{OT} Getting plastered

alt.home.repair is where you will get answers and pointers to your problem. We talk about politics here...

Answer: Drywall. Cut two small pieces and glue and screw them to the edge of the hole on top of the ceiling. Use those to anchor a piece that you cut to fill in the long hole. Then use some plaster (mud) to fill in the seam. Paint.

For the small holes, HD has some what looks like adhesive window screen that sticks to the wall and covers the hole. You can fill over it with mud. Paint.

Good luck!

(and learn to stay out of Home Depot!)

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a small piece of drywall. You can also visit a local job site and procure the needed material from the scrap pile. You can also fill the hole with the piece you cut out, if you managed to do this in a non-destructive manner.

Get a piece of wood (baseboard works really good) and set it in the hole in such a way as to hold the patch you need to make. (If you carefully cut a section out, you can use it to fill the hole, else you need to make the trip in Step 1.

Use a drywall screw to secure your piece of wood in place, use a screw or two in each end/side of the hole that the patch needs to be applied to, then set the patch in place and screw it to the newly secured piece of wood.

Now, you have a narrow seam around the patch to fill with drywall mud, and a small section of patch to texture with Knockdown(R). When the Knockdown(R) is dry, you paint the patched area and have another beer.

While at Home D or Lowes, visit the Paint Department and get the smallest container of "5-minute Mud" (ask for that and they will know what you need and give you a product called Presto Patch, or similar) and Knockdown Texture (this will come in an aerosol can). You will need a putty knife that is at least 3 inches wide (wider is better) to apply the mud to the seams and feather it in so the seam is well blended with the surrounding area. After the mud is dry and sanded, apply the texture-in-a-can and blend it with the surrounding area. When the texture is dry, paint to match and you're done.

You can fix the remaining stuff with caulk. Perhaps the 5-minute mud is the product to fill the hole in the wall where the shower head is not desired. Make it smooth and use texture-in-a-can, just like the patch in the ceiling.

That's a good idea, use a strip of drywall inside the wall to hold the correct size piece of drywall into the wall. I use a strip of baseboard on the inside, but a strip of drywall would do the trick just as well.

Shopping List:

16" - 24" Strips of 1X2, 1x3 or 1x4 "whitewood" Small piece of 1/2" drywall (1/4 sheet or so) Box of 6x1-1/4" drywall screws Bag of 5-Minute or 10-Minute rapid-setting drywall patch compound Small roll of 2" wide fiberglass mesh reinforcement tape Small drywall compound mix trough (4"x12") Assorted stiff taping knives - 2" 4" 6" wide Sanding block and sanding screens - Pole style optional Spray on texture PVA Primer (or oil-based primer if the old ceiling is oil-base) Latex Enamel or Alkyd Enamel to match ceiling paint

You need to put the strip of board (or conveniently sized chunk of plywood) behind the patch to give it some structure, or it won't last.

You can screw the wood to the good drywall and the drywall patch to the wood, but it's better if you can tack a screw or two into the studs at the ends. That, or cut your slot wider to the center-line of the joists on each side, so the patch is screwed directly to the joists at the ends.

The fiberglass mesh tape is stronger than the old paper mudding tape, and will hold the mud in place till it sets. Then sand when dry and use the next wider taping knife to skim on the next coat.

(When taping large expanses of wall and ceiling joints, you sometimes get up to the 8" or 12" wide knife for the last few coats.)

Same basic process - get something structural behind the drywall to support the patch, the compound by itself won't do it. For the showerhead hole you can maneuver a small piece like a paint-stirrer into the hole and hold it in position using a drywall screw in the middle as a handle, then one screw on each end through the good drywall. The little patch button only has room for one screw.

Then get it sealed and painted before you start using the shower. Mold and mildew will take a toehold fast.

Silicone sealer can solve a lot of those sins by filling in the gaps

- if you notice them and do something about it BEFORE the rot sets in. After, you're going to have to dig for it all.

The stuff isn't that bad - were you snapping it right? You have to go past 90 degrees to snap it, it almost looks like a heart when viewed from the end. Hold it in the right position and it snaps together easily - but wear gloves, if it slips and you are holding it wrong your hands will get sliced to ribbons. Practice on the larger sizes, 4" is the PITA size to learn on.

That, or they pre-mangled the duct in shipping. The ducting will never go together if it's all bent to heck. Much better than the corrugated expandable aluminum flex that turns into a slinky if you pull just a little too hard - and no, DAMHIKT...

-->--

This is a car newsgroup, so the proper fix? You must fill the hole with Bondo and spray paint it with brown primer. Leave it that way for at least six months and then have your uncle, cousin, neighbor or brother-in-law paint it. The standard pay for painting, a 12 pack if it's more then 6 shades off when done, a case if it matches.