hole the edges of the drywall are smooth creating a nice butt joint. I took my time when cutting to prevent damaging the drywall so I could reuse the cut piece to fill the hole.
When it was time to repair the hole I used a small piece of 1/4 plywood as backing and screwed it to the existing drywall with a 2-inch over hang. I used the overhang to screw the piece of drywall I cut out. Saving the cut out piece I could use it again. I used sticky mesh tape over the joints and applied compound lightly to the tape building it up just a bit higher than the mesh and then feathered it out over the wall. In no time at all and the wall was all patched up and repainted, just like new.