How Can I Repair A Dry Wall That Has No Stud Behind It, Or In Between Studs?
Posted on
September 11th, 2009
by Jerry
I’m replacing a bathroom vanity light with a better looking fixtures. When I disassembled the old light fixture I found out that the electric steel box is somewhat crooked or bented towards inward, meaning one of the two mounting screw for the actual light fixtures to mount on, is not flush with the dry wall. This appears to be a poor craftsmanship, however, if I do broke the drywall and repair or replace the electric light box, how can I repair or patch the opened drywall area. Remember, the box is mounted in between the studs. How can i go about it without making a big mess. Please Advice….
Get a length of 1×2 pine and a tube of quick set epoxy. Cut the lumber a couple of inches longer on both ends than the hole is wide. Glue the lumber into the hole, sticking it on the back side of the gypsum board with the hole in it. When the glue drys cut a piece of gyp-board the same shape as the hole with about an 1/8th of an inch to spare. Screw the patch piece of gyp-board to the 1×2, then fill in the remainder with spacking compound, sand , texture and paint.
i have done this before i will try to explain. cut out a square from stud to stud but expose the to studs 3/4 of an inch. you will then see the studs with 3/4 of an inch of stud with drywall, 3/4″ bare wood. cut a piece of drywall to that dimension. this is of course looking left to right. to strengthen up and down take the piece of drywall that you measured and cut and using drywall screws attach two strips of 1 bye 1 wood strips into the cut piece parallel to the studs and longer than the opening, up and down . then you can screw this piece left to right directly into exposed 2 bye 4 and up and down through the drywall into the strips. it would be easier to explain if i could draw a picture, sorry
your best bet to get a smooth finish is to cut to the stud on each side. that will allow you to patch with a larger piece of drywall, and provide a smooth seam.
the other option is to use a patch kit. these usually consist of a metal screen, which is to be filled with spackle. your local hardware store should be able to help. these work best for very small holes.